2016, a year in 16 jewelry highlights!

It’s been an incredible year. Many famous people who enlightened our lives with their acting or singing, have left us forever. We saw the craziest of all presidentials campaigns in the U.S. with an even crazier outcome. Just navigating around on the social media platforms might give you the idea that 2016 is a year that needs to be forgotten fast. Of course, this is a sentimental, subjective feeling of some, focussing on all the bad stuff. But it’s been an exciting year for others too. The jewelry world saw its very own highlights and some lowlights. It’s, slowly but very surely,waking up from the past and all professional magazines and sites talk about how retail in jewelry is changing rapidly. Not adapting means not surviving and the industry is not just a few big companies with enough marketing budgets, but also lots and lots of smaller businesses with long family histories. We may not like it, but change is constant and one can simply never rest on their laurels. We bring you the year in 16 jewelry highlights! 

The jewelry highlights of 2016

 

Before we hit off, I should warn you that this is a random list of what I think were highlights in jewelry in 2016. Then again: most of these lists are subjective anyway ;-)

1. de Grisogono Biggest bought the most expensive rough diamond ever!

63 Million Dollars and weighing 813 ct! It’s just mindblowing…. We published a blog about it :-)

2. The biggest pearl ever found

The largest pearl EVER found weighed 34 kilo’s!

3. Van Cleef & Arpels Noah Collection

I can only say that this is such a great collection, capturing the attention of all media and publishers around the world. Including Bizzita, of course. We covered the collection in this blog.

4. Rio Tinto reveal the largest VIOLET diamond!

In 32 years the Rio Tinto mine has produced only 12 ct of violet diamonds. This is one of the rarest diamond colors and the violet diamond featured here is their largest, weighing a staggering 2.83 ct. The Rio Tinto company owns the Argyle mine in Perth, Australia, where the stone was found. Master Cutters Richards How Kim Kam was the polisher of this particular stone. The rough stone weighed 9.17 ct and was discovered in 2015.

5. Topkapi collection revealed by Lydia Courteille

Yes, I am biased, I adore everything Lydia Courteille comes up with. So naturally, I did want to squeeze her in this list. The Topkapi collection is, once again, colorful and bold, as we expect Lydia to be. Don’t miss this collection either : http://www.bizzita.com/brands/lydia-courteille-newest-dazzling-jewelry-collection-the-queen-of-sheba/

6. Cartier Cactus collection and Magicien collection

Cartier is one of the most well known jewelry brands in the world and needs no further introduction. This year they brought the wonderful Cactus collection on the market and the more classical Magicien collection. Which one is your favorite?

7. Graff unveils the largest D-flawless heart-shaped diamond

This is an incredible stone, breaking all kinds of records. It’s the largest flawless D colored diamond in the world, weighing a whopping 118.78 ct! It’s in every sense, enormous. The GIA has certified the stone as D colored, type IIA with excellent symmetry and polish. Who will end up wearing this beauty?

8. Kashmir sapphire sells at 1.76 million Dollars -Bonham

An intense bidding this autumn at Bonham pushed an extremely rare gemstone; a Kashmir Sapphire, to an incredible price. Although estimated between 760k and 1 million, the stone went for 1.76 million dollars.

9. Selim Mouzannar wins 2016 Couture Design Award

Amal is the name of the winning necklace by Selim Mouzannar. The necklace was created by using emeralds from the Muzo Colombian Mine. The 55 emeralds weigh 163.28 ct in total. The 8 trapiche emeralds have been naturally tattooed with cartwheel shape inclusions. You can see them very clearly. The necklace is in rose gold and made with 100 arms that are flexible, thus making it possible to adapt naturally to the wearer’s body shape. Amal means Hope.

10. Tefaf features Wallace Chan for the first time

My heart just made a little jump when I found out that Wallace Chan was exhibiting for the first time at TEFAF in Maastricht, the Netherlands this year. See, I do not live in a country where we have huge events nor do we have a Bond Street Jewelry scene. We simply are a small often pragmatic country that loves to hang on to its Calvinistic roots by yelling: acting normal is crazy enough. Although I am 100% Dutch, I simply adore eclectic, bold and daring jewelry styles. And one of the most fantastic jewelry designers in the world is Wallace Chan. I had the opportunity to interview him at the fair and it was an enchanting meeting. You can read all about that here.

