JCK Luxury 2019 Supplement by JCK Magazine

THE INDUSTRY AUTHORITY

SPRING 2019

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JCK’S SISTER SHOW TURNS 20

PLUS: 10 BRANDS WHO’VE BEEN THERE FROM THE START

LU X U RY

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cove coveR eR R Look Gemma earrings in 18k yellow gold with 2.1 cts. t.w. rainbow moonstone and 53.06 cts. t.w. green tourmaline; $10,945; Lauren K; 212-719-2067; laurenk.com

LUXURY

18k white gold necklace with 0.53 ct. t.w. diamonds and 59.2 cts. t.w. aquamarine; $26,500; Bellarri; 800-2550192; bellarri.com

LUXURY A celebration of JCK’s sister show as it heads into its 20th year

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Bezel diamond necklace in 18k yellow gold with 1.72 cts. t.w. diamonds; $14,400; Erica Courtney; 323-938-2373; ericacourtney.com

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY HANNAH KHYMYCH Hair: FELIX FISCHER USING L’ANZA HAIRCARE/FACTORY DOWNTOWN Makeup: CAITLIN WOOTERS/ART DEPARTMENT Stylist: NINA STERGHIOU Manicurist: ROSEANN SINGLETON FOR EMILIE HEATHE/ART DEPARTMENT Model: KINGA TROJAN/NY MODEL MANAGEMENT DRESS: MYRA SWIM

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Vahan, Alwand Vahan, and its Moiré Beading Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. | Designs © Alwand Vahan Jewelry Ltd.

Celebrating

800.365.6101 | vahanjewelry.com | Made in the USA

LUXURY/JCK LUX 317

FACTS OF LUXURY LIFE by Rob Bates

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D I D Y O U H E A R A B O U T T H E B L I N G E D - O U T G U I TA R ? O R T H E B L U E ICE CREAM CONE? OVER THE COURSE OF T WO DECADES, LUXURY BY JCK H A S F E AT U R E D A L OT O F L U X U RY A N D A T O N O F F U N . T H I S Y E A R ’ S E V E N T, W H I C H R U N S F R O M W E D N E S D AY, M AY 2 9 , T H R O U G H M O N D AY, J U N E 3 , I S POISED TO BE THE MOST LUXURIOUS— AND MOST EXCITING—EVER.

his year marks the 20th Luxury by JCK. (The first edition was in 2000.) From the start, the show has been about offering an elevated experience to select buyers and exhibitors, in a more relaxed environment than the main JCK Las Vegas show. (The first two days of Luxury are invitation-only; the last four are open to all JCK showgoers.) “It’s a nice way to ease into the JCK show,” says Sarin Bachmann, event vice president for the JCK and Luxury shows. In honor of what Reed Exhibitions is calling the 20th anniversary of Luxury—though organizers admit there was a little debate about that, given that this year’s show marks 20 editions, but only 19 years—here are 20 tidbits about JCK Las Vegas’ smaller, ritzier, but at the same time somewhat more casual younger sibling.

ALL SHOW PHOTOS: COURTESY OF JCK EVENTS; WINE: EHSTOCK/ISTOCK/GETTY

This year, when Luxury and JCK Las Vegas move back to The Venetian and the Sands—following eight years at Mandalay Bay—Luxury will be located for the first time on the JCK show floor, as well as in the adjacent Venetian Ballroom and the ballrooms across the hall housing exhibitors such as Forevermark, Le Vian, Tacori, Takat, Tissot, and Verragio.

2 Last year, Luxury

was honored for “Best VIP Program” by Trade Show Executive’s Gold 100 Awards. JCKONLINE.COM

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In 2018, the show debuted a design competition. The winners were: bridal, Imagine Bridal (retail partner: Mann’s Jewelers); finished colored gemstones, Bapalal Keshavlal (retail partner: Roberson’s Fine Jewelry); finished diamond piece, Shy Creation (retail partner: Sissy’s Log Cabin); design winner, Samuel Sylvio (retail partner: Jack Lewis Jewelers); high-end fashion, Spark Creations (retail partner: Borsheims Fine Jewelry & Gifts); and Luxury debut, Rahaminov Diamonds (retail partner: London Jewelers). This year, there will be a new category for the Design@ Luxury pavilion. (Pictured: Shy Creation’s Kathy Dayan)

AMONG THE FOOD ON OFFER this year: ice cream in a blue cone. Reed Jewelry Group’s special events and conference director Kate Youngstrom says the cone has a “cognac blueberry flavor” and tastes “amazing and crazy.”

5 IN 2018, SHOWGOERS DRANK 75,000 CUPS OF COFFEE AND 6,500 GLASSES OF WINE.

PAST KEYNOTE SPEAKERS INCLUDE BRUCE, NOW CAITLYN, JENNER AND KATHY IRELAND (PICTURED).

