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#NYCJAWS #NewYorkJewelryShow #AntiqueJewelry #DiamondLovers #VintageWatches #18KGold #Mellerio #Keyamour #DavidWebb #Y2KJewelry #EstateJewels #NaturalDiamonds #MetropolitanPavilion #CollectorsFinds #PalmBeachShowGroup
The New York City Jewelry & Watch Show (NYCJAWS) returned to Manhattan’s Metropolitan Pavilion from October 22–25, nearly doubling ticket sales compared to the prior year. Organized by the Palm Beach Show Group, the four-day event showcased a vibrant mix of antique and estate jewelry, signed pieces, natural diamonds and gemstones, vintage and collectible watches, and contemporary designs. Show management reported a steady, energetic pace across the floor, with collectors, enthusiasts, trade professionals, and first-time buyers exploring the extensive offerings. Exhibitors noted strong sales, meaningful new client relationships, and an increasingly diverse audience spanning established collectors and younger buyers.
While the event’s demographic shift was notable, exhibitors praised the engagement and expertise of newer collectors. L&Z Antique + Estate Jewelry, of Morrisville, Pennsylvania, has attended NYCJAWS for 11 consecutive years and reported “unbelievable” attendance, particularly due to many new and younger faces. Dealers willing to engage customers performed well, with natural diamonds and layered chains dominating sales. Keyamour of New York City veteran Dana Kiyomura presented a rare 19th-century 18K gold necklace, cuff bracelet, and locket pendant suite in its original case, circa 1850. Though surprising for its excellent condition, the design’s Postmodern, almost Atomic Age aesthetic—featuring a pneumatic-tube-inspired necklace, beveled starburst diamond mountings, and celestial motifs—stood out. Kiyomura also noted improvements in the show’s social media outreach, which attracted more new customers to the booth.
Celestial inspiration continued with Steven Neckman of Miami, who exhibited a 1980s brooch by Mellerio dits Meller, the French jewelry house founded over four centuries under Queen Marie de Médicis. The piece featured mother-of-pearl clouds mounted in 18K gold, accented by a delicate gold moon and star, plus enameled songbirds with tiny diamond heads that moved across the layers. Its original case, depicting the Place de Vendôme tower in Paris, remained intact.
The loudest statement timepiece at the show was a millennium-era collaboration between Kutchinsky and Excentric, presented by the Mahnaz Collection. Weighing 111.6 grams, this limited-edition circa-2000 piece featured a Swiss-made quartz movement in a Y2K leopard-print motif of colorless, black, and brown pavé diamonds across three tiers, all set in 18K white gold. A replicated sky-blue gator strap and diamond-decorated silver buckle completed the design, numbered 030 in the collection and exemplifying early Twenty-First Century design excess.
Beyond jewelry, a deliberate desk object by American jeweler David Webb commanded attention. The 7-by-4½-inch rock crystal piece, “wrapped” in twisting gold ropes and turquoise cabochons, weighed nearly 6 pounds. A matching signed plaque inscribed “To Robin And Angie With Our Dearest Love Jeanie & Bill March 1965” linked the piece to prominent arts patrons Robin Chandler Duke and Angier Biddle Duke, personal friends of President John F. Kennedy. Robin served as U.S. ambassador to Norway, while Angier was chief of protocol; Robin was also a cousin to Doris Duke, a chief customer of Webb. Jacqueline Kennedy had commissioned a similar desk object the prior year with a JFK half-dollar proof set in gold, presented to Secretary of the Treasury Douglas Dillon; that piece now resides in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.
The New York City Jewelry & Watch Show will return to the Metropolitan Pavilion October 28–31. For details, visit nycjaws.com or call 561-822-5440.
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