Designer Spotlight: Joel Arthur Rosenthal (JAR)

Posted in: All Things Jewelry, Celebrity Jewelry, Designer Spotlights, Exhibitions

Find your place, and let the world gravitate to you. ~Diana Vreeland

JAR Raspberry Brooch, 2011
Rubies, diamonds, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum
Collection of Sien M. Chew
Photograph by Jozsef Tari. Courtesy of JAR, Paris. by Angela Magnotti Andrews Inspired by the landmark exhibition currently on view at The Met, we offer this spotlight on the jewelry of Joel Arthur Rosenthal (JAR). As mentioned in a recent post, we encourage any of our New York readers, or those who will be visiting New York between now and March 9, 2014, to include Jewels by JAR on your must-see list.

Eluding Definition

The jewelry industry enjoys a vast array of incredible designers, past and present. There are those whose commitment to excellence has crowned them with the distinction of classic and timeless elegance, such as Cartier, VC&A, and Tiffany. Then there are those whose edgy charisma inspires a cult following among the avant-garde elite, like Stephen Webster, Coco Chanel, and Paloma Picasso. And then there are those whose originality outclasses every class, whose mastery of the art of jewelry makes them an art form in their own right, such as Jean Schlumberger, Suzanne Belperron, and Alex Spekus. These are the men and women who keep time according to their own rhythm. Their passion and vision lead them, and their artistry is an expression of their very essence. They defy the natural order of things, eluding definition (and often the press). Such is the case with Joel Arthur Rosenthal, most popularly known as JAR.

The Enchantment That Lies Within

His storefront on the Place Vendôme in Paris is "almost invisible" {2}. One intriguing window might display a twig, a pear, or nothing against its "wall of faded pink velvet" {11}, and those who visit are expected. After ringing the stamen of a "beautiful bronze camellia," a visitor might find herself in a scene from Alice and Wonderland. A "pale, intense, magnetic, and brilliant" man leads her "down the rabbit hole" to a "series of small interconnecting rooms lined with fading moss-green velvet" {cited: 2; 2; 11}. Her enigmatic host leaves her for a few moments among the specimens of nature which intermingle with full-length oil paintings resting against the wall. The spicy scent of carnations and cloves lingers in the air, inviting the senses on a magical journey, "like peering through the glass in a zoo, an insect house, an arboretum, a cabinet of marvels" {2}. The waiting is anything but dull. Surrounding her is "an infinitely precious display of imagination, wit, and enormous soul" {2}. Sooner than later, the reason she came emerges in the hands of a man the public rarely sees, and whatever he's holding, he's chosen it just for her. It might be a delicate butterfly with folded wings paved in amethysts and sapphires, it's gem-encrusted body coming in for a landing. It might be a cluster of raspberries on a blackened gold stem, bound by a band of diamonds. It might be an exquisite pair of earrings, perhaps a pair of dynamic chandeliers, or maybe the demure shimmering pansies made from titanium.

Nothing Like Jewels by JAR

For certain, it will make an excruciating mark upon her soul. For there is nothing like Jewels by JAR. Every jewel he creates "is a world unto itself, like a poem. His work has magic in it" {2}. "Flower petals drip with rubies as though they are wilting from the sheer weight of the stones," {5}, and each piece is "bold but never flashy...extremely delicate, often inspired by nature in a way so realistic that...a flower or butterfly...seem almost real" {13}. Indeed, some say his renderings are even "more perfect than what nature intended" {3}. JAR's meticulous passion for perfection in color and design is evident in every facet. Like a perfect tapestry, the backs are nearly indistinguishable from the fronts, and each piece is endowed with a personal touch, a gift from the designer to the wearer alone: It might be an imprint left at the end of the night upon your ear lobe, or a secret gemstone delicately caressing the inside of your wrist, or a diamond-encrusted clasp that rests coolly against the back of your neck beneath your hair. Though the evening will end and the jewels will once again lie in repose in their velvet-lined boxes, the mark they will last forever. True artistry haunts for life, and JAR is true artistry.