Live From Centurion: Beautiful Gold Jewelry, Vibrant Colors

Hello again, gang! Today I saw a lot of beautifully made gold jewelry as well as some oversize colored stone pieces. Many of these styles are hitting that low price point I talked about yesterday. The pieces that don’t are made in uncommon colors of metal, or require a lot of skill and labor, so they are priced accordingly.

If you’re a retailer at the show, be sure to show your exhibitors some ‘love’ by looking at the lines they brought. We know money is tight, and you’re not buying much, if anything, right now, but pull yourselves away from the pool long enough to listen to a few vendors. Lecil Henderson, Mark Silverstein, and Myriam Gumuchian Schreiber, among others, have some good ideas to help you host a low-cost in-store event.

Lecil Henderson, The Henderson Collection, has done it again: made a neat new color of gold. This year, the hue is blue—Cobalt Blue to be exact. The material is a mix of cobalt, magnesium, iridium, and gold, and the material is completely blue, meaning this is no surface application of the color. Pieces start at $3,650 at retail.

Father-and-son team Simon and Zaven Ghanimian from Simon G. unveiled onyx and gold pieces and some nifty flip rings. The latter feature a two-sided center component with colorless diamonds and different colored sapphires and flips from one side to another by depressing on it with a fingertip. Prices for the onyx pieces start at $1,700 and the flip rings start at $2,200. Also of note: Simon G.’s pave work is wonderfully smooth!

My Philadelphia neighbor, Steven Lagos, showed me the new Organic and Starlet collections. Organic is simply new interpretations of Steven’s longtime motifs, like the caviar bead. Pieces are oversize, like the cuff shown (which Carrie will just love, I know it), and are available in smaller pieces and charms, starting at $195 retail. Meanwhile, Starlet features big honking gemstone and silver star motifs that start at $1,850. New handmade chains are capped off with an 18k gold paisley, a new signature motif for the line.

Zydo Italy unveiled blue titanium for this show. The intention is to use the material to make oversize earrings which would be feather light on the earlobe. Prices for these pieces start at $10,000 retail as the industrial metal is embellished with diamonds and 18k gold.

Newcomer Uwe Schlapper of Grace Fine Jewellery & Watches is making moveable components in his Rock n Roll collection of 18k gold jewelry. Rings feature a unique ball-in-socket construction which allows the mounting heads to move freely and securely. Prices start at $1,500 for a mounting, though he also makes motif rings, like hearts, with melee. Schlapper also has unisex signet rings, which are some of the most comfortable rings I’ve ever tried on (and I try on a lot of jewelry). Please know that while the photo shows several seemingly interchangeable fronts, these are just options for motifs that have not yet been soldered into place on rings.

Mark Maxwell Designer Goldsmith is showing for the first time at Centurion. The company’s old-world inspirations are evident in fine fabricated motifs and fired enamel. Pieces are beautifully made, some have an antique nouveau look to them, and the enamel work features bright vibrant colors. Oops! No prices because I forgot to ask.

Alexandra Hart’s designs are made of 18k recycled gold. Hart is inspired by sculpture, furniture, and more, and prices start at $600 retail. Of note: the leaves on the ring move freely (hard to show in a photo) and check o ut Hart’s gold crowns on the JCK Facebook page.

Texas resident Emily Armenta makes some neat jewelry with distinctive looks and great prices. The style has an ancient Turkish vibe, while stone choices are modern: green amethyst is set over malachite for an decidedly emerald look. Also see rutilated quartz over turquoise, all settings are 18k and 22k gold. Suggested retail prices start at $480. And the leather and gold cuffs in her new men’s line are very cool and retail for $2,500.

Finally, Old World Chain had a super cute new line of silver and 18k gold disc jewelry called Chat Charms. These feature emoticons (ask your teenager if you don’t know); zodiac signs; and text phrases like OMG (oh my God!), QT (cutie), bff (best friends forever), and ott (over the top). In silver, prices start at $50 and $350 in 18k gold.