jade

Historic Jade Necklace to be sold by Sotheby's

Filed under: Auctions

Magnificent and historic imperial jadeite bead neckalce Quing Dynasty

An important and historic Chinese imperial jadeite bead necklace, owned by the family of Oei Tiong Ham family, will be sold by Sotheby's in New York on December 10. Its pre-sale estimate is $1.9 million to $2.2 million, but it is quite possible deep-pocked jade collectors in Asia will drive the hammer price much higher.

The sale of the magnificent neckalce marks the first time in more than 30 years that a jadeite jewel of major historical importance will appear at auction at Sotheby's in New York.

The story of The Oei Tiong Ham Necklace began more than 100 years ago when Oei Tiong Ham, a successful Chinese businessman, is said to have purchased two necklaces composed of beads from an Imperial court necklace from the leading jadeite dealer in Peking, who had reputedly obtained them from the family of Emperor Puyi. After descending through multiple generations of the family, the exceptional necklace is offered by a direct descendant of Oei Tiong Ham.

Gallery: Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels

Tiffany & Co.'s classic emerald-cut diamond weighing 27.19 carats

A magnificient and rare light pink diamond ring

Pair of platinum, natural pearl and diamond pendant earclips by Tiffany & Co.

A magnificent and historic Imperial jadeite bead neckalce

Tags: jade, jadeite, jewelry, Oei Tiong Ham Necklace, Sothebys

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Colorful Jewels by Mallary Marks

by Marsha Reid (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Who says you have to succumb to darker hues in your wardrobe just because the fall season is here? If you're missing the warmth of sunshine against your skin, impromptu water gun battles and eating ice cream in the park like I am, perhaps wearing some candy colored jewels by Mallary Marks will brighten up your mood – and your attire.

With over 10 years of jewelry making under her belt, Mallary Marks continues to design well crafted pieces that playfully experiment with color and shape all the while maintaining a timeless sense of style and broad appeal. Overall her work includes pieces that are adventurous in her choice of color and stone selection against a subdued and understated backdrop of commonly used design patterns.The result? Marks' jewelry will last a lifetime and could easily be passed from one generation to the next.

Featured, is a stunning pair of dangling earrings ($2054). Made with pistachio green chrysophrase and tobacco brown zircon stones, what is initially an uncommon color combination becomes an unexpected dose of elegance offering a polished look for any occasion.

Browse through the gallery below for additional vibrantly colored jewels by Mallary Marks.

Have tips or suggestions? Contact me @marsha712

Gallery: Colorful Jewels by Mallary Marks

Double Stone Earrings with Paraiba and Peridot

Peacock Tail Earrings with Mandarin Garnet and Red Sapphire

Green Sapphire and Pale Pink Opal Drop Earrings

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Tags: amethyst, bracelet, carnelian, citrine, diamonds, earrings, garnet, gold, hessonite, jade, lapis, mallary marks, necklace, sapphire, topaz, tourmaline, turquoise

Jade Buddha Pendant by Lydia Courteille

by Marsha Reid (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

There is an amazing calm that spiritual jewelry seems to exude. I don't know if it comes from the craftsmanship, the materials and stones used, or its inherent representation but nonetheless spiritual jewelry causes me to pause for a moment and reflect.

And that was certainly the case when viewing Lydia Courteille's Jade Buddha Pendant ($17,303). Surrounded by diamonds and sapphires and set in 18K gold, the hand carved jade Buddha is incredibly detailed and showcases both a delicateness and strength.

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Tags: buddha, jade, lydia courteille, LydiaCourteille, pendant, statement jewelry

Asian Art Goes under the Gavel in London this Week

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Sotheby's and Christie's are heading east to seek their respective fortunes. The two auction houses are offering more than $26 million of Asian art this week in London. The lots themselves are attracting record numbers of buyers from mainland China, a section of the market that has shown signs of life this year. Chinese buyers were quite active in Hong Kong last month.

Nicholas Chow of Sotheby's told Bloomberg News, ""We've seen a really aggressive push from mainland Chinese collectors during the last season of sales" and that "they're buying things at the very highest level." An Imperial jade seal, for example, moved for GBP3.6 million on Tuesday, six times the high-end presale estimate.

