Jewels by JAR: a collecting guide

There’s no shop sign or window display at 7 Place Vendôme in Paris — nothing that hints at the brilliance within, beyond three discreet letters, JAR. Yet for jewellery collectors, this is a place of pilgrimage: the store of the acclaimed contemporary jewellery designer Joel Arthur Rosenthal.

Born in New York City in 1943, Rosenthal graduated in art history and philosophy at Harvard before moving to Paris. There, he opened a needlepoint shop, where his experiments with unusual colours of yarn attracted the custom of designers for Hermès and Valentino. After working with Bulgari in New York, he returned to Paris, opening his own jewellery store with his partner, Pierre Jeannet, in 1977.

JAR, as he is generally known, is celebrated for his creativity and craftsmanship. He pairs unusual gemstones with non-traditional materials and has a daring way with colour and proportion. The quality of his work recalls the jewellery of the 18th and 19th centuries. In 2013, he was the first living ‘artist of gems’ to be honoured with a retrospective at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Producing fewer than 100 pieces a year, JAR creates jewels of unusual dynamism and architectural depth, making him a favourite with style icons, tastemakers and collectors. ‘Each piece is unique and is a bond between JAR and its new owner,’ says François Curiel, chairman of Christie’s Europe, Middle East and Africa, and a longtime acquaintance of the designer. ‘This rarity, combined with his unparalleled artistry and exclusivity, solidifies JAR’s status as a leading figure in the world of fine jewellery.’

Floral and foliate earrings

It was JAR’s blockbuster exhibition at London’s Somerset House in 2002 that placed him in the consciousness of fashionable women everywhere. To thank the 145 clients who loaned jewels for the 400-piece show, he sent each one a pair of ‘Pansy’ earrings in coloured aluminium.

The gift was symbolic: the French word for pansy — pensée — also translates as ‘thought’, and the motif is traditionally used in French jewellery to indicate thoughtfulness. JAR made an additional 1,000 pairs for purchase by visitors to the exhibition; they were snapped up within days.

Other floral pieces include JAR’s ‘Geranium’ ‘Violet’ and ‘Ivy Leave’ earrings.

JAR’s flower bangles

In 2002, Christie’s offered JAR’s ‘Mogol’ flower bangle, its rich colours and decorative motifs inspired by the artistic treasures of south Asia.

The bangle is an early example of JAR’s use of oxidised titanium, a material that had rarely, if ever, appeared in haute joaillerie before. The metallic purple of the titanium is adorned with vibrant sculpted buds and flowers — a recurrent feature of JAR’s work that pays tribute to traditional Indian jewellery — spilling over the edges to continue inside.

Nature is also exquisitely captured in JAR’s ‘Apricot Blossom’ bangle and in pieces such as the ‘Parrot Tulip’ bangle, in which the gold petals appear to be made of fabric and are enhanced by diamonds and green garnets. Like the ‘Mogol’ bangle, the ‘Apricot Blossom’ and ‘Parrot Tulip’ bracelets appear to engulf the wrist.

‘The Matisse of our time’

When Ellen Barkin’s jewellery was offered at Christie’s in 2006, the sale included 17 jewels by JAR — making it one of the most important collections to have appeared at auction. Barkin calls JAR ‘the Matisse of our time’ and credits him with teaching her how to wear jewellery.

Perhaps inspired by the needlepoint shop he ran in Paris in the 1960s, JAR’s celebrated ‘Thread’ designs feature complex strands of refined pavé work that often serve as a mount for a single stone. An exceptional example from Barkin’s collection is a 22.76-carat oval brilliant-cut diamond ring. The mount is complicated, but has a lightness to it, highlighting the diamond while maintaining a presence of its own.

JAR’s imperial topaz earrings, which show the atelier’s skill at blending colours and gemstones, were another highlight of the collection. Each pendant is set with an elongated oval-cut imperial topaz enhanced by rubies and diamonds — an unusual combination of red, orange and white not typically found in jewellery. Barkin famously wore these earrings on the night of the Academy Awards in 2005.

Elizabeth Taylor’s JAR jewels

In 2011, Christie’s offered The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor, which remains one of the most valuable single-owner jewellery collections in auction history.

Included in the sale was a diamond ring — a gift from JAR for Taylor’s 70th birthday — featuring an articulated platinum heart set with a diamond ‘E’ on one side and an infinity sign on the reverse. The simplicity of the design is highlighted by JAR’s use of single-cut diamonds with only eight facets on the table (the upper face of the stone) and eight on the pavilion (the lower, reflective part), creating a much softer brilliance. Traditionally-cut stones have become a JAR trademark, offering a subtle nod to antique jewellery and the history of diamond-cutting.

Also featured in the Elizabeth Taylor sale was a pair of multicoloured sapphire and diamond ‘Ball’ earrings, purchased in Paris in December 2001. The bombé form of each earring, paired with the linear gem-set stripes, creates an unexpected combination of straight lines and curved surfaces. The stripes begin on one earring and continue asymmetrically on the other — an understated detail that is pure genius.

Lily Safra: a record-breaking collection

In 2012, Christie’s hosted Jewels for Hope: The Collection of Mrs Lily Safra, a charity auction featuring 18 jewels by JAR, making it the largest single-owner collection ever seen on the market at the time.

A ‘Camellia’ brooch offered in the sale featured more than 170 carats of rubies set in silver and gold, yet the blossom appears impossibly delicate. Created for Safra in 2003, it sold for CHF 4,003,000, nearly four times the low estimate.

Also inspired by nature, and offered in the same collection, was a tourmaline and diamond flower brooch. The soft-edged pink and green tourmaline cabochons contrast beautifully with the brilliant, pear-shaped 37.23-carat diamond.

JAR in the Al Thani Collection

Christie’s Maharajas & Mughal Magnificence auction in 2019 was a landmark sale of Indian jewellery, jewelled objects and art from the renowned Al Thani museum collection.

Bringing together some 400 lots, the auction spanned four centuries, from the glamour and tradition of the 16th-century Mughal court to the extravagance of the maharajas in the 19th and 20th centuries. Only two contemporary jewellers, JAR and Bhagat, were featured.

A highlight from the collection was JAR’s ‘Pink Golconda Diamond’ ring, which featured an exceptionally rare 10.46-carat stone from India’s oldest diamond mine, mounted in a blackened-gold setting adorned with single-cut diamonds.

Also in the sale was a sculpted titanium piece by JAR: an extraordinary elephant brooch with a Belle Epoque-style diamond aigrette — a reference to the Indian tradition of adorning royal animals with jewellery.

Magnificent Jewels takes place at Christie’s in Geneva on 14 May 2025, alongside Jewels Online: The Geneva Edit (live for bidding 9-20 May). Both sales will be on view 9-14 May at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, Geneva. Explore Luxury at Christie’s