High Jewels At TEFAF Offer Exclusivity, Refinement And Elegance

TEFAF Maastricht opened in typical fashion Thursday and Friday, meaning that the halls and booths were filled with happy collectors drinking champagne and enjoying oysters being served by roving shuckers throughout the MECC Maastricht convention center where the fair is held each year.

When it comes to high jewelry being offered, whether they are from the contemporary jewelry artists or from antique and vintage dealers at this Euro-centric show, discretion, exclusivity and taste are key.

“The Europeans, they like to hide their jewels,” Véronique Bamps, a well-known vintage and antique dealer in Europe and the U.S., said Friday morning. “Some people have biggest art collections in the world but when you see them, they have very little jewelry.

The Monaco-based dealer specializes in signed pieces from the 19th and 20th centuries. Discretion didn’t stop people from crowding her booth on the first day of the fair Thursday. She said business was good. I felt fortunate to have a moment to chat with her early on Friday. It wasn’t long after I left that her that the booth was again packed with happy buyers.

One piece she had on display that was both discreet and provided a great deal of sparkle. It was a 1970s floral brooch and earrings set by Van Cleef & Arpels. It is a classic piece from the French jewelry house that underscores its gem-setting skills.

Thursday and Friday are invitation only days. The fair opened to the public Saturday and runs till March 14.

German goldsmith, Otto Jakob, is a proponent of discretion. His pieces combine intense precision as a world-class craftsman with the creative expression of an artist. “I want people to have a secret and to hide some of the beauty and elegance of my pieces,” he said at his booth, which is slightly hidden from view with a wall of his jewels. “The richness is under the surface. If somebody is a friend, you can show him what’s going on.”

Two of the jewels that Jakob displayed were a bracelet and necklace made with a chain featuring pavé white, black and fancy yellow diamonds. The diamonds are placed in the interior of the links, so they are not easily seen. A technique he said he invented so the diamonds don’t touch one another, which could cause damage.

Refinement and elegance are equally important among the buyers at the fair. Pieces from another German jeweler, Hemmerle, represent this each year at the fair. The high jewelry house is a long-time exhibitor and one of the most popular jewelers. Activity at the booth was at a peak throughout the first day and most of the second. The company is known for combining rare stones and unorthodox metals that drive creativity. It’s not unusual for the jeweler to use wood and artifacts for their pieces as well. Many of their designs are signature to the brand but the different combinations of materials and slight changes in technique make each piece an original.

A couple of their aluminum floral pieces show Hemmerle’s skill in color gradation. One of which are earrings replicating the Echinacea flower with smooth subtle changes in shades of brown, red and yellow.

Perhaps bucking this trend of discretion is contemporary high jewelry artist, Anna Hu, whose elaborate but still elegant pieces combine Asian themes and artistic details with fine French craftsmanship.

In a fair that used to include Wallace Chan and Cindy Chao, Hu is now the lone Asian high jewelry artist from the region. She said she is determined to represent the region with exceptional pieces.

Hu managed to acquire a few extremely rare, unusually shaped natural pearls in which she used to create a couple of showstopper jewels. One of them was the “Enchanted Peony Brooch,” made from a large pearl with purple coloring whose natural shape resembled the flower. She paved the pearl with multi-colored gems. Hu said the pearl was so beautiful on its own she did little to change it.

Simon Teakle, another vintage and antique dealer presented a 32.12-carat elongated oval shaped cabochon Ceylon sapphire ring, designed by Suzanne Belperron for René Boivin. Two French jewelers whose works from the early 20th century remain widely sought after.

It’s impossible to discuss the importance of the fair without talking about the unique location of the host city, Maastricht. A charming municipality of about 125,000 inhabitants with a well-regarded university and a well-preserved history that dates back 2,000 years.

Maastricht Mayor, Wim Hillenaar, brought some of this perspective when he welcomed journalists Thursday inside the municipality’s historic City Hall, a 17th century structure in the center of the city. In brief remarks, Hillenaar noted the importance of the city to a unified Europe. It is where the “Maastricht Treaty” was signed in 1992, creating the European Union, a single currency, and a central European bank, which resulted in economic stability throughout the continent. The mayor noted that geographically, the city is unique as it shares a border with both Belgium and Germany.

“People, goods and services are constantly crossing the border here in this little area around our city, so we are more less forced to live and act as generous Europeans.”

Sharing these borders as well as being in the southernmost part of the Netherlands also affects this region culturally as it arguably more in common with its German and Belgian neighbors than its home country. The influence can be seen and felt throughout the city in its architecture, languages and food. It’s not an easy place to get to. The closest airport is in Brussels about a 90-minute drive away. Most people come through Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport and either drive nearly three hours or take the train to Maastricht.

Despite its remote location, the fair is expected to host a record number of visitors who will view offerings from about 280 galleries from around the world. The two invitation-only days drew record crowds, including representatives from the world’s most important museums.

The draw is a well-vetted collection of art, design and artifacts in at least 10 disciplines as well as the unique location.