Editor’s Note
This article explores the growing prominence of semi-precious stones like spinel, garnet, and tourmaline in high jewelry, examining whether they represent a new frontier for collectors and investors.
The haute joaillerie collections were presented in Paris at the end of June. They prominently featured spinels, garnets, and tourmalines. Are these the new investment stones?
Do not speak to her of semi-precious stones. Sabina Belli, president of the Milanese jeweler Pomellato, forbids this term within her teams. Rightly so. Traditionally designating gems that do not fall into the category of precious stones—namely diamond, corundum (ruby and sapphire), and one beryl (emerald)—this classification, ultimately arbitrary since it is not based on any precise criteria (stone hardness? group? rarity? origin?), seems to have had its day. Some speak of fine stones, others say nothing as the distinction appears obsolete. Sabina Belli readily speaks of “new precious stones.” These illuminate the new haute joaillerie collection presented in Paris by the Milanese house: fuchsia or anthracite spinels, intense green or Paraíba tourmalines, an indigolite whose shades oscillate between electric blue and green, all together evoke the works of Gio Ponti or the Planetario museum of architect Piero Portaluppi.
This opus constitutes the fifth haute joaillerie collection offered by Pomellato. The choice of fine stones, more affordable than precious stones, aligns with the philosophy of the house, which founded its existence on the concept of ready-to-wear jewelry. The prices, ranging between 50,000 and 700,000 euros, are certainly high (we are still talking about unique pieces with splendid characterful gems and exceptional craftsmanship) but remain far from the records that marked the season (40 million euros for a diamond necklace at Bvlgari or 10 million for a ring haloed with a Kashmir sapphire at Chanel, for example). These records, intended mainly to capture the imagination and galvanize a house’s authority, remain rare. For the reality of the market, both among historic houses and “new entrants,” now revolves around proposals that ostentatiously showcase the vast range of garnets, spinels, tourmalines (including rubellites and indigolites), and even quartz and zoisites (tanzanite) in place of the famous corundums mentioned above.
To transcribe the creative atmosphere of Milan, Vincenzo Castaldo, artistic director of Pomellato, makes aquamarines, rubellites, tsavorites, tanzanites, mandarin garnets, green tourmalines, and zircons vibrate, magnified by a baroque cut, the signature of the Italian jeweler. At the heart of the Barocco necklace is a nearly 34-carat Paraiba tourmaline.
The practice is old. One finds a great many topazes, citrines, aquamarines, or amethysts in 19th-century French jewelry, notably due to the discovery of new Brazilian deposits. Art Deco also used them creatively, often as accent stones. Decades of crisis, the 1930s in particular, also gave them a prominent place for economic reasons. The current use of fine stones responds to new imperatives.
However, not everything is equal: “Rare spinels, garnets with vibrant colors, beautiful tourmalines will continue to rise in price. It is nevertheless unlikely that citrines, aquamarines, amethysts, or tanzanites will one day become investment stones.”
Piaget celebrated its 150th anniversary by presenting in Paris a collection that reverberates with the chromatic flamboyance of the 1970s, the decade that saw the birth of the style of the “jeweler of time.” This necklace sports a gradient of trapezoidal carnelians set in rose gold, at the heart of which flames a 21.23-carat spessartite garnet.