“How does a ragtag volunteer army in need of a shower / Somehow defeat a global superpower?”
Good question. And yes, I am throwing it back to the highlight of my summer 2020—the advent of a streamable performance of Hamilton on Disney+. It was the boost so many of us needed in the midst of one of the gloomiest, debilitatingly uncertain Julys in recent history.
A year later, this prodigal New Englander is still living for the Schuyler sisters (work!), but I am now able to see that the musical has such a New York–centric reading of the American Revolution that the war’s unassailable link to the city of Boston is barely acknowledged. (Side note: Could this be at the heart of the famous rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox? I wouldn’t presume to know, but maybe this is something to discuss over gin and tonics and Triscuits over the weekend…)
Back to Beantown: As a port city, it was the scene of many pivotal acts of rebellion, resistance, and revolts, the Boston Tea Party of 1773 being one oft-referenced example (enjoy this Malcom Gladwell reframing of the event here). There is also the Boston Massacre of 1770, which is said to have set the stage for the American Revolution. And the first shots of the war were famously fired on a bridge in neighboring Lexington and Concord in 1775—drive by the exit on I-95, as I did last weekend, and see if you don’t feel an uncanny tug in that direction, the beat of a distant drum somehow lingering in the air.
So with this history in mind, and the Fourth of July holiday weekend kicking off in a couple of days, it seemed like the right move to spotlight a selection of red, white, and blue jewels from Bostonian estate and antique jewelry dealer Tiina Smith.
Smith operates a prestigious gallery on that city’s tony Newbury Street (she also has showrooms in New York and Palm Beach, Fla.). In honor of Independence Day, I asked her: What are her local clients craving of late?
“Our Boston clients tend to be independent-minded women who appreciate the classics but want something that no one else will have,” she says. “[It could be] an everyday gold bracelet, but a 1940s retro one; statement earrings, but vintage 1960s Schlumberger for Tiffany. And there’s a real desire for dressing up again, so we’re getting a lot of requests for unusual brooches and standout necklaces.”
I’m highlighting plenty of patriotic options in her inventory up top and below—and, I mean, if you want to wear one of these festive signed designer jewels to an übercasual Fourth of July barbecue (or indoor version thereof), you’ll hear no arguments from me. In fact, I think it’s a wicked good idea.
Top: Clockwise, from top left: Red enamel dome earrings in 18k yellow gold, $3,120; David Webb. Muse ring in 18k white gold with 3.97 cts. t.w. diamonds and 1.72 cts. t.w. sapphires, price on request; Chanel. Doppio in 18 yellow gold with a 1.87 ct. ruby and 1.94 ct. sapphire, $5,200; Bulgari. Comete ring in 18k white gold with a 0.1 ct. round brilliant diamond, $2,800; Chanel.
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