Skinner Auction Offers Unique Finds for Fine Jewelry Lovers
The Skinner Fine Jewelry auction in Boston on March 13, 2012 features diamonds, signed jewelry, and pieces by Raymond Yard, David Webb, Seaman Schepps, Cartier, Mauboussin, Belperron, and Van Cleef &

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Clars Auction Gallery is the largest full service auction house in Northern California. The Gallery holds a two-day auction once a month. The Jewelry department at Clars is seeking a Specialist for the department. It is one of the most important departments in the company and generally has two full time specialists plus occasional interns.

The applicant will have four major responsibilities- 1) Ability to interact with clients to obtain consignments of jewelry and time pieces, which includes knowing how to evaluate their fair market value. This may involve contract negotiations, as well as doing written appraisals occasionally; 2) Cataloging the jewelry and time pieces properly; 3) Ability to market the jewelry to potential buyers; 4) The skill to work with and perhaps enhance the abilities of other Specialists.

The applicant will also assist with the many everyday duties of the jewelry department, including research and display of property, marketing, public relations, and administrative tasks including the review of consignor statements, inventory control and various customer service duties.

Approximately 150-250 fine and costume jewelry lots are auctioned each month. The specialist must be able to distinguish fine jewelry from costume jewelry. Each piece must be described accurately using Clars testing equipment, and occasionally consulting with an outside expert.
The ideal applicant:
* Has a background in jewelry and time piece appraisals along with sales, business development and marketing
* Is GIA certified
* Has pre-existing contacts in the jewelry world
*Has Auction House experience


The applicant must:

• Be detail-oriented and possess excellent follow-through
• Be able to work self-directed as well as function as part of a team
• Have strong organization, critical thinking and communication skills
• Have a reliable source of transportation for out-of-office appointments
• Have substantial knowledge of Microsoft Word, Outlook and Excel and feel comfortable learning and adapting to new computer software



•Compensation: Salary Commensurate with Experience

Redge A. Martin
President
Clars Auction Gallery
5644 Telegraph Ave.
Oakland, CA 94609
www.clars.com
redge@clars.com
(510) 428-0100x103

Man Ray’s jewelry by Gem Montibello

Among the rash of artist/goldsmith collaborations that came out in the sixties and seventies, Man Ray’s jewelry truly stands out. To see what I mean, visit the Picasso to Koons: The Artist as Jeweler exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design and compare Man Ray’s dramatic sculptural designs to the wall of flat, stamped gold plaques produced at the same time by François Hugo from drawings by Pablo Picasso and Max Ernst. No comparison.

Man Ray’s most famous pieces look a little challenging to wear, but they are superb pieces of craftsmanship – thanks to Gem Montibello, the Italian firm who produced them – and more functional than they appear. His Optic-Topic gold mask, for example, would appear to completely blind the wearer, but if you look closely, you can see a network of tiny drilled holes forming a spiral pattern.

Optic-Topic gold mask designed by Man Ray, 1974, 79/100 edition, produced by Gem Montebello (Diane Venet collection)

“You see through them as well as with glasses. It’s interesting,” says Diane Venet, who owns this gold mask, one of 100 produced, along with most of the jewelry on display. “Man Ray was always breaking his glasses and he loved to drive fast. So he had a discussion the Giancarlo Montebello about glasses and finally, after a few months, they came up with this.”

Pendantif-Pendant earrings of 18kt red gold by Man Ray, 1970, edition of 12, Gem Montebello

I’m not sure if she was implying he wore this while driving fast. If so, he was crazier than we thought. Man Ray was born in Philadelphia in 1890, which means by the time he designed the mask, he was 84. He died in Paris, his adopted home, two years later.

The spiral gold earrings (right) recall the spiral shapes in Man Ray’s work during the early years of the Dada movement and the title, Pendantif-Pendant, reflects his obsession with puns and alliteration. But most people refer to these as “the lampshade earrings,” because the design stemmed from a lampshade Man Ray designed in 1919.

The earrings shown have a conventional post but the originals are 5 1/2 inches long and hung from a wide curve of wire. They weren’t designed to hang directly from the lobe but to loop over the top of the ear. Clever. Man Ray’s idea – or Giancarlo Montebello’s?

Montebello produced this gold and platinum ring, signed and dated by Man Ray, in 1970, around the same time as the earrings. Venet proudly owns one of an edition of twelve.

LeTrou ring of 24kt gold and platinum by Man Ray, edition of 12, Gem Montebello (Diane Venet collection)

Man Ray had a couple things going for him that Picasso and Ernst lacked: an extensive background in fashion photography and a genuine interest in creating unique, high-quality, wearable sculpture. He also had Montibello producing his jewelry.

