Maine Antique Digest, October 2014 17-D

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New York City

The New York Antique Jewelry and Watch Showby Mary Ann Brown

This 1722 memento mori Stuart crystal, with skull and crossbones under crystal on the back and with the inscription “J. Bury obit/ Sep 15 1722” was tagged $2600. Photos courtesy Lenore Dailey, LLC.

This 1690-1700 Stuart crystal with a hand-painted miniature European portrait of a dashing man in a white wig on the front and a slide on the back, where a black velvet ribbon would have threaded through, was priced at $1900. Photos courtesy Lenore Dailey, LLC.

Lenore Dailey said this Georgian seed pearl, emer-ald, pink topaz, and yellow gold necklace, with foiled pink topaz, pearls, paste green stones and the original woven chain, had beautiful cannetille work. Her “best price” for the necklace was $3950. Photo courtesy Lenore Dailey, LLC.

Attending the New York Antique Jewelry and Watch Show, held at the

Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City on July 25-28, and viewing the myriad offerings was quite an experience—a col-orful, shiny, dazzling one. I can hear the R.E.M. song now, as I think back on all the “shiny happy people” where the “gold and silver shine.” I have to admit, I was overwhelmed.

Attendance was up 3% at the show this year. I asked Mary Curtis, U.S. Antique Shows’ public relations manager, what she attributed the increase to, and she answered in an e-mail: “We’ve expanded both our dig-ital marketing campaign and our advertising with major publica-tions like the New York Times.

“We’ve also seen a renewed interest in antique and vin-tage jewelry that can be partly attributed to the Hollywood A-listers, socialites, and musi-cians donning these pieces on the red carpet.”

Curtis quoted Hugo Fouter-mann of Windsor Jewelry, who had noted after the show, “There has been a renewed interest in estate jewelry. The American market seems to be getting stron-ger and stronger.”

She also quoted Dan Darby, Emerald Expositions’ vice pres-ident and U.S. Antique Shows’ group show director, who said, “In just seven years, the New York Antique Jewelry & Watch Show has established itself as a must-attend event in the heart of Chelsea.”

The show hosted 120 exhib-itors of antique jewelry and watches representing all eras of jewelry history. There were also contemporary offerings of “highly sought-after collec-tions from elegant global brands such as Cartier, Tiffany & Co., David Webb, Harry Winston, Patek Philippe, and Van Cleef & Arpels.”

Curtis’s favorite aspect of this year’s show “was the diversity of merchandise and attendees. Luxurious pieces featuring col-ored diamonds, sapphires, emer-alds, jadeite, pearls, and more populated the aisles….The show annually attracts antique jewelry aficionados, seasoned collectors,

Lenore Dailey (right) showed a client a number of items, while Rein Kallenbach assisted another customer.

This Stuart crystal brooch is faceted all over the top and has twisted gold wire with engraving around the sides. The initials “A B” were applied upon a bed of hair, surrounded by a pink foil and twisted wire design. It was priced at $2000. Photo courtesy Lenore Dailey, LLC.

This beautiful circa 1825 natural emer-ald and rose-cut diamond ring, with dia-monds set in silver and mounted in gold, has a lovely scrolled shank and came with a period box. It was priced at $4200 by Lenore Dailey, LLC.

fashion trendsetters, well-known celebrities, and socialites.”

She quoted dealer Ken Leach of Gallery 47 as an example, “I return to the New York Antique Jewelry & Watch Show each year because of the diversity of clients. I go to shows where I know I’m going to sell just Victorian or sell just retro pieces, but at the New York show, there’s such a wide variety of clientele from all around the world—I take all my merchandise.” Lenore Dailey, LLC, Fremont, Michigan

It was Lenore Dailey’s first time exhibiting at this venue. When we spoke on Sunday, she

said it had been a really good show, and that she was thrilled to see so many new customers. She’d met “absolutely delightful people—die- hard collectors” and reported that they had all good days, sales-wise, and consistent Friday business.

Being in the presence of people who are doing something they love is a sweet place to be. Dailey is an enthusiastic collector who enjoys meeting clients, the history of the jewelry, and running a profitable business. Her mother and grandmother were also lovers of antique jewelry, so it runs in the blood. She has been selling antique jewelry for over 25 years, and specializes in Victorian, Art Nouveau, memento mori, Georgian, Edwardian, Arts and Crafts, Art Deco, and retro.

When Dailey was busy with customers, I spoke with her fiancé, Rein Kallenbach, who has been in the jewelry business for over 30 years and works with her at shows. He said, “New York is going to be a good market for us and our antique jewelry. New York is a very sophisticated and cultured market for fine arts and antiques, and there’s more of an apprecia-tion for antique pieces here.”