11. Endless files for Bankruptcy

Not so much a highlight but from the moment this brand was created I had difficulty seeing its potential. I must admit that however it grew big, thanks also to never ending marketing efforts of the brand and the big budget available for this. But in my opinion, it lacked personality and vision. The idea or concept was ok, but not original enough. There were many versions of this kind of design already on the market and it failed to impress in quality. Brands like these emerge from the genius of people who think big in terms of distribution, marketing and money. But not in terms of true love for what they make. There is nothing wrong with that, the world is full of brands that lack passion and love, but still manage to create business or even desirability. It's a business concept that works just as well. Yet, there are also many that fail. Jesper Nielsen, who created the brand, went on to create yet another concept: cheap jewelry in small boutiques called Amazing Jewellery. Although claiming that the jewelry of the new concept costs a fraction of what other chain stores in jewelry offer and no piece costs over 99 euro, people know that there is no such thing as low cost, without causing someone or something harm and it’s never the investor or ceo who gets harmed. You simply get what you pay for, as you do at Zara, as you do at Prada and I expect that especially Millennials will not be blinded by thinking that they get more than what they pay for :-)

12. The biggest Fashion and Jewelry trends 2016-2017

Yes, this year too brought us a variety of different trends and I have posted a extensive post about the biggest and brightest of them all here: http://www.bizzita.com/inspiration/the-biggest-jewelry-and-fashion-trends-for-autumn-and-winter-2016-2017

13. De Laneau brings us the DeLaneau Elements Collection

DeLaneau may very well be my favorite jewelry watch company. I love them for their detail and obvious craftsmanship. This year they have brought us a whirlwind of colorful fantasy with watches like the DeLaneau Elements collection and the Parakeet Watch. This jewelry watch company was created in 1949 in Biel, Switzerland by Rolf and Yolanda Tschudin and have been known ever since for their incredible work. Grand Feu enameling is their signature style and you’ll find it in many of their pieces. Which makes it perhaps for me, my prefered jewelry watch brand. I adore enameling. I don’t care so much for the gemstones on watches, but it’s the enameling that captures my attention and my love for imagination.

 

14. Piaget reveals the Extremely Piaget Capsule Collection

As I told in this blog. I really loved the bracelet from this collection. But the whole collection is just simply stunning and easy on the eyes. Pieces that become almost certainly heirloom pieces of jewelry.

15. CPAA Gives its President’s Trophy to Yi-Shiun Tsai from Taipai City, Taiwan

This Design contest is created by the CUltured Pearl Association of America and awards with a variety of exciting categories, the most exciting pearl jewelry designs. This year it was won by Yi-Shiun Tsai. It’s called Murmuring Stream. A cool name for a beautiful winning design.

16. Fabergé introduces the Mosaic Pendants.

When Peter Carl Fabergé began working as a jewelry artist, he would probably never ever have thought to be still a household name in the jewelry world in the year 2016. The company today is still known for its beautiful jewelry and pays often tribute to the most iconic pieces ever created by Peter Carl Fabergé: the world famous Jewelry Eggs, all created for the Russian Imperial family between 1885-1916. With the Mosaic Pendant, Fabergé delighted us with invisible set gemstones in three versions. The Multi-colored, all Mozambican Ruby and a Sapphire egg, pending from 18 kt rose or white gold chain adorned with various diamonds and sapphires. I have always loved the egg-shaped pendants and I think that these ones are true gems. Prices: The Ruby Egg retails at €45.547 and the Sapphire at €40.992

 

May 2017 bring you prosperity, joy, fortune and serenity! X Esther

 

 

 

 

Cartier, De Grisogono, deLaneau, Endless, Fabergé, fashion, Graff, Lydia Courteille, Pearl, Piaget, Rio Tinto, Selim Mouzannar, Tefaf, Van Cleef & Arpels, Wallace Chan

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