Giancarlo Montebello set up his workshop of highly-skilled craftsmen in Milan, in 1967, inviting a select group of internationally-known artists to contribute designs. Montebello’s team collaborated closely with the artists. Not all artists are household names, at least not in the U.S., but their jewelry definitely stands out above the rest.

You can find other results of these collaborations at the MAD exhibit, including some gorgeous geometric gold pieces designed by sculptor Pol Bury and several whimsical figurative pieces designed by sculptor/painter Niki de Saint-Phalle and executed in colorful enamel by Montebello.

Montebello is still producing artist-made jewelry, evidenced in the exhibit by a lethal-looking spiky gold ring designed by German artist Günther Uecker dated 2011. It was inspired by his Chair with Nails sculpture. (Ouch.)

Montebello, now in his nineties, was planning to attend the exhibition in NYC when I spoke to Venet earlier this month. “I want him to see all this,” she said, waving a hand around the exhibition. “He worked so hard.”

Related posts:

Alexander Calder’s jewelry: going mobile

Salvador Dalí: bejeweled surrealism

Jewelry by famous artists

Jewelry by Picasso: the secret stash of Dora Maar

Position: Training Manager, Jewelry & Watches - Americas  
Reporting to: Director, Training – Global Sales
Location: Miami, FL (Preferred) or New York City
 
I. Job Summary:
 
Reporting to the Director, Training – Global Sales, the primary purpose of the Training Manager, Jewelry & Watches is to deliver training courses to the Retail and Wholesale sales organizations in the Americas.  The Global Sales Training Department is responsible for developing skills in all Salon Directors and Sales Executives that will increase corporate revenues.
 
 
II. Key Duties Responsibilities and Accountabilities:
 
·        Understand brand’s DNA and heritage as well as current evolution of the brand
·        Knowledgeable about all product lines and their history within the brand
·        Master the content and delivery of key training courses offered by the Global Sales Training Department
·        Deliver training courses to retail and wholesale staff in the Americas
·        Manage administration of each training course delivered:
o       Scheduling of courses and invitations
o       Manage booking conference rooms/refreshments/meals when delivering offsite and on site(corporate headquarters) courses
o       Monitor acceptances
o       Generate name tags for participants
o       Publish attendee list
o       Generate course completion certificates and distribute to participants
o       Manage course evaluations:
§         Solicit &
§         Input data to Global Sales Training Department records
o       Responsible for organizing course files including all course updates
o       Generate a feedback report on each course:
§         Evaluation of each participant’s skills by course content
§         Recommendation for additional training for a participant
·        Recommend revisions/corrections in training materials and exercises
·        Participate and contribute to brainstorming sessions to develop new training courses to meet business needs as they evolve
·        Manage own travel arrangements and T&E budget
     
 
            III. Key Job Relationships:
          
·        Director, Training Department Global Sales
o       Provide administrative support for key training initiatives as dictated by business needs and objectives
·        Global Training Team
o       Share best practices for each course delivered
o       Course design and development
·        Salon Directors
o       Liaise on training and providing feedback on training results
o       Advise on next steps for each Sales Executive’s further skill development
·        Sales Executives
o       Build relationships to better understand real world sales situations and training needs
·        Marketing and Communications Departments
o       Implement guidelines from these departments at the salon level through training
·        Human Resources
o       Collaborate to address and develop additional training opportunities for delivery to the sales organization such as leadership development & management skills
 
 
IV. Job Qualifications:
         
·        Bachelor’s Degree
·        3 to 5 years of successful retail sales experience, preferably in luxury goods
·        5 to 8 years of successful training experience
·        Excellent presentation and coaching skills
·        Fluent in Spanish
·        Strong PowerPoint & Excel skills
 
 
 
Stephanie McKee, Director, U.S. Human Resources
smckee@harrywinston.com
WWW.HARRYWINSTON.COM
Tel: +1 212-315-7918
Fax: +1 212-581-2948
Harry Winston, Inc. | 1330 Avenue of the Americas | New York | NY | 10019 | United States |
 

 
 
February 16th, 2012
Fine Diamonds Auction

More than 50 Lots of Fine Diamonds
& Estate Jewels
 
 
New York Auction Preview:
 580 Fifth Avenue, Suite 333, New York, NY
Mon-Wed 13-15th, 2012
By Appointment
 
lindy@josephdumouchelle.com

www.josephdumouchelle.com

NEW YORK   |   GROSSE POINTE, MI   |   NAPLES   |   PALM BEACH

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