Baselworld 2018 was still given significant premieres of hours of the world’s largest brands, but no longer set trends in jewelry.
baselworld.com
If you sum up the total, then for 5-7 years it left Akillis, Antonini, BoghArt (now – Boghossian), Buccellati, Carlo Luca della Quercia, Damiani, David Yurman, Dickson Yewn, Fabergé, Garrard, Gavello, Imbar, Lalique, Lydia Courteille, Masriera, Nikos Koulis, Rodney Rayner, Sevan Bikaci, Sibilla, Stephen Webster, Theodoros, VAK, Vhernier, Wendy Yue – jewelry brands of different scale and level, who participated in Baselworld for years or flashed here a couple of times, but all with the same individuality and style .
FORMATION OF FORCES
This year, of the standing names, visitors were missing Autore, Carrera y Carrera, Chantecler, Gellner, Mikimoto, Yvel, and, most importantly, the exhibition left even more than the brand, but participated in it for forty years one of the most masterly in the world of private jewelry studios Georges Ruiz. Years to the windows of the pavilion Lacon came to “fall in” connoisseurs of high materials and appreciate the skill of Ruiz colleague. Lancon jewelry at a level in many times surpassed the products of almost all neighbors, and inside you could meet the talented jewelry designers Glenn Spiro and the duo of Forms, for which Ruiz embodied their ideas in a brilliant reality. Now this traditional apogee of jewelry mastery in Baselworld simply does not exist.
From the exhibition, dozens of little-known brands of the second and third echelon quietly disappeared, because of this the organizers were forced to close the whole huge floor. And when Lancon was offered to leave the “namolennogo” place with a lowering of the level and without any compensation, Georges Ruiz chose to leave the exhibition. According to rumors, in two years (after the end of the contract with Baselworld) the Messika brand is going to leave the exhibition – it is almost the only representative of the contemporary actual “acute” design around first-class diamonds. And if the leadership of Baselworld does not reconsider its policy, then the question is, and who will remain here in a couple of years is likely to get particularly acute.
American brand Cicada, one of the world’s best jewelry makers in any historical style – from the Belle Epoque to the Art Deco, was always a worthy counterweight to Lancon, and its windows could be seen as a history textbook on jewelry styles. This time, Cicada was crowded into the third pavilion, where they always traded in precious stones and antiques. Prominent figures of industry strolled in search of standing copies – the same Georges Ruiz and jewelry designer Lorenz Bomer.
In the same pavilion this year Ivy brand was missing New York – Vlad Yavorsky, a major global dealer, delighted the eye not only with a palette of precious spinels, tourmalines, tsavoritov and demantoid, but with ornaments created with them. In previous years, from Russian names in Basel one could see the collections of Gourji, Tenzo and the Jewelery Theater, but they did not come to Basel for several years.
The main result of the Baselworld 2018 – the jewelery exhibition was as scanty as ever and, accordingly, not diverse. Over the past few years, the traditional review of the jewelry collections presented in Basel began on these pages with the listing of those whom the exhibition missed this time.
So to utter the phrase “Basel sets trends,” still possible 8-10 years ago, not even the phrase “Basel picks up trends” (as a rule, those that designated the premiere of collections high jewelery of the major jewelry brands of the world, mainly from Paris place Vendome) there is simply nothing. Last year in the general exposition it was possible to distinguish gracefully tied precious bows, and in the best times Baselworld jewelers in a single impulse then struck the precious flora or Gothic skulls, they were fond of animalism – and these topics were red line through the entire exposition. But now there are so few standing brands in it that it is not necessary to talk about comprehensive trends.
ON LAST POSITIONS
Their positions are confidently held by the “monsters” of the industry – Chopard, Graff, de Grisogono, Harry Winston, Jacob & Co. However, these brands in Basel primarily demonstrate their watch achievements, jewelry traditionally go in the background. But this time the “background” was valuable, like never before.
