Last Chance To View ‘Cycles of Life’ Rings Exhibition

De Clercq Roman diamond ring

“Cycles of Life: Rings from the Benjamin Zucker Family Collection,” will come to end on December 6. So time is running out to view a private collection of more than 40 rings that run from the 3rd to the 19th centuries. In addition, to it being on public view at till December 6 at the Les Enluminures New York gallery, 23 East 73rd St.

Ruby and enamel gold ring

This is the first time that the entire collection is on display together and it will be the last as the entire collection is for sale. 

Ring with diamond-set Shoulders and bezel

Zucker is a well-known gem merchant and author who’s written scholarly publications and practical guides about gems and jewels, as well as novels. An illustrated catalog published by Paul Holberton, London, will accompany the exhibition, which will include contributions by Zucker, Sandra Hindman, founder of Les Enluminures, and Jack Ogden, chief executive of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain.

Gold ring with hand holding a heart

Many of the rings in the exhibition were previously on loan at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, which is known for its extensive jewelry collection, and a few pieces were at other museums. 

Mourning ring of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas

“Zucker is a great private collector and owns countless jewels,” said Cecilia Bonn, Les Enluminures Marketing and Communications director. “He really wanted the work cataloged. Sondra is good at applying scholarship to collections and specializes in Medieval and Renaissance manuscript illuminations, and Roman and byzantine jewelry. There’s a real compatibility here.”

Gold Jewish Marriage ring

Among the standouts is a Roman diamond ring that dates back to the third or fourth century. Once part of the de Clercq collection of Roman and Byzantine jewelry, the ring is centered by a natural uncut diamond with a double pyramid set in a high openwork bezel. It was acquired by Zucker in the 1970s, and loaned as the showpiece of the international traveling exhibition, “Diamonds and the Power of Love,” organized by the De Beers. The diamond giant declared that “the story of the diamond ring begins here”. It was most recently on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It is second largest known surviving rough Roman diamond ring. 

Gold Signet ring with a merchant's mark and initials

“The roman uncut diamond ring one of 12 in existence that we know of,” Bonn said. “Seven of the rings are in the British museum and six are in private collections.”

Jewish marriage ring

Other standouts are an Italian made 14th Century Medieval sapphire and gold ring set with a 10th- century sapphire inscribed in Arabic; and a German-made 1631 diamond, ruby, and enamel gimmel ring, from the Rothschild Collection. 

Rothschild diamond ring

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Hells Angels Sue Alexander McQueen Over Skull and Wing Design

Alexander McQueen's ring that's under dispute by the Hells Angels.

There was a time when the Hells Angels would beat the piss out of anyone who they believed was stealing from them. Now they go to court.

The notorious motorcycle gang has filed a trademark infringement suit against the design brand Alexander McQueen and retailers who are selling the designers’ disputed products, according to media reports.

At issue is the skull design used for McQueen's Hell’s Knuckle brass and silver knuckle duster rings, Professional Jeweller reports. In addition, the suit is targeting a clutch bag, scarf and dress by the designer that feature a similar design.

The Hells Angels are claiming that Alexander McQueen used its patented skull and wing motif without permission. It is also suing Saks and online retailer Zappos.com that sell the items.

The motorcycle group registered patents for its motif in 1984 and has since authorized its use on clothing and jewelry for promotional purposes, according to Professional Jeweller. The suit claims Alexander McQueen did not receive permission.

Jürgen Abeler Ring Collection Up For Auction

Christie’s South Kensington will be offering more than 500 rings—dating from ancient Egypt and Rome through the 21st century—from the Collection of Jürgen Abeler of Wuppertal, Germany. The majority of the 103 lots, including several groups, will be feature as part of the auction house’s jewelry sale on October 9. More than 40 important ancient rings will be featured in its antiquities sale on October 25.

Estimates for individual rings start at £200. All items on offer from the collection will be on view October 5 till 8 at Christie’s South Kensington saleroom on 85 Old Brompton Road.

Highlights include a 16th Century signet ring of Johann Ernst von Sachsen, Julich, Kleve and Berg the great grandson of Sibylle von Julich, Kleve and Berg, sister of Anne of Kleve (Cleves) (1515-1554) wife of Henry VIII, King England(1491-1547), illustrated above left. Other highlights are mourning rings for Vice Admiral Nelson, killed at the Battle of Trafalgar illustrated above center, and the composer George Frideric Handel illustrated above right. The sale will also include a selection of modern conceptual and design rings.

