Compressed Spring 2026 Issue - Flipbook - Page 48
WHAT IS
HIGH
JEWELRY?
The term is
widely used to
describe jewels
of exceptional
caliber, but its
true meaning
(and history) is
more nuanced
By Amy Elliott
Piaget Shapes
of Extralegenza
Kaleidoscope Lights
necklace with
diamond, sodalite,
jasper, ruby root,
chrysoprase, sugilite,
and verdite; price
upon request;
piaget.com
44 SPRING 2026
T USED TO BE insider terminology—something
you might overhear at an auction preview or see
in the pages of a coffee-table book chronicling
the work of legendary jewelry brands Van Cleef
& Arpels or Bulgari.
Now, high jewelry is a clickable category on
the websites of many fine jewelry brands. Social
media influencers allude to it in their celebrity
red-carpet roundups. It even appears on the
elevator signage at a certain Fifth Avenue
boutique, where high jewelry occupies a hallowed
space on the seventh floor (no videos allowed).
The term may be familiar, but even the most ardent
Cartier or Tiffany Blue Book devotee might hesitate
when asked to explain what high jewelry really is.
The consensus within the industry is that high jewelry
always showcases a mix of imaginative design concepts,
technical ingenuity, and extraordinary gemstones and/or
diamonds. “To me, it is the jewelry equivalent of couture
Pomellato High
Jewelry Collezione
1967 Iconica Extreme
ring in 18k rose
gold with diamonds;
price upon request;
pomellato.com
fashion,” says jewelry expert and historian Marion Fasel,
best known for her popular Substack publication, The
Adventurine. Years ago, she points out, the big jewelry
maisons did not present collections according to the
Paris Haute Couture Week calendar. Now, many heritage
brands have chosen to align their high jewelry debuts
with the biannual event (typically in January and July).
But, Fasel adds, “the definition of high jewelry does
not have exact parameters.”
Couture fashion, for example, is regulated by the
Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. The
organization, founded in 1868, vets the fashion designers
who wish to participate in the season’s presentations;
only then can the couturiers legally describe their work
as “haute couture.”
This isn’t the case for high jewelry—there’s no governing body regulating use of the term. And since the classification is not held to the same rigorous criteria, the
landscape is represented by a diverse array of creators.
Beyond the Paris pantheon of Boucheron, Cartier, and
other famous jewelry houses on the Place Vendôme, collectively the global epicenter of high jewelry, other venerable maisons including Verdura (New York City), Piaget
and Chopard (Geneva), Pomellato (Milan), Hemmerle
(Munich), and Bhagat (Mumbai, India) also create high
jewels. As does Joel Arthur Rosenthal, aka JAR (Paris),
one of the most collectible jewelers on the planet.
High jewelry would also describe the work of some
newer artists and ateliers such as David Michael
(Australia’s Gold Coast), Adam Neeley (Laguna Beach,
Calif.), Theodoros (Athens, Greece), Cindy Chao (Taipei,
Taiwan), and Ana Khouri (New York City), recipient of
Jewelers of America’s prestigious 2026 Gem Award for
High Jewelry Excellence.
GEMANDJEWEL.COM
