10 Top Designers of High Jewelry

Photo: Harry Winston

The Golden Globes aired last week and soon Oscar's A-listers will walk the red carpet adorned with borrowed jewels worth thousands (and sometimes millions) of dollars from the world's leading designers of high jewelry. 

On the right Graff and on the left Bvlgari

So let's do a quick round-up of 10 of the World's Most Prominent Jewelers (in no particular order) featuring pieces of their jewelry:

1) Cartier - Louis-François Cartier founded Cartier in Paris in 1847, but it was his grandsons, Louis Pierre and Jacques, who turned the family jewelry business into a globally recognized luxury brand.

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2) Boucheron was founded in Paris, France in 1858 by Frederic Boucheron. In 1921 Boucheron was commissioned to make the gorgeous emerald and diamond Greville tiara inherited by Queen Elizabeth II that her granddaughter Princess Eugenie wore for her wedding.

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3) Bvlgari - The Italian luxury jeweler is headquartered in Rome and was founded in 1884 by silversmith Sotirios Voulgaris who began his career in his family's shop in Ottoman Epirus (now Greece). In 2011 Bvlgari became a subsidiary of the French conglomerate LVMH. Its pieces have a timeless yet modern vibe.

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4) Van Cleef & Arpels—The French luxury jewelry company was founded in 1896 in Paris, France, by Dutch diamond cutter Alfred Van Cleef and his father-in-law Salomon Arpels. After Solomon died in 1906, Alfred's brothers-in-law, Charles, Julien, and Louis Arpel joined the enterprise. Flowers, animals, and fairies are common themes in its jewelry.

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5) Tiffany & Co. - Founded in 1837 as Tiffany & Young by American Charles Lewis Tiffany, it was renamed Tiffany & Co. in 1853 when he took control of the store and concentrated on jewelry. Tiffany became famous in the early 20th century under the artistic direction of Charles's son, Louis Comfort Tiffany. The luxury brand specializes in luxury diamonds and flawless colored gemstones and is also famous for its Tiffany diamond engagement ring, a 6-prone setting. The shop is very accessible to the public. Inside the 5th Avenue/57th Street flagship store, locals and tourists always feel welcome admiring its luxury jewelry.

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6) Mikimoto - Kokichi Mikimoto started the cultured pearl industry by successfully creating the world's first cultured pearls and after establishing his luxury pearl company called Mikimoto in 1893. Before cultured pearls (real pearls grown on pearl farms), drivers had to deep dive into the ocean to find pearls growing in oysters; consequently, only royalty could afford to buy them.

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7) Chopard - Louis-Ulysse Chopard founded the watch and jewelry company in 1860 in Sonvilier, Switzerland. Today it is owned by the German Scheufele family. Chopard is best known for making luxury Swiss watches (and jewelry), and its clients have included Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.

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8) Harry Winston - Is an American luxury jeweler and  Swiss watch company headquartered on 5th Avenue in New York City. It was founded by its namesake Harry Winston in 1932. It is one of the most prestigious jewelers in the world. Harry Winston has owned some of the biggest and most iconic gemstones on earth including the rare blue Hope Diamond which he donated to the Smithsonian in 1958, famously sending it through the US mail. He is known as the jeweler to the stars since they often wear his jewelry to high-profile events.

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9) Graff - Was founded in London in 1960 by British jeweler Lawrance Graff. The jeweler, who began his jewelry apprenticeship at age 14, is fascinated by diamonds and collects diamonds and gemstones of unparalleled rarity, perfection, and beauty. He designs unique and classic pieces and his business acumen made Lawrance, his ex-wife, and his adult children billionaires.

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10) Pomellato is an Italian jewelry company founded by Pino Rabolini in Milan in 1967. Its jewelry is characterized by round, tactile forms and colorful, mixed-sized gemstones.

Nudo rings

Are you now more familiar with the styles of these 10 top jewelers I've featured today? If so, try to guess whose pieces the stars wear on March 2nd at the 97th Academy Awards. 

Do you have a favorite jewelry designer?

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Macy's Button Pearls Are A Steal

Compare Macy's 8 mm pink button pearls (left) next to my ivory round 7 mm and 10 mm pearls.

In the 1990s, advances in the pearl industry made pearls, the only gemstone created by a living organism, affordable to ordinary people. In earlier eras, only royalty could afford a string of pearls, but today we no longer have to go deep diving, a dangerous endeavor, to find the Queen of Gems and the Gem of Queens in mollusk shells in the ocean. Now pearl farmers grow cultured pearls on freshwater and saltwater pearl farms bringing the production of pearls way up and the costs way down. 

A comparable occurrence is now happening in the diamond, emerald, ruby, and sapphire industries with lab-grown gemstones, and this Lover of Gemstones can't wait for the prices of lab-created diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires to hit rock bottom!!! With future industry improvements, we'll be able to buy bigger, cleaner, vivid-colored gemstones for far less moola! It's thrilling, count me in!💎

Meanwhile, there are still bargains to find! Every year Macy's offers its 8 mm - 9 mm button pearl earrings with sterling silver posts for $6. Since round earrings are the most popular pearl shape, buying button pearls (dome-shaped) is nearly always cheaper. Yet in your ears, you get the same effect as round ... classic and cute. Expect to buy bigger button pearls for less money. This annual Black Friday offering is especially good, so on Monday, I bought my Mamma a pair of pink button pearl earrings. They are also available in ivory, grey, and black. Many customers order all 4 hues during Macy's Black Friday sales since the price is so low. BTW: These are the 4 pearl colors found in nature. The color of a pearl in nature is determined by the lip of the mollusk.

A criticism I have about these earrings is my universal complaint. Jewelers are skimping on hardware. Nowadays the backs of earrings are so slight wearers are afraid of losing their earrings. The back closures could be more substantial. It takes nimble fingers to put them in your ears. Although slim backs are less than ideal, for sure $6 for real pearl earrings is a steal!

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