The most interesting thing that you can see from Chopard is, of course, not jewelry for every day from the collections of Happy Diamonds and Ice Cube, but serious jewelry, which will soon appear on the red carpet. Silhouettes and compositions of the “ethical” collection Green Carpet and the collection Precious Chopard this year were similar: emeralds and cut diamonds “pear” are formed into delicate geometric ornaments, slightly baroque, but not lush, but sustained, emphasizing the value of precious stones. In contrast to this noble explosion of colors, several ornaments from the collection Red Carpet 2018, the premiere of which will be entirely given at the Cannes Film Festival. Carolina Scheufele, the creative director of Chopard jewelry collections, is obviously carried away by the style of the chinoiser – his echoes are clearly visible and the combination of blue sapphire beads with a scattering of tsavoritov, turquoise, violet peals of opals and, of course, in the clouds of mother-of-pearl.
At the stand of de Grisogono one could look at the variations of the ornaments Allegra and reminiscent of its intricacies of gold, a new collection of Toi & Moi, but it was more exciting to look into the boxes with creations of rank high jewelery. Solemn necklace-waves from a scattering of rubies with accents of large diamonds and wide bracelets-cuffs with cabochons of green tourmaline neighbors with long earrings with turquoise, which Gruosi can beautifully shade with greenery of emeralds.
In the numerous windows of the Graff pavilion, a lot of new “high” creations were generously exposed. And if last year among them the products with precious Bow bowls prevailed, now it was the pure classics of the brand – ceremonial compositions of colorless and yellow diamonds, emeralds, blue sapphires and rubies. But the jewelry skill of Harry Winston was limited only by a pair of necklaces exhibited in the windows, with a classic clasp of diamonds cluster, the rest of the space was devoted to the clock.
In the classical style, jewelry novelties and Jacob & Co. One new collection of Talia is a cascade of long earrings made of rubies, emeralds or blue sapphires, fastened on eyelets in gold and placer diamonds. And the decorations from the second collection of Infinia are like fully opened fans and consist of the same triad of precious stones, but already cut by the “marquis”.
Connoisseurs of jewelry art are really interesting where there is no a priori watch, that is, visiting only jewelry brands – from Pasquale Bruni and Messika, from Alessio Boschi and Palmiero, from Roberto Coin and Utopia. Here the usual ritual of Baselworld – a careful examination of all the jewelry from the new collections, the story of the designer and the traditional fitting of the objects you liked – was already felt as a rare sacred ceremony.
The strength of Eugenia Bruni, Creative Director of Pasquale Bruni, has always been the amazing ergonomics and fluidity of even the most complex jewelry designs inspired by floral forms. So, the new “high” collection of Zefiro and Flora consists of the stratification of petals from white and pink gold in a scattering of diamonds, and the design of earrings, bracelets and necklaces is such that it creates the feeling that you hold only flexible natural foliage in your hands. Similar leaves, but already around – rubellite and morganites pear-shaped cut Euzhenia called Vento, and, despite the large size, they also organically look on the body.
baselworld.com1/ 7 Milano necklace with pearls, Alessio Boschi
The Italian Alessio Boschi, who for some years has been regarded as one of the most interesting independent jewelers in Europe, was now, perhaps, the main star of Basel. Jewelry is more interesting by fantasy, the variety of subjects and the level of performance at the exhibition simply was not. Did any Cicada products compete with Alessio Boschi. Within the collection Historica The jeweler showed decorations with ancient cameos, around which he created compositions in the antique spirit. By the same principle, the products with the old micro mosaics that Boski placed in the frames of precious stones are made, and this is a complex mix of the past and the present given to the Boschi with baroque ease. The jeweler created fantasy, figurative ornaments this year around baroque pearls – his irregular forms Boski turned into shoals of exotic fish and into a mythological griffin.
In general, to describe the decorations of Alessio Boschi is an ungrateful task, so many small, but important details and constructive surprises in them – it is better to see once. By the way, unlike many of the participants, Boski was very pleased with the past Baselworld: his stand was visited by all of his clients from among the representing things Alessio Boschi around the world and even came new. What once again proves: the real talent will not be left without attention in any, even adverse conditions.
