JCKstyle - April 20, 2007

BaselWorld, The Watch and Jewellery Show, offered lots of pretty jewels but, unfortunately, not much in the way of new ideas. Oversize cabochon cuts were evident (again) in rings, while black, brown, and white were still popular colors. We saw flower and animal motifs, along with marquise and pear shapes. Yes, the same trends JCKstyle reported seeing earlier this year at Vicenzaoro, JA New York, and Centurion.
But, you seek newness, and we were determined to find some. Herewith a handful of the few-and-far-between novel ideas offered at the Swiss fair:

• Rosy hues. Pink, red, and purple gemstones were prevalent in many new collections. Milan, Italy–based Grimoldi made massive pendants with hard-to-find rubellite.
  
• Watches as jewelry. Carrera y Carrera, Madrid, Spain, is among the firms that are unveiling more watches as fine-jewelry art rather than as mechanisms for telling time.
  
• More pearls. Pearls and mother-of-pearl are evident in more collections this year because of their wide range of colors and low prices. Hellmuth Simply Good, Pforzheim, Germany, even paired pearls with its signature masculine styles.
  
• Fruit. Strawberries are simple, sweet, and easy to understand, so how can the design community possibly go wrong creating precious versions of them? Meanwhile, Paris-based Victoria Casal has high hopes for her precious apples.

Other looks from the show include buckles and padlocks, bows and hearts, and bezel settings.

Weekly Gem
Two very different but well-known blondes visited BaselWorld. Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova—a hard-working entrepreneur who rose from childhood poverty and abuse to become an international star—helped Calvin Klein Watches celebrate 10 years of business at the CK booth. And tabloid figure and socialite Paris Hilton showed up more than an hour late to launch a new watch line and sign autographs for Parlux Fragrances. She told the crowd she was happy to be “in Zurich.”