Exhibit showcases America's simpler jewelry tastes

NEW YORK -- This might come as a shock to the current generation, but American bling hasn't always been so bright and flashy. In fact, American jewelry's claim to fame is its sporty simplicity -- the same trait that put American fashion on the map.

At the first museum exhibit focusing on the legacy of U.S. jewelry, visitors to "Masterpieces of American Jewelry" can see 210 necklaces, brooches and even cigarette cases that reflect a nation's humor, patriotism, pastimes, landscape and sophisticated high style. All were manufactured and distributed in this country between the late 18th century and 1980s.

The country's character already has been examined through its paintings, literature and music, and jewelry can serve as another window, says Ralph Esmerian, a fourth-generation dealer of precious stones and the curator of the American Folk Art Museum exhibit.

While many art forms inform about the works' creators, jewelry is unique because it also indicates the tastes of the end-users -- consumers, he says.

A large aquamarine and ruby "belt-buckle" necklace created in 1940 by Paul Flato for Linda Porter, the wife of legendary composer Cole Porter, is an example of how Americans appreciate a simple design that's embellished with a touch of whimsy instead of blinding diamonds, which surely would have been used instead of aquamarines if this was a European piece, Esmerian says.

"American jewelers believed in the classical traditions and craftsmanship that came from Europe but they present a simplified version of 'classic,"' he says.

The United States does indeed have its share of the world's finest and most renowned jewelers, Tiffany & Co., Harry Winston, and the U.S. arms of Cartier and Bulgari among them, but up through the 1950s, it was the jewelry manufacturers in Newark, N.J., and Providence, R.I., that catered to the general population that really helped the country define itself by its accessories.

"In Newark and Providence, jewelers made affordable pieces in 14-karat gold with small diamonds," Esmerian says. Pointing to a racehorse-themed pencil case by Battin & Co. from the 1940s, with demantoid garnets set in the eyes of three horses crossing the finish line, he says, "You can see the care taken even with the mass-produced pieces."

He adds, "Newark pieces, in particular, were not opulent but they were really well done. Maybe that's because our aristocracy came from the ground up. In England and France, the affordable pieces were boring."

In one of the exhibit's showcases, the diamond bracelet former New York Yankees manager Joe McCarthy commissioned for his wife Babe to commemorate World Series wins in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941 and 1943 sits next to a charm bracelet -- complete with bat and ball -- from the Grand Rapids Chicks, one of the 1940s all-female teams, highlighting how American pastimes and style preferences transcended socio-economic groups.

That's not to say American jewelry can't be extremely expensive, and that jewelers weren't looking to make a buck.

Esmerian notes a series of rose-cut diamond ballerina brooches created by Van Clef & Arpels after Claude Arpels made the connection between high society's love of gems and the ballet.

(Arpels also was a close personal friend of famed choreographer George Balanchine, who eventually brought the ballerina brooches to life in "Jewels," a 1967 three-part ballet.)

And after the platinum and clear-diamond Art Deco period, Americans embraced their showier side, with the wealthy commissioning bright gold decorative pieces such as the two 24-karat horse-head sculptures by Herbert Haseltine that open the exhibit. Their manes of rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds and oriental pearls are anything but subtle.

A decorative Mexican scene that would have been prominently displayed in a living room in 1947 was created by Esmerian's father, Raphael. The 22-karat strip of road with an emerald palm tree and sapphire sombrero was fully intended to be noticed by guests, Esmerian says with a laugh.

American jewelers were far more likely to used colored stones and put them into nontraditional colorways as they rebelled against the "we'd-never-do-that" attitude of their European counterparts, he says. That nonconformist streak gained U.S. designers international attention at the 1889 Paris World's Fair when the talk of the town was about Tiffany & Co.'s orchid pins, made of gold, diamonds and colored enamels.

Nature is a prominent theme in jewelry around the globe, and the United States is no exception, especially when a landscape-inspired piece can use native Montana sapphires and turquoise from Arizona. "Using local stones does reduce the price," Esmerian says, "But it's also about pride. You want to use your own, and there are gems here. You can still find garnet in (New York's) Central Park rock material if you really look."

Another homegrown inspiration was Walt Disney, and the exhibit includes three charm bracelets with animated characters such as Snow White and Pinocchio. However, Sleepy, Doc and Dopey were not for the masses; Disney went to Cartier for its retail partnership.

Disney also influenced a series of bunny pins made in the late 1930s by jeweler Raymond C. Yard.

"Who else but an American during the war years would make rabbits come alive -- going fishing, carrying martinis, or even getting married? They are a touch of whimsy, yet are beautifully made," observes Judith Price, president of the National Jewelry Institute and author of "Masterpieces of American Jewelry" (Running Press), the companion book to the museum exhibit.

The jewelry exhibit is sponsored by the nonprofit National Jewelry Institute and runs through Jan. 23, 2005.