Our Vintage & Antique Jewelry Blog

Have you seen (or are eagerly planning to see) the Charles James fashion retrospective at the Met? After perusing the red carpet looks from the Met Gala, and only seeing a handful of lavish gowns befitting the theme, we decided to curate our own Charles James-inspired vintage jewelry collection.

The fashion and entertainment worlds are having an Art Deco moment! Channeling the current season of Downton Abbey, set in 1922, many stars at the Golden Globes made colorful, bold Art Deco jewelry a key part of their red carpet looks. But you don’t need to wait for a black tie event! Vintage Art Deco jewelry is easily wearable, always fashionable, and effortlessly makes a statement.

Some have called him the “Faberge of our time” or likened him to Verdura, Bulgari, or Tiffany. But the reclusive jeweler JAR is a unique artist in his own right, with a stunning eye for design, detail, and construction.

Joel A. Rosenthal grew up in the Bronx and spent his childhood soaking in the atmosphere of New York, visiting museums and gaining a love of art and history. After graduating from Harvard in 1966, he moved to Paris and met his lifelong partner, Pierre Jeannet. Sharing a passion for beautiful objects, they opened a specialty needlepoint shop, where Rosenthal painted canvasses, selected yarns, and experimented with the rich color palette for which he’d soon become known. In 1976, Rosenthal and Jeannet opened their jewelry boutique, JAR, on Place Vendome, side by side with the most storied jewelers in the world. From the start, he was confident that his designs and craftsmanship would be as sought after as those of his neighbors.