Joel arthur rosenthal biography of rory

Joel Arthur Rosenthal

American jeweller

Joel Arthur Rosenthal is an American jeweller who works in Paris where he founded the fine jewelry hard JAR. He has been called "the Faberge of our time."[1]

Early life

Born in in the Bronx, Joel Arthur Rosenthal is the only son of a postman and a teacher in biology.

He has been called "the Faberge of our time. Born in in the Bronx, Joel Arthur Rosenthal is the only son of a postman and a teacher in biology. He then transferred to Harvard University, where he studied art history and philosophy, graduating in He experimented with unusually colored yarn.

He spent a semester at City College of New York studying linguistics; he speaks French, Italian, English and Yiddish. He then transferred to Harvard University, where he studied art history and philosophy, graduating in [2] He then moved to Paris where he worked as a screenwriter, then as a needle-stitcher, opening a small shop.

He experimented with unusually colored yarn. Its clientele included designers from Hermès and Valentino.

I met Joel Arthur Rosenthal in a cavern under Paris, which is a fitting place to encounter a man who turns metal and stone into dreams. It was at a dinner in in a medieval cellar. He was pale, intense, magnetic, and brilliant. I took him for an insightful professor of comparative everything.

Rosenthal one day was asked if he could plan a mount for a gemstone. That sent his career in a new direction.

Career

After a short stint as a salesman in the New York store of Bulgari, he returned to Paris in and began designing pieces there from affordable materials, such as coral, moonstone and minute colored diamond.

Quick accomplishment led the self-taught Rosenthal to open a non-descript salon at 7 Place Vendôme, where he still hosts his loyal clients.[3] His company, JAR, has no shop window or sign on the street.

The entry is made on the sponsorship of a known customer and for persons whose name excludes any ambiguity. Each piece is unusual, created for a specific client; his yearly output is a scant pieces.[4] He takes inspiration from the fauna and flora for his creations, mixing references from the past with current techniques of jewelry.

Few designers have managed to earn such acclaim while remaining as utterly elusive as Joel Arthur Rosenthal, otherwise known as JAR. His temperament and character are almost as infamous as his designs are famous. Loathing publicity, refusing interviews, and notoriously picky when it comes to press it's reported that he once poured a glass of water on the head of a journalist from the New York TimesJAR has built a brand which allows the stunning jewels to speak for themselves. After studying art history and philosophy at Harvard, he moved to the French capital in the overdue 60s.

What Rosenthal has been doing since is setting gems in pavé arrangements[5] as nice as needlepoint stitches, frequently amplifying the stones' colors by mounting them in a blackened alloy.[6]

In , JAR made a Parrot Tulip bangle of gold, with diamond and garnet accents, that sold at auction in for million Swiss francs.[7]

In , the first public exhibition devoted to JAR was held in London.

The pieces presented, mostly lent by their owners, were arranged in full black, the visitors having to use a flashlight to observe them. On this occasion JAR published the only book on his works, JAR Paris, a catalog of pages printed in a limited number of copies.[8] His only other public exhibition was at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in Rosenthal is the only living "artist of gems" to have had a solo show at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.[9][10]

In , Rosenthal created his first piece of Judaica for the exhibition Menorah: Worship, History, Legend, co-sponsored by the Vatican and the Jewish Museum of Rome.

It was the sole work commissioned for the exhibition and his first work not meant for a collector, "but, to be seen out there."[9]

"It was unexpected," he said of being a part of the exhibition.

JAR, also known as Joel Arthur Rosenthal, is renowned not only for his breathtaking jewelry but also for his aversion to publicity and elusive nature. He was born in in the Bronx and grew up as the only child of a postal worker father and biology educator mother who instilled in him the importance of pursuing his passions and finding happiness. After studying linguistics and graduating with a degree in Art History and Philosophy from Yale inJAR moved to Paris where he initially worked as a screenwriter. His fascination with the history and mysteries of color led him to the world of fine gemstones and jewelry, and he eventually started working for Bulgari in New York.

"I have done all I could to shield myself from what's going on in the world" — and this show, with its message of unity, was a clear (if gentle) expression about what is going on the world. "But I was confident because of what it is and where it was going."[9]

References

  1. ^Forbes feature Retrieved May 19,
  2. ^Financial Times interview, Retrieved May 19,
  3. ^Most influential jewelry designers Retrieved May 19,
  4. ^The coveted jewels of JAR Retrieved May 19,
  5. ^"Pavé gemstones".

    Archived from the original on Retrieved

  6. ^Architectural Digest review of JAR technique
  7. ^"10 jewels that made history". Christies.
  8. ^Vanity Fair feature on Rosenthal Retrieved May 19,
  9. ^ abcFriedman, Vanessa (18 May ).

    JAR — RAF - Rare | Antique | Fine Jewels : Jewels for Generations: Joel Arthur Rosenthal is an American jeweller who works in Paris where he founded the fine jewelry solid JAR. He has been called "the Faberge of our time." [1] Born in in the Bronx, Joel Arthur Rosenthal is the only son of a postman and a teacher in biology.

    "JAR's Light in the Darkness". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May

  10. ^Smith, Roberta (26 December ). "All That Glitters (and a Lot That Shines) 'Jewels by JAR,' Joel Arthur Rosenthal, at the Met Museum". New York Times.

    Retrieved 19 May

External links