Born in Wuppertal in 1933 into a family of watchmakers and goldsmiths, Jürgen Abeler continued this tradition. Abeler’s interest in rings stemmed from his grandmother’s Christmas present in 1955 of Heinz Battke’s book on the history of the rings, “Geschichte des Ringes in Beschreibung und Bildern.” Abeler would eventually acquire the author’s own collection of rings. Abeler would collect rings from myriad sources and locations—auctions, antique shops, private hands and foreign lands. The result was a collection ranging from Roman and Egyptian examples to rings highlighting 21st century design. In Jürgen Abeler’s own words he wished to create “a coherent, comprehensive overview about the whole topic up to (the) modern day.”

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Tatler Readers to Virtually ‘Try On’ Million Dollar Rings

The British magazine of glamorous lives and lifestyles, Tatler, is bringing augmented reality to its pages. Starting Thursday, those who have purchased the magazine’s September issue will be able to virtually “try on” rings worth millions of dollars.

Augmented reality is an engaging way of combining live video with computer-generated data, visualizations and sound for a live direct or an indirect view of a physical, real-world environment. The magazine will release the details of how to use this technology with its website tomorrow, but let me explain how it will most likely work.

The September issue of Tatler (to be released Thursday) will contain a page with a seemingly generic image of a ring. Just cut out the image and place it on your finger. Then you need a computer and a webcam. Go to the Tatler website, find the “Try Me” page. Following the directions, place the paper ring on your finger in from of the webcam and an image of an actual will appear on the computer screen. It will be as if you are looking in the mirror trying on the actual ring. There will most likely be screen prompts that will allow you to try on different rings.

And what an assortment of rings you’ll be able to virtually wear. International jewelry brands featured in this AR-enhance piece of editorial are Boodles, Cartier, Chanel Fine Jewelry, Chopard, De Beers, Fabergé, Graff, Harry Winston, Louis Vuitton, Mikimoto, Tiffany and Van Cleef & Arpels.

The AR is being provided by Holition, a U.K.-based company that provides 3D augmented reality solutions and specializes with luxury providers. It’s a name that regular readers of Jewelry News Network will no doubt recognize as it has graced these electronic pages through its projects with De Beers, Tissot, Tacori and Boucheron.

Tatler, which claims its roots to 1709, calls itself the oldest magazine in the world.

“What excites me is that we have brought together the oldest magazine in the world with an industry steeped in heritage and tradition—and combined the two to create a digital innovation,” said Jessica Walsh, Tatler’s jewelry editor. “Digital technologies are changing the way in which people interact with both media and brands and I am excited to be contributing to this shift.”

Royal Asscher Selects Reena Ahluwalia to Create New Designs for Stars of Africa Collection

Toronto jewelry designer Reena Ahluwalia will create five new jewelry designs for Stars of Africa Royal Asscher jewelry collection. The new  pendants, necklaces and earrings will complement the collection’s half-dome, floating diamond ring that was first unveiled about a year ago.

Royal Asscher will debut the new pieces at the JCK Las Vegas jewelry trade show, which opens June 4.

“Reena designs with immense precision and fervor, a perfect stage to continue the Royal Asscher legacy of gemological excellence and innovation,” the Amsterdam-based diamond company said.

“Royal Asscher has a legendary history of innovation and an unblemished ethical record in the diamond world,” Ahluwalia said. “As a jewelry designer, there is no greater motivation for me than to be able to contribute to positive social changes through my art and the ideas it spreads.”

The jewelry consists of full-diamond globes encircled by orbit-like elements. The globes spin to symbolizing earth's rotation while the free-floating diamonds represent the shining spirit of people. These orbits signify education, health-care and empowerment all of which are essential components to the root of the Star of Africa initiative. The pendants function as modern day amulets infused with messages of hope and well-being. The design of necklaces, earrings and pendants are all streamlined to represent the wondrous continent of Africa.

The entire collection benefits Royal Asscher's fundraising initiative, Stars of Africa, named after the largest diamond ever found, the Star of Africa, at 3,105 cts., which the Asscher family cut in 1908. The initiative was launched in 2008 and is aimed at improving infrastructure in Africa by creating funding for healthcare, education and self sufficiency programs.