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For its first three years, Luxury took place in the upstairs suites in The Venetian. “Some people liked the suites,” recalls Bachmann. “But there was a bit of threshold resistance. After all, you were going into someone’s bedroom.”

Luxury plays a role in the book The Southern Education of a Jersey Girl: Adventures in Life and Love in the Heart of Dixie, by Jaime Primak Sullivan. In it, the star of Bravo’s 2014 series Jersey Belle covered the show for a magazine, and romantic complications ensued.

11 LUXURY RECYCLES 60,705 POUNDS OF MATERIALS EVERY SHOW.

ONE PARTICULARLY UNUSUAL VISITOR IN 2016: A BLINGED -OUT GUITAR, WHICH GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS OFFICIALLY DUBBED THE GUITAR COVERED WITH THE MOST GEMSTONES AND ZIRCONIA (MORE THAN 16,000, IN FACT). THE INSTRUMENT PROBABLY DIDN’T HAVE A LOT OF COMPETITION FOR THAT TITLE, BUT IT’S STILL IMPRESSIVE.

In 2017, the show created Design@Luxury, a curated pavilion for high-end designers. This year, Design@Luxury is doubling in size and will feature approximately 20 jewelry brands, including Alishan, Dorian & Rose, Jennifer Dawes Design, and Just Jules.

SPRING 2019

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THE SHOW ATTRACTS RETAILERS AND EXHIBITORS FROM 46 COUNTRIES, INCLUDING THOSE COMING ALL THE WAY FROM SOUTH AFRICA, NEW ZEALAND, HONG KONG, AND JAPAN. JCKONLINE.COM

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LUXURY 12

13 IN 2018, LUXURY RECEIVED AN ESTIMATED 51,615 POUNDS OF JEWELRY.

You never know who you’ll 14 see at Luxury. Celebrities who have attended include Elizabeth Taylor, Pamela Anderson, assorted Dancing With the Stars pros and competitors (including Gilles Marini, pictured), and future first daughter—though no one dreamed it then—Ivanka Trump.

For years, Luxury featured entertainment for exhibitors and retailers. Musical guests included such legends as the Pointer Sisters, Earth Wind & Fire, and the Beach Boys. Plus there were comics: Howie Mandel (pictured), who went over so well he was asked back; Dana Carvey; and Wayne Brady from TV’s improv comedy Whose Line Is It Anyway? Authors who have spoken at the show include Mark Victor Hansen (the coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Soul ) and Jack Mitchell, author of Hug Your Customers.

This year’s keynote will be delivered by Scott Stratten, the head of UnMarketing. He will speak about how to “Stop Marketing and Start Engaging” on the morning of Wednesday, May 29.

The 2019 Luxury show will feature a wall that tells the story of the show and is designed to be Instagrammable. There will also be an in-store experience station on the show floor with daily “activations” designed to give retailers ideas to take back to their stores.

Luxury is a “really big shew.” For example, 2,700 slices of bacon were served to attendees during breakfasts in 2018.

WHEN THE SHOW MOVED TO THE VENETIAN’S BALLROOMS IN 2004, ROBIN “LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS” LEACH (PICTURED WITH BACHMANN) DID THE RIBBON-CUTTING.

If all this has gotten you psyched to celebrate the 20th Luxury show, be sure to attend the anniversary shindig on Thursday, May 30, from 9 to 11 p.m., at The Venetian’s Tao Beach nightclub.

20 JCKONLINE.COM

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JCK LUXURY SALON #713 Toll-free: 877-77-MAKUR makurdesigns.com

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LUXURY 14

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by Melissa Rose Bernardo

1. Necklace and brooch with 12.69 ct. natural black pear-shape diamond, 3.55 cts. t.w. pear-shape and 1.14 cts. t.w. round diamonds, and 1.65 cts. t.w. green emeralds in 18k white gold; $80,000; Rahaminov Diamonds; 213-622-9866; rahaminov.com 2. Altalena dangle earrings in 18k yellow gold with 8 mmâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;8.5 mm pearls and 0.3 ct. t.w. diamonds; $1,605; Mastoloni; 800-347-3275; mastoloni.com 3. Royal T engagement ring in 18k rose gold (also available in 18k yellow gold and platinum); $6,690 (without center stone); Tacori; 800-421-9844; tacori.com 4. Firenze Enamel 18k yellow gold vermeil diamond X bracelet in Florentine finish with 0.67 ct. t.w. diamonds; $6,500; Henderson Collection by Lecil; 800-605-3035; wlhlimited.com 5. Capri collection ring with multicolored gemstones in 14k rose gold; $2,550; Bellarri; 800-255-0192; bellarri.com SPRING 2019

