Joel Arthur Rosenthal is an American jeweller who works in Paris where he founded the fine jewelry firm JAR. He has been called "the Faberge of our time." [1]
Born in 1943 in the Bronx, Joel Arthur Rosenthal is the only son of a postman and a teacher in biology. He spent a semester at City College of New York studying linguistics; he speaks French, Italian, English and Yiddish. He then transferred to Harvard University, where he studied art history and philosophy, graduating in 1966. [2] He then moved to Paris where he worked as a screenwriter, then as a needle-stitcher, opening a small shop. He experimented with unusually colored yarn. Its clientele included designers from Hermès and Valentino. Rosenthal one day was asked if he could design a mount for a gemstone. That sent his career in a new direction.
After a short stint as a salesman in the New York store of Bulgari, he returned to Paris in 1977 and began designing pieces there from affordable materials, such as coral, moonstone and minute colored diamond. Quick success led the self-taught Rosenthal to open a non-descript salon at 7 Place Vendôme, where he still hosts his loyal clients. [3] His company, JAR, has no shop window or sign on the street. The entry is made on the sponsorship of a known customer and for persons whose name excludes any ambiguity. Each piece is unique, created for a specific client; his yearly output is a scant 70-80 pieces. [4] He takes inspiration from the fauna and flora for his creations, mixing references from the past with current techniques of jewelry. What Rosenthal has been doing since 1977 is setting gems in pavé arrangements [5] as fine as needlepoint stitches, frequently amplifying the stones' colors by mounting them in a blackened alloy. [6]
In 1994, JAR made a Parrot Tulip bangle of gold, with diamond and garnet accents, that sold at auction in 2014 for 3.25 million Swiss francs. [7]
In 2002, the first public exhibition devoted to JAR was held in London. The 400 pieces presented, mostly lent by their owners, were arranged in full black, the visitors having to use a flashlight to observe them. On this occasion JAR published the only book on his works, JAR Paris, a catalog of 720 pages printed in a limited number of copies. [8] His only other public exhibition was at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2013. Rosenthal is the only living "artist of gems" to have had a solo show at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. [9] [10]
In 2017, Rosenthal created his first piece of Judaica for the exhibition Menorah: Worship, History, Legend, co-sponsored by the Vatican and the Jewish Museum of Rome. It was the sole work commissioned for the exhibition and his first work not meant for a collector, "but, to be seen out there." [9]
"It was unexpected," he said of being a part of the exhibition. "I have done all I could to shield myself from what's going on in the world" — and this show, with its message of unity, was a clear (if gentle) statement about what is going on the world. "But I was confident because of what it is and where it was going." [9]
Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the Mohs scale. Most emeralds have many inclusions, so their toughness (resistance to breakage) is classified as generally poor. Emerald is a cyclosilicate.
A gemstone is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. Certain rocks and occasionally organic materials that are not minerals may also be used for jewelry and are therefore often considered to be gemstones as well. Most gemstones are hard, but some softer minerals such as brazilianite may be used in jewelry because of their color or luster or other physical properties that have aesthetic value. However, generally speaking, soft minerals are not typically used as gemstones by virtue of their brittleness and lack of durability.
Jewellery consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western perspective, the term is restricted to durable ornaments, excluding flowers for example. For many centuries metal such as gold often combined with gemstones, has been the normal material for jewellery, but other materials such as glass, shells and other plant materials may be used.
Ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum. Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires. Ruby is one of the traditional cardinal gems, alongside amethyst, sapphire, emerald, and diamond. The word ruby comes from ruber, Latin for red. The color of a ruby is due to the element chromium.
The Hope Diamond is a 45.52 carats diamond that has been famed for its great size since the 18th century. Extracted in the 17th century from the Kollur Mine in Guntur, India, the Hope Diamond is a blue diamond. Its exceptional size has revealed new information about the formation of diamonds.
Van Cleef & Arpels is a French luxury jewelry company. It was founded in 1896 by the Dutch diamond-cutter Alfred Van Cleef and his father-in-law Salomon Arpels in Paris. Their pieces often feature flowers, animals, and fairies, and have been worn by style icons and royalty such as Grace Kelly, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Diana, Princess of Wales, Ava Gardner, Farah Pahlavi, Eva Perón, Elizabeth Taylor, the Duchess of Windsor, Queen Nazli of Egypt, and Queen Camilla.
George Frederick Kunz was an American mineralogist and mineral collector.
Hans Stern was a Brazilian jeweler and businessman. He was dubbed the "king of the colored gems" by The New York Times and acclaimed by the international media. Founder of world-renowned luxury jewelry brand H.Stern.
Charles Sequevya Loloma was a Hopi Native American artist known for his jewelry. He also worked in pottery, painting and ceramics.
Alexandre Reza was a Paris-based jeweler known for his diverse and rare collection of precious gemstones. He is lauded as the greatest gem collector of modern times.
Cindy Chao is a Taiwanese jewellery designer. She founded her company, Cindy Chao The Art Jewel, in 2004. She is known for her Black Label Masterpiece Collection and Annual Butterfly.
Munnu Kasliwal was a jewelry maker and late owner of the Gem Palace in Jaipur. "Gem Palace" is a lavish emporium, primarily containing intricate jewelry pieces. His family served as the crown jewelers to country's Maharaja since the mid-18th century. Kasliwal was born on 7 July 1958 in Jaipur, India. Although not widely known such as Bulgari or Cartier, Kasliwal created jewelry for many celebrities including Nicole Kidman and Diana, Princess of Wales in 1992. Kasliwal came from a long lineage of jewel craftsman and used traditional Indian and techniques. He was inspired by the Mughal Empire, said to be his "Hallmark of Style". Kasliwal attended Xavier's Secondary School. He then attended the University of Rajasthan where he pursued a degree in Business Management.
Philippe Wolfers was a Belgian silversmith, jeweler, sculptor, medallist and designer. His mature work belongs to the Art Nouveau style, while in his later years his work aligned with Art Deco. As a jewel designer, he was less prolific than his French contemporary René Lalique. Nevertheless his "exemplaire unique" series of jewelry is among the finest jewelry created in Art Nouveau. Wolfers is also known for his sculptures, decorative objects and tableware executed in precious materials such as silver, bronze, ivory and marble. He also designed vases and objects in glass and faience.
Bernhard Schobinger is a Swiss contemporary artist jeweler.
Paolo Costagli is an Italian jewellery designer and gemologist. Costagli is known for using hard-to-find coloured gemstones, sophisticated colour combinations and strong architectural shapes.
Ana Khouri is a New York-based jewellery designer.
Alexandra Mor is an American jewelry designer and artistic director, who works from headquarters in New York City's Diamond District, where she founded her jewelry brand ALEXANDRA MOR.
Adrian Sassoon is an English art dealer, art collector and writer. He was schooled at Eton College, where he was taught ceramics by Gordon Baldwin; he went on to study further at Christie’s Education. He worked as an assistant curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum in the department of decorative arts. He is the owner and founder of a gallery that shows contemporary art, as well as 18th Century French porcelain.
The Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals are a series of exhibition halls at the American Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. The halls opened on June 12, 2021, as a complete redesign of their predecessors, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Hall of Gems and Minerals and Morgan Memorial Hall of Gems. The halls feature thousands of rare gems, mineral specimens and pieces of jewelry.
The Marie Louise Diadem is a diamond and turquoise diadem on permanent display at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.. It is named for Marie Louise of Austria, the wife of Emperor Napoleon of France.
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