We love jewels in all forms. Glittering, elegant, and luxurious, a well-designed jewelry piece is its own work of art. Joel Arthur Rosenthal, an American expat in Paris, is widely hailed for his innovative and gorgeous jewelry designs, culminating in a retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jewels by JAR. The just-opened exhibit is particularly special as it is the first devoted to a “contemporary artist of gems”. If you happen to be in New York, I highly recommend a stop by the Met to see over four hundred of his works.  Perhaps another excuse to visit the treasure-trove of lovely and rare objects housed at one of the world’s most prestigious museums. Afterwards, come visit us on Park Avenue to peruse our own stunning jewelry collection, just in time for holiday gift giving!

Jewels by JAR

November 20, 2013–March 9, 2014
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Born in New York and educated at Harvard, Rosenthal moved to Paris soon after his graduation in 1966 and began to experiment with jewelry making. JAR opened in 1978 on the Place Vendôme—the same space he occupies today. Very early in his career, Rosenthal revealed his superb sense of color, whether in the hue of an exotic violet sapphire, the shimmer of topaz and ruby, or the simple clarity of a perfect diamond. His works quickly became known for their unique design, the quality of their stones, and their remarkable craftsmanship, but above all for their fearless beauty. He is known for his pavé technique—the setting of small stones so close together that they appear as a continuous surface of jewels—and uses subtle gradations of color to create a painterly effect.

Find more examples of his work at Architectural Digest.