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6. Handcrafted bangles in 18k gold, diamonds, and enamel, some with 24k gold leaf; $1,749â&#x20AC;&#x201C; $2,959; Soho Jewelry; 212-219-3734; sohojewelry.com 7. Pendant with citrine, peridot, and diamonds in 14k gold on 16-inch chain; $1,330; PeJay Creations; 201-863-0006; pejaycreations.com 8. Tradition engagement ring with 1 ct. t.w. diamonds in 14k white and rose gold; starting at $3,950 (without center stone); Verragio; sales@verragio.com; verragio.com 9. Fancy pavĂŠ earrings with 32.39 cts. t.w. white and black diamonds in 18k white gold; $99,000; Siera Jewelry; info@sierajewelry.com; sierajewelry.com 10. Ring with 2.4 cts. t.w. round and rose-cut diamonds in 18k white gold; $11,900; Norman Covan; 888-977-9007; normancovan.com SPRING 2019

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ONE OF THE MANY EVENTS & EXPERIENCES N O T T O B E M I S S E D AT J C K L A S V E G A S 2 0 1 9

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LUXURY 20

Ring with 1.32 ct. kite-shape alexandrite, 1.09 cts. t.w. round alexandrites, 0.32 ct. t.w. kite-shape diamonds, and 0.26 ct. t.w. round diamonds in platinum with black rhodium; price on request

DESIGNER PROFILE

TRUE COLORS

Omi Privé’s Niveet Nagpal is a gemstone guru turned award-winning jewelry designer

BY EVELYN CROWLEY

Ring with 10.23 ct. oval cuprian elbaite tourmaline, 1.54 cts. t.w. round Paraiba tourmaline, 1.23 cts. t.w. French-cut diamond baguettes, and 1.36 cts. t.w. round brilliant diamonds in platinum; price on request

SPRING 2019

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ITH HIS CLOSET full of blazers and professional demeanor, jewelry designer Niveet Nagpal might be taken for a real estate executive or finance guy—were it not for a rather conspicuous brooch in the shape of a gecko that habitually clings to his lapel. “This is Alexis. She’s my signature piece,” he explains of the 18k white gold lizard, whose slender back is encrusted with alexandrite (her namesake) and who stares unblinking at him with tsavorite eyes and a flick of a ruby tongue, her legs wiggling slightly when he walks. Alexis is the first piece that Nagpal kept for himself from Omi Privé, the jewelry line he founded in 2012, and she’s become something of a company mascot. “She’s in all our lookbooks,” he says. She always appears on the last page—a playful coda to a serious collection of sparklers. As it happens, Nagpal was a finance guy, albeit briefly. “I went to USC [University of Southern California] and studied business,” he says at his office in West Covina, a suburb east of Los Angeles where he grew up and now lives with his wife and two young children. His mother and father, Preeti and Omi, are the founders of Omi Gems, which deals in wholesale loose colored stones and is the 34-year-old parent company of Omi Privé. Although passionate about gems since he attended his first trade show at the tender age of 6, Nagpal never gave much thought to joining the family business. Instead, he opted for a job at an investment firm after college. But a few months in, he realized it wasn’t for him. “I’m looking around and thinking, This doesn’t feel right,” he recalls. “It JCKONLINE.COM

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Ring with 9.34 ct. emerald-cut sapphire, 0.8 ct. t.w. round sapphires, 0.87 ct. t.w. trapezoid diamonds, 0.95 ct. t.w. carré-cut diamonds, and 2 cts. t.w. diamond baguettes in platinum; price on request

Pendant with 2.43 ct. cushion purple spinel, 0.26 ct. t.w. round alexandrites, and 0.02 ct. t.w. round diamonds in 18k rose gold; $6,800

“It’s all about the stones. Each one has its own unique personality. I just play off that.” —NIVEET NAGPAL

Ring with 6.68 ct. cushion-cut imperial topaz, 1.2 ct. t.w. tapered topaz baguettes, 0.94 ct. t.w. round red spinels, 0.32 ct. t.w. round diamonds, and 0.01 ct. round alexandrite in platinum and 18k rose gold; price on request

