b'THE STATE OF RETAIL JEWELRYTHE COLOREDTHE DESIGN STONE DIAMOND MARKET INDUSTRY One need only reference Sothebys April 2020 sale, A Vision: Property from the Collection of Michelle Smith, for evidence of Hemmerles resonance in IF YOU BUY Athe market.PIECE BECAUSEComprising 19 pieces, it was the largest single-own-YOU LOVE IT, THEer collection of Hemmerle CHANCES AREjewels ever to go to auction. YOU ARE NOTNinety percent of the lots ALONE AND THATtopped their highest pre-sale estimates,Anita Ko Coil pinky ring in with the sale earning a total of $1.4 mil- 18-karat rose gold with diamonds IS ULTIMATELYlion. The collection had been estimated WHAT MAKES Ato sell for $823,000 at most.DESIGNER STANDPhillips Jewelry Departments Head oflips was ramping up for another Becker collaboration.THE TEST OFPrivate Sales Paul Redmayne concurredRedmayne calls Lauren Adriana, a London-based private jeweler, TIME, with Everetts Hemmerle assessment,an important brand to watch, as is Italian designer Fabio Salini. calling the company one of the talentsThey both share this obsessive attention to detail, which pre-PAUL REDMAYNE,that most excites him.vents them from producing anything that is not [of the highest PHILLIPSTheir designs are so original, so root- standard]. They produce very few pieces each year, such is the degree ed in a contemporary aesthetic.of attention that gets poured into creating each piece, so the market Feng J, a designer based in Shanghaiis never going to be flooded with their designs.and Paris, has performed well at Phillips too, as has Alexander Laut,Just like Sothebys Everett, Redmayne is of the art purists philos-Redmayne says.ophy that exceptional design should be acquired for the love of the In recent years, Phillips has proven particular- work, rather than as an investment. ly adept at establishing selling opportunitiesThat approach can indicate to a connois-outside of the traditional auction model,seur that they are onto something that will creating different sales avenues that fur- hold or even increase in value. ther gauge the temperature of clientsIf you buy a piece because you love interest in contemporary names. it, the chances are you are not alone In the non-auction private salesand that is ultimately what makes a sphere, we see a host of designers real- designer stand the test of time, says ly hitting the mark with our clients,Redmayne. he says, such as London-based Hannah Martin and Shaun Leane,MATERIAL MAYHEM and Brazilian Silvia Furmanovich.Experts agree that a stellar con-Last year Phillips launched antemporary collection should pay e-commerce site dedicated toattention to design innovation, and fine jewelry called Flawless. Theunique fabrication excites them all.debut exclusively featured worksFor The RealReal shopper, Lee by Leane.notes, Were seeing a shift in In addition, the team atthe market when it comes to the Phillips curated an online sellingdesign of jewelry. Pieces that incor-exhibition this year in part- porate beads, shells, and unique nership with jewelry historianstones are trends that we are see-and editor Vivienne Beckersing our shoppers gravitate to.company, Vivarium.While classic diamond and gold Called Woman to Woman,or diamond and platinum jewelry it featured jewelry from 20thmay be the most popular for con-and 21st century female creatorssumers nationwide, RealReal patrons ranging from Suzanne Belperronwho spend more on jewelry than the to Lauren Adriana and SolangeNadia Morgenthaleraverage person are more adventurous. Azagury-Partridge, and proved soagate, kunzite, naturalIn the last year, demand for colored gem-pearl, and diamond ear successful that, as of press time, Phil- clips in platinumstone jewelry rose 48 percent, and demand for 52 STATE OF THE MAJORS 2021'