That Time I Covered 3 Jewelry Trade Shows in 1 Day

You probably noticed a lot of jewelry action happening in New York City last week—chronicled at length on JCK‘s Instagram and in this post by contributor Kristin Young,

I was in town on Monday and had a chance to hit three of the four shows happening concurrently: Metal & Smith, JA New York, and NY Now. I could have used a full two days but made the most of my time as you’ll see in the pics below.

When I arrived at Penn Station around 10:30, I made the walk west to Metal & Smith. Zoma Color was my first stop—the Wisconsin-based line is newish, but owners/designers Allen and Kerry Dolberg have been working as private-label jewelers for more than 40 years. I was completely drawn in by their pretty, butterfly specimen–like displays and was charmed to find out their young daughter had hand-penned the labels. The collection, mainly rings, includes every gemstone you could ever imagine, featured in appealing vintage-meets-modern settings.

Zoma jewelry displays — *Compelling jewelry displays at Wisconsin-based Zoma Color at last week’s Metal & Smith show*

Saginaw, Mich.–based designer Jill Garber’s work-of-art jewels, especially the oversized cuffs, were a clear standout—and she won the show’s Visionary Award. My favorite piece features an Art Nouveau hand-painted porcelain portrait of a Mucha-style goddess that Garber purchased more than 20 years ago and held on to, knowing she would someday incorporate it into a jewelry design (see photo below).

Jill Garber Mucha cuff — *Mucha cuff with hand-painted 19th-century porcelain portrait set in sterling silver with two Royston turquoise cabochons, price on request; Jill Garber Couture (image via: @jillgarbercouture)*

Then I headed just a block or so west to the Javits Center to hit JA New York. Caught up with designers I haven’t seen in a while, or missed in Las Vegas, including Keiko Meita. These lovely new earrings caught my eye because they feature a stone on my watch list since JCK Tucson: rhodochrosite.

K Mita earrings — *Earrings with rhodochrosite and Ethiopian opals in 18k yellow gold, price on request; K.Mita Design*

This year NY Now took place at the same time as JANY, making it possible for me to do a supermarket-sweep of the Handmade section on the third floor of Javits. Totally smitten with the newness at Rachel Atherley, whom I so enjoyed reconnecting with (we have little ones the same age), and where I promptly fell in love with her super-luscious Plumage collection. Showy, colorful, but a smidge reined-in, all equally balanced.

Rachel Atherley earrings — *Plumage earrings with ombré garnets, tourmaline, rose quartz, and rainbow moonstones, $1,450; Rachel Atherley*

Whew, what a long but happy day! See more favorites from each of the shows below. (Apologies in advance for my weatherbeaten, constantly-cleaning-up mom hands.)