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didn’t really occur to me how special the jewelry industry was until I ventured outside of it.” Nagpal subsequently told his parents he wanted to work for them. They agreed—on the condition that he first get a graduate gemologist degree from GIA. “It was there that I learned the scientific side of the industry,” he says. “Things like mineral classifications and trace elements I’d heard about, but I didn’t really understand.” Nagpal joined Omi Gems in 1997, and he’s been there ever since. The gem trade has many family dynasties, but the Nagpals’, which stretches back seven generations on Preeti’s side, is particularly impressive. As Burmese ruby miners in the early 1900s, they amassed a small fortune but lost it all during the 1940s, when forced to first flee Burma (now Myanmar) when the Japanese invaded and later India when the British withdrew. “My grandfather basically had a sachet full of rubies to his name,” Nagpal says. Eventually, the family rebuilt the business. In 1985, Preeti and Omi moved to Los Angeles and independently started Omi Gems. “My dad ran the business,” Nagpal says. “My mother was really about the stones. She got to be an expert on the slight variances of shade and clarity.” Over the decades, Omi Gems moved increasingly upmarket, sourcing the finest stones and supplying them to premium retailers. Occasionally, Nagpal would be commissioned by a client to create a jewelry piece. But he harbored no aspirations of a career pivot. “I was a stone guy,” he says. “I never considered myself a designer.” However, during the 2008 recession, piqued by what he considered a drought of quality mounts induced by the economic downturn, he began to think otherwise. “I’m looking at beautiful stones going into cookie-cutter mounts and I’m just like, This isn’t cool, these are my babies,” he says. “And that got me thinking, Well, what would I have done?” In 2011, Nagpal submitted a diamond and sapphire bracelet he had made for a client to the American Gem Trade Association’s Spectrum Awards. To his surprise, it won. “They asked for our jewelry brand name,” he recalls. “I said, ‘Well, we don’t have one.’ It was an awakening.” He introduced Omi Privé the following year. SPRING 2019

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Ring with 2.03 ct. cushion red spinel, 2.72 cts. t.w. cushion red spinel accents, and 0.68 ct. t.w. round diamonds in 18k yellow gold; $32,000

Ring with 6.77 ct. oval mint garnet, 0.18 ct. t.w. round tsavorite, 0.79 ct. t.w. epaulet-cut diamonds, and 1.03 cts. t.w. round diamonds in platinum and 18k yellow gold; $62,000

Pendant with 4.32 ct. round rainbow moonstone, 0.28 ct. t.w. round alexandrites, and 0.02 ct. t.w. round diamonds in 18k rose gold with black rhodium; $9,000; Omi Privé; 877-OMIGEMS; omiprive.com

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As for his swift rise to become one of the industry’s most sought-after designers of colored gemstone pieces, Nagpal demurs, like a director ceding the spotlight to his stars. “It’s all about the stones,” he says. “Each one has its own unique personality. I just play off that.” Back in his office, Nagpal plucks a diamond baguette necklace with cornflower blue sapphires from its stand and fastens it around my neck. The platinum frames sit coolly against my skin. “Every surface of our designs is finished,” he says. “For this, we took a lot of care in fluidity and comfort. You can see that it fits perfectly around your neck.” We move on to a tray of loose stones: milky opals, brilliant pink tourmalines, emeralds the color of a freshly cut lawn. “There are so many things that have to go right for a gem to even form. They are perfect storms of nature.” Nagpal holds a tangerine spessartite garnet to a desk lamp, and it dances with light. “My job is to respect their force and rarity,” he says. “I want to bring out the very best in them.” Omi Privé offers both a signature collection and custom designs (the latter designated with a hidden piece of alexandrite). Everything is made to order in Los Angeles using techniques such as hand-drilled micro pavé and handdrawn wire. The stones are sourced from mines throughout the world and cut mostly in Bangkok. When they arrive, Nagpal will often recut them to his exacting standards. He’s become especially partial to designing cocktail

rings—gobstoppers encircled with halos of glittering pavé stones. “It’s an issue,” he laughs. “I’ve been getting requests for more earrings and pendants.” For the Luxury show this year, Nagpal will bring both loose stones and finished pieces. “I don’t think anyone does it the way we do—working as both the source and the designer,” he says. “A customer can choose to be part of things from the very beginning, from when we source the gems to cutting them to working one-on-one with me on a custom design.” Nagpal ensures those who don’t take part in its creation process still get a lesson in what makes a piece special. “I create a [written] story for each one,” he says of the Omi Privé collection, which is available at a handful of select U.S. retailers including Houston’s Thomas Markle Jewelers and Steve Quick Jeweler in Chicago. “It includes everything from the history of the stones to why I made certain design choices.” Nagpal points to a photo on the wall. “That picture was actually taken right before our first Luxury show six years ago,” he says. It shows Nagpal and his father, who still comes to work every day, examining a sachet of sapphires on the kitchen table, while Nagpal holds his then 1-yearold son—three generations in one frame. “My son is now 7, and he loves stones and knows all about them. Hopefully someday he will join the business,” he says. “But if he doesn’t, that’s okay. Whatever makes him happy.” JCKONLINE.COM

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Salon LUX1221 info@uneekjewelry.com | 1-888-BE-UNEEK | www.uneekjewelry.com