Phillips auction house has appointed Eva Violante (pictured) as senior specialist and vice president in its New York City jewelry department, part of an ongoing expansion of its jewelry department in the Americas, the company announced yesterday.
Violante comes to the London-based auction house from Heritage Auctions, where she served as fine jewelry director. Prior to that, she worked in New York City and Madrid as a senior international buyer at Circa.
According to a release issued when she joined Heritage, Violante’s passion for buying jewels developed at a young age.
“I purchased my first brooch from a garage sale when I was five,” she said. “I fished it out of a large bin of costume jewelry, and it ended up having precious stones. I was very proud.”
Violante will report to Susan Abeles. In February of this year, Abeles, former director of jewelry for Bonhams, was appointed Phillips’ head of jewelry for the Americas and senior international specialist, senior vice president, with a mandate to build the Phillips jewelry team in the United States.
In her new role, Violante will work with new clients; develop a long-term sourcing strategy for the department in conjunction with the Phillips team; and cultivate networks among collectors, dealers, and influencers.
The auction house has also hired Anne Mock as an associate jewelry specialist in New York City. Mock joins Phillips from Harry Winston, where she was a quality control analyst.
A statement called jewelry “one of the one of the fastest-growing categories in the auction market” and noted that Phillips plans to hold its first New York City jewelry auction under its expanded team later this year.
“[Phillips is] building a world-class jewelry department around the world,” Abeles said in a statement. “It’s the right time to expand our department.”
Image courtesy of Phillips
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