Vicenzaoro Highlights, January 2023: Jewelry between Reality and Fiction
During the Dreamscapes talk curated by Trendvision, the two founders of New York City Jewelry Week talked about the opportunities for making a jewel live between two parallel worlds
As always, a stage with an international allure that of Trendvision, whose direction is always in the hands of the great connoisseur Paola De Luca, who yesterday led us to discover the meaning of "dreamscaping". That is that tendency to seek distraction and relief from reality, seeking refuge in fantasy. Is all this possible in jewelry? We talked about it with Bella Neyman and JB Jones, co-founders of New York City Jewelry Week.
Have you ever been to Vicenzaoro before? What do you expect from this show and how do you feel with Italian jewelry design?
This is our first time attending Vicenzaoro, and we are incredibly excited. Italian jewelry is rooted in history and tradition, intricate goldwork and micro mosaics so I would imagine that we will see a lot of this type of work. However we have come to see that Italian jewelry can also be incredibly avant-garde with artists who are interested in breaking free from the traditional confines, and creating work that is sculptural and bold, and even moving away from traditional materials - so we are excited to see both of these dichotomies presented.
In which direction is jewelry going now, and which are the new "boundaries" and directions?
Reality and fiction are being redefined in the jewelry sector. With the growing interest in Web3, NFT’s and the metaverse, there are new “realities” being defined.
Is virtual jewelry any less real than the jewelry you are wearing right now?
It depends on how you define what’s real. The jewelers who are blurring the lines between the various worlds we inhabit now, are the one’s carving a very interesting new direction and breaking boundaries - these experimentations are really exciting to see.
You are the founders of a format really innovative and contemporary. How was it born and which is the profile of artists and designers that can participate? Is it open to International designers or it is mainly focused on American ones?
NYC Jewelry Week was created as a celebration of jewelry in NYC - an opportunity to introduce to consumers all of the talented jewelers in NYC. It is a citywide festival with jewelry exhibitions, talks, and retail events taking place throughout the city. It's an International city we welcome the participation of international designers - those living here and those from other parts of the world, especially since we have a virtual component as well. Artists and design- ers can apply to participate through our online application.
What young people see in jewelry and look for a piece of jewel?
Young people are looking for jewelry that speaks to who they are, but it’s not nec- essarily deeply rooted - this could simply mean defining a mood, representing the cultural climate, or capturing a moment. The young have their eyes on individuality and their interest in jewelry isn’t necessarily about materials, crafts- manship or tradition in today’s shifting and uncertain landscape. We are on the precipice of so many cultural shifts, that coming into one’s own is more important than ever, and if history teaches us anything, jewelry is always a great representation of self, even if fleeting.