After the show, Dailey e-mailed that it had been a very good show for them. “One of the things that I really enjoyed was the number of ‘young’ collectors that I had the pleasure of talking to who really love Georgian and Victo-rian jewelry.”

For contact information and a schedule of shows she and Kallenbach will be attending (as well as photos of jewelry for sale), go to Dai-ley’s informational Web site (www.antiquejew elryusa.com).Bell & Bird, Austin, Texas

Dailey introduced me to Cyrus and Rhianna Shennum, who have the kind of enthusiasm, energy, and youth that adds a positive vibe to the business.

The Shennums are the proprietors of Bell &

Viewing the myriad offerings was quite an experience—a colorful, shiny, dazzling one.

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Bird. This was their first time exhibiting at this show. Cyrus said they’d “shopped it many times before and had met some new clients and made good relationships with other dealers,” which is why they decided to exhibit this year.

The Shennums focus specifically in works of the 18th and 19th centuries, 18th-century paste, and unusual materi-als, such as steel and big diamond ear-rings, which Rhianna said, “can be a good and bad thing for these shows. If people like that, they can spend an hour here.”

There was a lot of interest in their jew-elry here. Cyrus said they were having a good show and meeting new clients. He noted that the strong camaraderie among show exhibitors was important to them. Sales of middle-market merchandise have been slower, according to Cyrus, but “true diamond pieces or collectible catego-ries—paste and steel, big natural stones—that part of the market is very active.”

He mentioned, “The summer is slow in the jewelry business, so it’s nice to have some energy—energy begets energy.”

After the show, I communicated with the Shennums and their community and

Web coordinator/photographer, Sarah Murphy, to confirm descriptive informa-tion that I’d missed and to replace some of the photos I took at the show. (The lighting was great for the display of jew-elry but challenging for photography.) Rhianna wrote, “It was a positive expe-rience, and we would do the show again. NYC has well-informed and sophisticated antique shoppers. We met a number of collectors who are new to us and we look forward to seeing them again the next time we are in New York.”

Bell & Bird is very interested in buy-ing historical jewelry of the 18th and 19th century and can be contacted at <info@bellandbird.com.> Visit their Web site (www.bellandbird.com) to see their col-lection of offerings.Camilla Dietz Bergeron Ltd., New York, New York

Camilla Dietz Bergeron Ltd. sells fine antique, period, and estate jewelry, and its home base is on Madison Avenue.

Gus Davis is the business partner of Bergeron. He was working with asso-ciates Alex Shriner and Marcella Ciceri when I stopped for a brief interview.

When I asked if I could photograph some-thing antique for Maine Antique Digest, Davis said, “We’ve sold quite a few of the antique pieces already. We cover the gamut from less-expensive to higher-end pieces. We go from one extreme to the other.” He noted, “The prices are strong for the signed, more important pieces.”

When I asked Davis if he was buy-ing from other dealers, he said that he was, but, “It’s difficult to buy because the prices have been very strong.” I said that I often cover auctions, and the auc-tion prices seem high, too, with many items going well above their estimates. He agreed that this has an impact on the dealers.

Alex Shriner said in a post-sale e-mail that “sales were good” at the show. She thought the highlight of the show for their company was “being able to work with some of the retailers we were not able to see in Las Vegas.” (She’s speaking of the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch show held May 29 to June 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada, also produced by U.S. Antique Shows.) The size of the New York show (which, at 120 exhibitors, was considered

small), made it easier for the retailers to spend time with one another, catching up, and doing business.

For more about this firm, visit the Web site (www.cdbltd.com).Coming Up Next

Curtis promised, “In 2015, we plan to grow the show by adding more booths to the show floor. Attendees will be able to see a wider variety of merchandise at the same great price.”

U.S. Antique Shows produces nine shows nationally. The Miami Antique Jewelry & Watch Show will be held November 7-9, 2014, at the Miami Air-port Convention Center, which is a new location for 2014. They also produce the Pier Antique Show, coming up Novem-ber 22 and 23 at Pier 94 in New York City. Curtis said the Pier show “will fea-ture more than 400 exhibitors of quality antique furniture, jewelry, decorative and fine arts.”

See the Web site (www.usantique shows.com) for a full schedule of upcom-ing shows and further information on attending and exhibiting.

This 1880s Victorian articulated pin or brooch with diamond pansy petals has, according to Dailey, “bi-dimensional pet-als with a moonstone center surrounded by diamonds—a combination of rose-cut and old European-cut diamonds…. At one time, it had an attachment for a pendant or pin, and could be worn in the hair or as a brooch.” Brooches of this time period would relay messages from the giver to the recipient. Dailey explained, “The pansy, in the language of flowers, is the way to let a woman know you are thinking of her.” It was priced at $7500. Lenore Dailey, LLC.

