Earlier this week, a high-end show of luxury products in Manhattan cast a spotlight on some deserving jewelers.

Those who attended the Luxury Review: Manhattan on Tuesday night enjoyed a
taste of the good life, from testing the comfort of leather seats in a pair of
Maseratis parked outside the venue—the swanky Rouge
Tomate on 60th between Madison and Fifth avenues—to sampling tart-tasting
cranberry and sour-mix top-shelf tequila margaritas inside.

Produced by Rand
Luxury, Luxury
Review shows aim to attract influential, carefully selected invitees such
as editors, product analysts, studio execs, product integration and placement
professionals, TV and film producers, personal shoppers, and stylists, in
addition to special celebrity guests to “exclusive press showcases displaying
the latest in luxury products and services,” according to its Web site. Brands
from automotive, cosmetics, private aviation, and other industries are
represented, and at this edition (there are several) jewelry had a strong
presence.

High-end designers like Donna Distefano, Christopher Designs, Georland (a
French firm), Jewels of Ocean, and others displayed small tables of
merchandise, hoping to catch just the right eye. Perhaps falling into that
category: an introduction JCK spied
between model and socialite Lauren Bush and New York City designer Donna
Distefano (Bush’s nonprofit Feed Project was one of the exhibitors).

A gracious
Distefano, however, had brought her own star power, in the form of actress
Stephanie March, a fan and supporter of her eco-minded line (Distefano uses
recycled gold from Hoover & Strong and Fair Trade gems in her jewelry). The
designer explained that her presence at the event aimed to generate more
awareness for eco-luxury lines like hers. “A piece of jewelry is no longer
beautiful when you know the price [unfairly compensated] laborers had to pay
for it,” she explained to JCK.

Across the aisle, Christopher Designs displayed a new 121-facet diamond cut,
and around the corner resided the display of newbie Christine Carson, whose
price-point-friendly silver and 18k gold line starting at $175 retail intended
to nab the attention of luxury lovers in the market for gifts. A one-time
private-label French jeweler dubbed Georland debuted intricate lace- and
animal-inspired looks in diamonds, gemstones, and gold, and pearl jeweler
Jewels of Ocean educated show-goers (enthusiasts would have cringed at a
question directed to company president Ray Hakimi—“Are these pearls Majorcan?”)
about diverse displays of white South Seas pearls, natural-color Chinese
freshwaters, and more. For sure, the pièce de résistance for the pearler was
the delight inspired by the firm’s huge South Seas baroque necklace, with
pearls measuring from 17 mm to 30 mm in diameter. At $240,000, the piece
garnered many an envious stare. Bonus: “It goes on sale soon,” said Hakimi.

JCK