Long the ignored step-sister of the great European brands, American jewellery is finallyhaving its moment. "Signed early Tiffany pieces, fine pieces by Raymond Yard, Marcus, Seaman Schepps and Harry Winston are so rare now, the prices are very strong," says Alexandra Rhodes, Sotheby's seniorEuropean jewellery specialist.
Part of it indubitably has to do with two current exhibitions:Masterpieces of American Jewellery- the National Jewellery Institute's first show, whichwill open in London this week before moving on to New York, Moscowand Paris - andTotems toTurquoise, subtitled 'Native North American Jewellery Arts of the North-west and South-west',at the American Museum of NaturalHistory. Together, they provide a magnificent survey of the art - and a powerful argument for giving American jewellery its rightful place in the history of the luxury art.
As the NJI's first show, Masterpieces marked the inauguration of New York's first real jewellery gallery - even though the institute has no permanent home. Ralph Esmerian, vice-chairman of the NJI, is a fourth generation gemstone dealer, a well-known collector of American folk art and a second generation jewellery collector. He is the curator of Masterpieces,alender to the show and, frankly, a miracle worker. When gallery space suddenly opened up at the Museum of American Folk Art in New York, where Esmerian is a trustee, the NJI had less than six months to organise some 200 loans, display cases and a catalogue.
"Everything on view was made in America, except the JAR butterfly," says Esmerian. "Joel Arthur Rosenthal is American, but the jewellery is made in Paris."
The jewellery is divided into five segments: Americana, Nature, Humour, Pastimes and High Style. Together, they showcase such gems as Tiffany & Co's 1990 diamond, ruby and sapphire flag brooch with diamond tassels; Alexander Calder's tiara and necklace - squiggles of unadorned brass - commissioned by Sir Kenneth Clark for his wife; Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton's pair of gold "busts" commissioned from Herbert Hasteltine and comprising a mare and stallion, each 15 inches high, studded with emeralds, rubies and pearls and mounted on rock crystal bases; and gold charm bracelets complete with a tiny enamelled Pinocchio, Snow White and the rest of the gang, the results of a collaboration between Disney and Cartier.
"We had our own goldsmiths, lapidaries and stone setters right here on Fifth Avenue," says Bonnie Selfe, director of high jewellery at Cartier, New York. "In the 30s the Disney pieces were mostly enamel on gold. But in the 70s and 80s we made jewelled Mickey Mouse and Goofy pendants."
Hunting, sailing, polo and baseball motifs turn up in the Pastimes section, as do ballerinas with diamond tutus, while High Style brings on the killer jewels. The most stunning piece in the show is the Belt Buckle necklace Hollywood favourite Paul Flato made for Cole Porter's wife Linda. Aquamarines form a belt that circles the neck and nonchalantly loops through itself at the front. Buckle, eyelets and tip are made of rubies. The mixture of luxury, wit and a surreal edge echoes Elsa Schiaparelli.
The show's biggest surprise is the jewellery from Newark, New Jersey. "Until the Depression, 90 per cent of America's 14-carat jewellery was made there," says Ulysses Grant Dietz, curator of Decorative Arts at the Newark Museum. "It is the jewellery that everybody had but nobody knew they had," he adds. Usually the retailer's name was the only identifying mark, and because millions of pieces were produced each year, "for every good piece, there are a hundred boring ones".
Although Masterpieces claims to be a survey of "American jewellery from its beginnings," there are no Native American pieces, which is where Totems to Turquoise comes in. The curators, Peter Whiteley and Lois Sherr Dubin, have gathered more than 500 objects, including textiles, ceremonial masks, pottery, totem poles, early photographs, music and videos to show Native jewellery, both historic and contemporary, in its context.
The show focuses on communities along the dramatic, heavily forested Pacific north-west coast (among them the Haida and Tinglit) and those in the sun-bleached arid south-west (Navajo, Zuni and Hopi). The first gallery sets out the exhibition's themes - continuity within each culture, regional differences; the way a culture's decorative arts influence one another (motifs carved on masks and totem poles, for example, may also appear on jewellery).
"For our people, what we wear is who we are. Our jewellery and our clothing represent where we come from. We wear our history," explains Jim Hart, Haida chief and carver. For those who'd like to wear it too, the shop also has old and new pieces that range from under $100 to $2,500. "The jewellery is selling as fast as we can stock it," says Steve Reichl, the museum's senior publicity manager.
Paula Weideger is author of 'Venetian Dreaming', published by Simon & Schuster
