Masterpiece London 2015

I heard a lot about Masterpiece, so at the end of June 2015 I jumped into the Eurostar to see what the show is worth. I visited the gardens of the Royal Hospital of Chelsa, where for the sixth time Britain’s largest art, antiques and design fair took place. From June 26 to July 1, 2015, nearly 150 gallery owners from around the world presented fine jewelery creations and quality decorative works for sale that visitors could admire. This art fair is part of the cultural calendar as a major event and covers almost 4000 years of Art History.
Jewelry and watches, antiques, paintings and ceramics, modern and contemporary art, or luxury items, Masterpiece is a British fair with a strong participation of foreign exhibitors. The organizers are trying to meet the demand of collectors and offer the best offers on the market.

Of course I went to the exhibitors who offered both contemporary jewelry and estate jewelry . The list of 20 jewelery exhibitors has grown with some nuggets of watchmaking. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and diversity of the jewels on display, as well as the welcome and overall organization of this event. A big fan of Suzanne Belperron, René Boivin, René Lalique or George Fouquet, I was delighted to see so many of their creations in one place. My exchanges with the exhibitors confirmed the quality of this fair and they told me that it was felt in terms of their turnover during this period. Some even prefer this event at the biennale des antiquaires. The French jeweler, Van Cleef and Arpels participated for the first time in this fair. While Syzanne Syz, Bogh-Art, Siegelson and Hemmerle return regularly to show their novelties. At Somlo Antiques I admired the beautiful timepieces of both women and men.

Chatila exhibited a beautiful bracelet with 61.37 carat Burmese rubies. On the booth of Hancocks, I spoke with Amy Burton, the designer of the house who showed me her recent creations and the retro set of 1940 with a necklace and a bracelet in gold and citrine made by Trabert & Hoeffer & Mauboussin.

Symbolic & Chase have unveiled superb 114-carat Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond shaped cushion. Verdura presented an extraordinary necklace-scarf of 138 cabochons of emeralds for a weight of 568 carats. Wartski has highlighted a rare pendant “The Fall of the Damned” by René Lalique in gold and with a very beautiful baroque pearl.

British jeweler Theo Fennell has added two new secret rings to his fine jewelry collection. And I plunged into his underwater world with the 55.46 carat aquamarine adorning the Sub-Aqua ring.

I had the pleasure of discovering part of the exhibition with my friend Rachel, who is a jewelry specialist. As you will understand, Masterpiece is a heaven on earth for jewelry lovers and connoisseurs. So sharing this moment of pure bliss with two can only double the joy of seeing magnificent masterpieces and discussing them endlessly. At the end of our day I suggested to Rachel to continue our precious journey by choosing our favorites. Our choice is strictly personal and in no way implies the quality of the jewels present. After long hesitations, here are the ones we found the most interesting of Masterpiece 2015.