A Jewelry Fair Joins the Hamptons' Summer Calendar

New York Times

5 days ago

Every summer the Hamptons on New York's Long Island is the site of an equestrian show, a luxury car event and a popular art fair. Now a jewelry fair is joining the seasonal calendar.
From July 24-27, the inaugural Hamptons Jewelry Show is scheduled to host more than 80 exhibitors from around the globe in a pavilion at the Southampton Fairgrounds that could cover almost 40 standard tennis courts.
The event has ambitions to be 'one of the finest and most respected, high-caliber, direct-to-the-public shows,' said Rick Friedman, the event's executive director, in a video interview. (He also founded the Hamptons Fine Art Fair, scheduled next week at the same location.)
Independent jewelers and designers will display their creations and dealers will be offering pieces by the likes of Cartier, Boucheron, Bulgari and Van Cleef & Arpels, said Hilary Joy Diaz, the show's director and a veteran of more than 40 years in the jewelry industry. She estimated that prices will range from $200 to more than $3.5 million.
Tickets, which may be purchased through the event's website, are $125 for the July 24 preview and $40 for a day pass.
Ms. Diaz said that plans to increase the excitement included a four-day auction of some bespoke furniture created for the event and showings of various vehicles from Lucid Motors, an American electric luxury car company.
As for the jewelers, Ms. Diaz said: 'I wanted to curate this event in the way that Rick curates the art show,' she said, referring to Mr. Friedman. 'You have to have the best of the best.'
Mr. Friedman said attendees would be able to meet designers and makers such as Scarselli Diamonds, a New York jeweler known for its colored stones, and Tamsen Ann Ziff of New York, whose Tamsen Z brand prominently features opals.
Another maker is Walter Hollander, the owner, designer and second-generation jeweler at Cornelis Hollander in Scottsdale, Ariz. Mr. Hollander said he had never been to the Hamptons ('I'm looking forward to going to the beach,' he said), and that participating in the Long Island show was a way to help grow his business.
Among the creations Mr. Hollander intends to display is a diamond pavé ring set with a five-carat sapphire in an unusual trapezoid shape 'It's a lot of bling with this very unique-cut stone that's set in a kind of maze, held up with lots of crossovers,' he said.
He also will showcase rings with a folded ribbonlike motif that he said had been particularly popular with customers: 'We have a clientele that want something unique and handmade — that no one else has seen. They don't really want a mass-produced item.'
Mr. Friedman said that he expected the kind of attendees who patronize the art fair would attend the new event. 'We have to play at a very high standard here — and transfer that sense of excellence to the jewelry world,' he said.