Joel Arthur Rosenthal has been described as a recluse, or just a down-right shut-in. But he is also known to be one of the most exclusive jewelry designers in the world. His pieces were famously put on the auction block by Ellen Barkin, after her divorce from Ronald Perlman. Her jewels were gifts from Mr. Perlman, and they fetched an estimated twenty million!
As much notoriety as Mr. Rosenthal has received in recent times, he still has remained silent in the public eye, keeping his exclusive JAR jewelry as prestigious as ever. His shop is next to The Ritz hotel, off Place Vendôme. The shop has no display windows, nothing that lets people know what beautiful things are inside. There is no regular hours of operations, and one is only permitted access if they are introduced to Mr. Rosenthal personally. Known clients of JAR are said to be Elizabeth Taylor, Elle Macpherson, Barbara Walters, and Ann Getty. Mr. Rosenthal is surprisingly an American, born in the Bronx, but has spent most of his life in Paris after graduating from Harvard with an Art History degree. After a brief stint as a salesman at Bulgari, he started designing pieces that relied at first on inexpensive stones like coral, moonstone and minute colored diamonds. He sets his sights on pavé, a technique for setting small stones close together, thus forming a pavement of jewels. His fine settings are so fine they are virtually invisible. Unlike other jewelers, Mr. Rosenthal uses a dark metal for the settings to highlight the gems' color.
As much as I would love to say that I have bought a JAR piece for someone, I have never, and I highly doubt I will ever because of their intimidating price tag.
Images from Forbes
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