World-renowned Parisian jeweler Joel A. Rosenthal will debut an exhibit titled Jewels by JAR at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on November 20,2013 which runs through March 9, 2014. The retrospective of more than 300 pieces is the first collection at the Museum devoted to a contemporary jewelry artist.
Rosenthal, who works under the name JAR, is known for his sculptural and colorful three-dimensional replicas of nature. His blossoms and creatures come alive with thousands of tiny stones anchored in a setting style called pavé . Rosenthal’s love for the camellia is evident throughout his work, and on the door to his exclusive Paris boutique, where a bronze version of the flower is carved into a doorbell.
Intricately placed rubies, pink sapphires, and diamonds on this floral brooch create the look of a camellia picked straight from the garden set in silver and gold. Image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Collectors marvel at JAR’s beautifully  intricate designs, in which the jewels’  gradations of color give the finished piece a painterly effect. Oftentimes, pieces are constructured on a core of oxidized silver to suppress the sheen of metal in order to highlight the color of a stone or pearl. While some of the gems used are exceptional, the craftsmanship of their unusual arrangement is what makes JAR truly visionary.
The form of a colorful butterfly in mid-flight is a JAR favorite, with the antennae often purposefully asymetrical. This brooch is set with sapphires, fire opals, rubies, amethyst, garnets, diamonds, silver and gold. Image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Rosenthal formed this regal zebra brooch from black-and-white banded agate, and covered the bridle and feather plume with tiny sparkling diamonds. Rosenthal’s bejeweled animals often stare with eyes gleaming with brilliant gems.
This regal zebra brooch from black-and-white banded agate is from the collection of Ann Getty. Image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Born in New York, Rosenthal moved to Paris after graduating from Harvard. His brilliant eye for detail as a needlepoint designer eventually translated into jewelry design. A small, hidden boutique on the Place Vendôme became the home of JAR in 1978, and is the same space he occupies today. Perfecting one-of-a-kind creations that express the personality of each individual buyer is a time-consuming process for JAR. , but the exclusive club of private clients is happy to wait.
Additional information on the exhibition can be found on the The Metropolitan Museum of Art website.