This late Georgian or early Victorian hair comb with natural citrines also converts to a tiara. The top is gold filled, and the bottom is gold over silver, with unidentified European hall-marks. It was priced at $2300. Lenore Dailey, LLC. This German portrait miniature, mounted in gold, came in its own carrying case. On

the back are symbols of love and constancy, accented with hair art. It was tagged $1375. Photos courtesy Lenore Dailey, LLC.

Lenore Dailey and her fiancé, Rein Kallenbach, are happy in their element. Kallenbach has been in the jewelry business for over 30 years and works with Dailey at the shows. Lenore Dailey, LLC.

Cyrus Shennum of Bell & Bird showed me this 1860s English diamond Maltese cross pendant mounted in silver and gold, in its original box, priced at $68,000. Bell & Bird.

This Black, Starr & Frost diamond ring was “SI1 GIA,” according to Cyrus Shennum. He was show-ing it to serious buyers while I was taking photos at the Bell & Bird booth. It sold at the show. Bell & Bird.

Cyrus Shennum said that in Napoleonic wartime, jew-elry was made in steel. This 1800-05 necklace with its “soft bow, hard shape, and hard coldness of material is probably French. It’s a really unusual piece.” It was tagged $1850. Bell & Bird.

The Shennums were offering this Continental (French, Ital-ian, or Spanish) necklace from the last quarter of the 18th cen-tury with rubies and diamonds set in silver, in its original case, for $48,000. Bell & Bird.

This Queen Anne aquamarine blue paste stone necklace was priced at $18,000. Photo courtesy of Bell & Bird.

Maine Antique Digest, October 2014 19-D

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The Victorian turquoise and gold snake locket necklace (left) was $4500, and the early 20th-century paste necklace was $1350. Photo courtesy Bell & Bird.

There was a selection of antique rings, mostly wedding rings, in the box on the left. They included a Victorian white enamel mourning ring, $1450; French gold and turquoise enamel ring, $1150; Georgian garnet eternity band, $1850; Georgian rose-cut diamond band, $2400; Georgian five-stone ring (aqua-marine, topaz and beryl stone), $3200; Georgian rose-cut diamond band, $2550; Victorian pearl half hoop band, $1150; Georgian seven-stone old mine-cut diamond band, $2400. In the center, a French bone and rose-cut diamond skull pin was $4000. In the box on the right were an Edwardian dia-mond heart ring, $55,000; Art Deco diamond ring, not priced; Art Deco sapphire and dia-mond ring, $65,000; Art Deco platinum two-stone diamond ring, $46,500; and French old mine-cut diamond ring, $16,500. Photo courtesy of Bell & Bird.

Cyrus Shennum (left) is shown with a customer who perused the jewelry at the Bell & Bird display and also showed them a piece he had for sale.

Rhianna Shennum is shown with a customer to whom she had shown several items, while Cyrus Shennum wrote an invoice.

This 1970 David Webb carved jade, black enamel, and diamond ring retailed for $22,500. Photo courtesy Camilla Dietz Bergeron Ltd.

Gus Davis of Camilla Dietz Bergeron, Ltd. showed me this “pretty piece,” a pearl, plati-num-topped gold, and diamond brooch “from about 1905” that

was priced at $27,500. Photo courtesy Camilla Dietz Bergeron Ltd.

This 18k yellow gold, platinum, emerald, and diamond cluster ring, 19th century with a 1950s addition, set with a cushion-shaped step-cut emerald, encircled by a row of old mine-cut diamonds, with a later addition of another circle of round brilliant-cut diamonds, sold at the show. Photo courtesy Camilla Dietz Bergeron Ltd.

Gus Davis spoke with me, while Alex Shriner and Marcella Ciceri (with her back to the camera) were busy with clients when I stopped for a brief interview. Camilla Dietz Bergeron Ltd.

One of the potential clients at the Camilla Dietz Bergeron Ltd. display looked through a loupe while Marcella Ciceri assisted. This was a common sight at the show—a quick draw of the loupe!

The crowded aisle.

Doors with the show’s graphics welcomed the public at the Metropolitan Pavilion on West 18th Street in Chelsea, New York City.

Cyrus Shennum remarked, “The colors are so vibrant, electric, and otherworldly” in this 18th-century agate girandole drop necklace. This is one you’ve got to see in color, in the digital edi-tion. The price was $16,500. Photo courtesy Bell & Bird.