David Jerome

The David Jerome Jewelry Collection refers to a collection of jewelry, diamonds and other gemstones amassed by world-renowned jeweler and gemologist David Jerome. Jerome has traveled to the most remote parts of the world for more than 45 years to amass his extraordinary private collection. 

The British-born Jerome was raised in London and was initially a hair stylist, a trade that his father suggested he pursue. He worked at a salon on Oxford Street in London and worked extensively with coloring products for hair. Jerome later established an American cosmetics and hair care products manufacturing company called Jerome Russell with his brother, which saw him working more deeply with color, creating spray-on hair color thickeners for the consumer market as well as other products. The company was sold to American International Industries. Since then, he has embraced his lifelong love of gemology and jewelry design. 

Jerome has traveled all over the world in search of gems — to Africa, China, Thailand, Sri Lanka and more — but cites Tanzania as having been the first place he felt compelled to go owing to his hobby. His father worked in a range of London-based markets when he was a child and would frequently buy pieces of gold as well as loose stones from customers. When Jerome encountered tanzanite, he insisted that he had to journey to Tanzania, to its ethically operated mines. The collector continues to go straight to the source rather than to wholesalers for his supply. 

Tanzanite — which, as its name implies, is found only in Tanzania — is beloved for its rich hue, ranging from blue to violet. Unheated examples of this stone have found a place in Jerome’s exquisite cocktail rings and necklaces more than 90 percent of his stones are untreated or unheated. The jeweler has created thousands of designs over the years and has also cited his admiration for aquamarine, which is perhaps the gemstone that best embodies the glimmering blue of the ocean. Presumably, Jerome has been to the mines of Zambia, Nigeria, Mozambique and elsewhere that house rich deposits of this stone, which appears frequently in his cluster rings. (His stones are typically set in platinum or 18K gold.)

In 2015, Jerome worked with John Pye Luxury Assets to bring a collection of nearly 700 precious colored natural gemstones to auction that was valued at nearly 10 million dollars.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of David Jerome jewelry.

Contemporary jewelry is inextricably linked with the moment in which it is created, frequently reflecting current social, cultural and political issues such as environmental consciousness, identity and sustainability. It’s informed by fashion trends, from the chokers of the 1990s to the large chain necklaces of the early 2000s.

Jewelry is one of the oldest forms of adornment. Lockets made of silver or gold have been treasured gifts for hundreds of years, for example, and charm bracelets, which have existed since prehistoric times, didn’t become especially popular until the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. For many centuries, fine jewelry was used primarily to express wealth or status through lavish materials. Then, in the 1960s, a concept known as the “critique of preciousness” emerged, with jewelers creating pieces that did not get their value from gemstones or precious metals. Instead, it was the jeweler’s artistic vision that was prized and elevated.

This shift still informs Contemporary jewelry being made by artists today. Whether they are using cheap, found materials and working with provocative geometric shapes or seeking out the rarest stones, they are imbuing their work with meaning through their skills, techniques and ideas. Innovative designers such as Elsa Peretti, who popularized sculptural sterling-silver jewelry for Tiffany & Co., and David Yurman, who twisted metal into the simple yet striking Cable bracelet, have also influenced the direction of Contemporary jewelry’s forms and aesthetics.

Meanwhile, technological advancements like metal alloys and laser engraving have led to new possibilities in jewelry design. Now, edgy makers and brands as well as minimalist designers are pushing Contemporary jewelry forward into the 21st century.

Find a collection of Contemporary rings, earrings, necklaces and other jewelry on 1stDibs.

Antique and vintage rings have long held a special place in the hearts of fine jewelry lovers all over the world.

No matter their origin or specific characteristics, rings are timeless, versatile accessories. They’ve carried deep meaning since at least the Middle Ages, when diamond rings symbolized strength and other kinds of rings were worn to signify romantic feelings or to denote an affiliation with a religious order. Rings have also forever been emblematic of eternity.

Over time, rings have frequently taken the form of serpents, which have long been associated with eternal life, health and renewal. Italian luxury jewelry house Bulgari has become famous for its widely loved Serpenti motif, for example, and its Serpenti ring, like the other accessories in the collection, began as an homage to jewelry of the Roman and Hellenistic eras. The serpent is now a popular motif in fine jewelry. Jewelry devotees have long pined for rings adorned with reptiles, thanks to antique Victorian rings — well, specifically, Queen Victoria’s illustrious engagement ring, which took the form of a gold snake set with rubies, diamonds and an emerald (her birthstone). Designs for Victorian-era engagement rings often featured repoussé work and chasing, in which patterns are hammered into the metal.

Engagement rings, which are reliably intimidating to shop for, are still widely recognized as symbols of love and commitment. On 1stDibs, a range of buying guides can be found for those in the market for antique engagement rings, vintage engagement rings or Art Deco engagement rings. 

The most collectible antique engagement rings and vintage engagement rings are those from the Victorian, Edwardian and Art Deco eras. Named for the monarchies of the four King Georges, who in succession ruled England starting in 1714 (plus King William’s reign), antique Georgian rings, be they engagement rings or otherwise, are also coveted by collectors. Pearls, along with colored gemstones like garnets, rubies and sapphires, were widely used in Georgian jewelry. The late-1700s paste jewelry was a predecessor to what we now call fashion or costume jewelry. 

The Art Nouveau movement (1880–1910) brought with it rings inspired by the natural world. Antique Art Nouveau rings might feature depictions of winged insects and fauna as well as women, who were simultaneously eroticized and romanticized, frequently with long flowing hair. Art Deco jewelry, on the other hand, which originated during the 1920s and ’30s, is by and large “white jewelry.” White metals, primarily platinum, were favored over yellow gold in the design of antique Art Deco rings and other accessories as well as geometric motifs, with women drawn to the era’s dazzling cocktail rings in particular.

Whether you’re hunting down a chunky classic for a Prohibition-themed cocktail party or seeking a clean contemporary design to complement your casual ensemble, find an exquisite collection of antique, new and vintage rings on 1stDibs.