On November 3, Christie's sold an aggregate GBP5.7 million, beating the presale estimate of GBP5.2 million. Of the 319 lots, a third didn't move. The top seller was an eighteenth century enamel model of a Buddhist shrine, which beat its presale range of GBP60,000 to GBP80,000 with a hammer sale of GBP229,250. Nine of the top 10 most expensive items went to buyers from Asia.

Collectors from mainland China are quite eager to repatriate art and other objects from their heritage, particularly the Qing and Ming dynasties ... a fact of which the auction houses are fully aware. Christie's sent 210 invitations to mainland Chinese for its 12th annual Asian Art in London event, which ends November 7, 2009. Sotheby's pursued a similar number of collectors. Bonhams has invited 30 new buyers from mainland China.

In October, the Sotheby's Hong Kong art auction was good for $170 million, with plenty of bidding and buying by mainland Chinese buyers.

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Tags: art, art auction, art auctions, art collector, ArtAuction, ArtAuctions, ArtCollector, asian art, AsianArt, auction, auction-house, auctionhouse, auctions, bonhams, bonhams auction, BonhamsAuction, china, christies, collectibles, collection, collector, collectors, hong kong, HongKong, jade, london, ming, qing, sothebys

President Bush Signs Myanmar Gemstone Ban

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

The U.S. ban against the importation of rubies and jade from Mynanmar is now official. President Bush signed legislation Tuesday hoping to send a strong message to Myanmar's brutal ruling regime. While many jewelry companies including Tiffany & Co., Cartier and Bulgari already have had bans in place for a while, this bill makes it official. The U.S. government was particularly motivated to move after military junta's reaction to the cyclone that hit the country in May. The regime was slow to accept help and and the country is still in recovery from that devastating event. First lady Laura Bush has spoken out on the issue of a ban against rubies from Myanmar before and she accompanied her husband in the Oval Office as he signed the bills, which extend and harden sanctions Congress first passed in 2003.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, produces some of the world's most beautiful rubies. The rubies from the Mogok region have a deep translucent color often described as pigeon's blood. As the AP article notes, many stones are currently being laundered through nearby countries such as Thailand to get around sanctions. Myanmar also does a brisk business in jade and jadeite which is continuing to be bought merchants coming from China and Hong Kong who purchase the stones in state-run auctions held periodically.

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Tags: burma, jade, myanmar, president bush, PresidentBush, rubies

Ana De Costa Jewelry Designs

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Ana De Costa is another young jewelry designer making a name for herself rather quickly. She graduated from Central St. Martins in 2005 and her graduate collection, Cusp, was made 'The Vogue List' in late 2005 and is sold in top boutiques. April's W magazine names her a young designer to watch highlighting this piece from her Cusp II collection, a jade pendant embraced by an 18K yellow gold dragon with a green diamond eye. De Costa may be a young designer but she has a love of the old stuff, she cites the designs of the 1920s and Art Nouveau as primary influences. The dragon pendant sells for £4,200. It's precisely the sort of piece that should be dangling in the cleavage of a villainess in a noir movie.

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Tags: ana de costa, AnaDeCosta, designer, jade, jewelry, necklace

Spaltana Jade Cong Lamp

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

When you have a jade cong as your base you pretty much can't go wrong with your lamp. This luminous lamp from Spaltana is made from a solid jade cong, a Chinese jade artifact which is square on the outside and circular on the interior. The four corners of the cong represent the four elements of water, fire, metal and wood and the four directions. The circular interior represents the connection to the sky. The Spaltana lamps are made of veined dark green jade and each pillar has a decorative motif carved in each of the four corners. The jade cong sits on a poplar base and the lamp shade is made from pongee silk. These rare table lamps sell for $1800.

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Tags: chinese art, home decor, jade, jade cong, lamp, spaltana

Nephria Jade Bar

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cosmetics and Fragrance

A company called Newbert Revolution claims to be selling the world's most expensive soap. They are a bit off, we've seen at least one pricier bar but Neprhira is still worthy of noting at least for curiosity's sake. It is created from nephrite (jade powder) along with apricot, olive and jojoba oils. The jade comes from a special seam in South Korea which is said to have healing properties which improve the skin's moisture and lipid balance and have a calming effect on skin problems such as inflammation and acne.The Nephria Jade Beauty Bar costs £17.99 (around $35).

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Tags: beauty, cosmetics, jade, nephria, soap