As in the decorations of Alessio Boschi from the collection of Milano, the forms of Gothic architecture were evidently reproduced, as they were recognized in the Princess Flower collection of the Italian brand Roberto Coin. The four-leafed quartet of gold of all colors, with diamonds or pearls, carved from mother-of-pearl, resembles the delicate pattern of the enfilade of the Doge’s Palace in Venice. Continues Roberto Coin and replenish his collection Animalier – this year in this precious animal world there were rings Parrot and Giraffe.
Another master of animalistic forms, Italian jeweler Carlo Palmiero, continued his “marine” collection with ornaments in the form of exotic fish. Rarely does anyone know how to create three-dimensional shapes as if the fins of marine life are hovering in the water column. The second advantage of the products Palmiero – beautifully executed pava of precious stones, in which you can distinguish dozens of gradations of color or its explosive combinations. In one graceful figure of the brooch of Sea Dragon there are a dozen harmoniously neighboring colors.
The Italian brand Utopia, left after the departure of two other pearl outposts Baselworld – Mikimoto and Autore, – the most interesting in this area, always differed original collections with pearls for every day. This year’s collection of Anemone (gold beads with diamonds around the pearl) and Cherry Blossom (an inflorescence of pink chalcedony, pomegranates and moon stones on one end of the jewelry trims the pearl on the opposite). But still the most interesting on this stand (and here it is not an exception to the others) are unique products: a branch of a coral with a pearl in its branches is turned into a brooch, and a huge baroque pearl that served as the body of a Moor in a turban became the original suspension.
Against the background of a very general laconic picture of the exhibition participants, the Greek brand Etho Maria suddenly emerged, which has been participating in it for several years, but now it has turned out to be a winning light. Sharp, avant-garde forms of jewelry remotely resemble the creations of his compatriot Nikos Kulis (the brand Nikos Koulis was the opening of Baselworld in 2016), but if he completes the gems in his cutting-edge art deco black enamel, Etho Maria covers the gold with bright orange enamel, and this challenge looks fresh.
WHERE TO APPLY TO JEWELERS
Many industry figures have asked this question for a long time. Especially among those who participated in Baselworld too expensive and unreasonable, and exhibited in Hong Kong or Las Vegas was too far. After the beginning of the reduction of the “weight” Baselworld all the best, the most interesting and ceremonial in recent years have been taken to international jewelry shows in the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain, but they are designed for potential customers from the Middle East.
In parallel, stability was not observed in Europe itself. For several years now, a solid jewelery exposition of the Paris Biennale des Antiquaires has lost its main participants in the level Cartier and Chanel. Reputable TEFAF in the Netherlands Maastricht and The Masterpiece London in the capital of Great Britain are historical fairs of antique art, and the jeweler’s only at the same time. The exhibition Vicenzaoro in the Italian Vicenza has long been considered too “small-town”. In fact, in Europe there are no worthy jewelry sites.
Charter to put up with this state of affairs, jewelers took the initiative and organized a new show GemGeneve in Geneva, which is designed to meet the requirements of a closed but very large community. Ideologists Geneve International Gem & The Jewelery Show was made by Thomas Farber, a famous antiquarian, gem dealer and collector in the fourth generation (Faerber Collection), and Ronnie Thoth, owner of the jewelry company Horovitz & Totah. Both of them once participated in Baselworld, both of them left the exhibition for a long time, both know well what is lacking in the higher echelon of the jewelry industry and will try to make it real.
The list of participants of GemGeneve, which was held in Geneva, in PalExpo from 10 to 13 May this year – is impressive: 147 brands, galleries, antique dealers and dealers of precious stones from around the world. For three days their exposition was visited by 4,300 visitors, which is a considerable figure for a rather chamber exhibition, so it seems that GemGeneve has every chance to become a worthy alternative to the jewelry part of Baselworld in Europe.