Boghossian, Hemmerle, Otto Jakob Among 91 Exhibitors At TEFAF New York 2023

TEFAF New York returns to the Park Avenue Armory with 91 galleries and creators, including five firms that specialize in jewelry, with a couple making their first appearance at the New York event.

The New York art, antique and design fair is a companion to TEFAF Maastricht, the celebrated art fair in The Netherlands, known for its Old Master paintings, antiques and classical antiquities. Both fairs are hosted by The European Fine Art Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation that champions expertise and diversity in the global art community. The New York fair is open to the public May 12 – 16, with a VIP invitation only day May 11.

Among the exhibitors are three contemporary artists and two galleries that specialize in high jewelry, including Geneva-based contemporary high jeweler, Boghossian, one of 13 new exhibitors at TEFAF New York. The luxury jeweler specializes in creating pieces with cutting-edge Swiss craftsmanship. One of the techniques the company employs is eliminating as much of the precious metal as possible to provide the full brilliance of the gems.

Gems are a very important to the Boghossian family, as the jeweler’s roots are in discovering and dealing in exceptional gems, gradually traveling east to west on the famed silk road until settling in Europe. The company is now in the hands of fifth and sixth generation family members. The high jewelry brand is relatively new but has quickly gained a reputation for exceptional craftsmanship. It opened a series of boutiques in London, New York, Hong Kong, Gstaad and Monaco. The family also enlisted the services of celebrated high jewelry artist Edmond Chin as its creative director. Together they are producing jewels that push boundaries in art and artisanship.

Among the pieces the company is bringing to TEFAF New York are new jewels from its Kissing Four Elements collection, one of the brand’s most important collections that merges two distinctly different gemstones in an “embrace.”

Otto Jakob is a longtime and well-known jewelry artist at TEFAF Maastricht but this will be his first time at the New York fair. The self-taught German goldsmith combines ancient gold making and enameling techniques painstakingly learned over time with new technology, such as 3D printing. He produces miniature sculptural works that tell stories through its visual depictions.

One piece Jakob will be showing is the “Camelot” ring featuring a blue-green tourmaline, held by four arched prongs crafted from white and yellow gold that creates a bezel. The ring hoop, is made of darkly oxidized white gold, accentuated with painted gold. It opens towards the ring head ending in four sections supporting the bezel.

The most familiar jewelry artist at TEFAF is Hemmerle, the German artisan jeweler creates pieces with painstaking care using a multitude of techniques. The result is jewels that are completely different to one another but still identifiable as Hemmerle. The company’s pieces are highly collectible and sought after on the auction market.

Among the items being shown at TEFAF New York are a pair of spiral bronze earrings set with more than 100 rare diamond cabochons in a gradient pattern, with white gold on the reverse. This one-of-a-kind creation takes its inspiration from the geometric shape that is painted and carved throughout the world and throughout history in a myriad of forms with symbolic meaning often seen as that of infinity, the cycle of life and growth.

Didier Ltd., the London-based gallery, can be seen at many of the important art fairs in Europe and America. The husband-and-wife team of Didier and Martine Haspeslagh specializes in jewels created by modern artists, which have been acquired from the secondary art market. There is perhaps no one more knowledgeable in this niche than Didier and Martine and they will be bringing a variety of pieces representing their expansive collection.

It may include an 18k hinged gold bangle by Giuseppe Uncini, in which the gold imitates concrete, the material in which the Italian sculptor mainly worked.

FD Gallery has been at both TEFAF Maastricht and New York. The New York gallery specializes in period and contemporary works throughout the world, representing historic brands, contemporary jewelry artists and rare unsigned jewels.