FD Gallery

FD Gallery FD Gallery is located on Manhattan's Upper East Side, specializing in one-of-a-kind contemporary and estate jewelry.

05/29/2026

Early 20th century Art Deco “target” ring, centering an old‑cut diamond amid a scalloped halo of calibré‑cut rubies and sapphires, its red‑white‑and‑blue palette echoing the patriotic color stories so popular in the interwar years.

In the 1920s, designers in France, Russia, and the U.S. embraced bold, geometric “target” or “bull’s‑eye” rings that framed an antique diamond with a continuous band of calibré‑cut colored stones, a hallmark of early Art Deco craftsmanship. Rubies and sapphires were particular favorites of the era for their saturated color and the technical challenge of cutting them into tiny custom shapes that fit together seamlessly, creating uninterrupted washes of red and blue around a bright diamond center.

Rendered in platinum to heighten contrast, these crisp, modern compositions stood in deliberate opposition to the airy, pastel Edwardian styles that had dominated just a decade before, aligning instead with the Cubist inspired geometry and liberated spirit of the Jazz Age.

At the same time, red‑white‑and‑blue jewels quietly nodded to national pride on both sides of the Atlantic, echoing the flags of France, the U.S., and Britain and finding favor among women who wanted subtle yet stylish patriotic statements in the wake of World War I.

05/29/2026

Cartier Art Deco diamond barrel brooch, conceived as a miniature slice of skyscraper architecture: the asymmetric stepped outline frames a field of brilliant cut diamonds, across which three crisp rows of baguette bars seem to float like bands of windows or light.

The tension between the razor‑straight baguettes and the shimmering pavé surface captures Cartier’s pure machine‑age modernism, distilling the language of 1930s urban facades, speed and electricity into a single, glittering geometric statement.

05/29/2026

Cartier Paris, Special Order from 1935. This rare flexible bracelet in platinum is composed of articulated openwork ribbon links, each section channel-set with slanting rows of calibré-cut rubies punctuated by old- and single-cut diamonds, creating a dynamic play of light and movement characteristic of Cartier’s most refined interwar designs.

In the 1930s, Cartier’s Paris workshops were at the forefront of high jewelry innovation, translating the bold geometry of Art Deco into jewels that remained supple and wearable, and this bracelet perfectly embodies that aesthetic with its architectural grid of rectangular ruby panels and luminous diamond accents.

Commissioned as a special order at a moment when Cartier was serving an international clientele of aristocrats and style leaders, it reflects Cartier’s mastery of bespoke craftsmanship, where each stone was custom cut to fit the design rather than the design being adapted to the stones. The bracelet is numbered and bears French assay marks, with the maker’s mark attributed to one of Cartier’s distinguished manufacturing workshops, underscoring its documented origin within the house’s golden age of production.

Preserved with its original length and elegant articulation, this jewel is not only a striking statement of color and form, but also an important historical work by Cartier, encapsulating the sophistication, precision, and modern glamour of mid-1930s Paris.

A captivating late 19th century multi-gemstone ring showcasing the Victorian era’s love of vibrant color and architectur...
05/28/2026

A captivating late 19th century multi-gemstone ring showcasing the Victorian era’s love of vibrant color and architectural design. This exceptional piece features three marquise-shaped panels, each set with a different precious gemstone—emerald, ruby, and sapphire—representing the classic trio of colored stones favored during this period.

Each vivid center stone is elegantly framed by a border of old-cut diamonds, creating a striking geometric composition that captures light from every angle. The layered, dimensional design and expert metalwork demonstrate the technical mastery of 19th century jewelers, while the exuberant use of color reflects the era’s passion for bold, expressive adornment.

05/28/2026

Retro whimsy, with a story: a pair of circa 1940s citrine and ruby bee brooches, capturing the golden glamour of the Retro era when bold volume, saturated color, and figural jewels became a joyous antidote to wartime austerity.

These stylized insects, with honeyed citrine cabochons, geometric “honeycomb” wings, and tiny ruby eyes, nod to the mid‑century fascination with nature motifs—from bees and butterflies to flowers—that symbolized renewal and optimism. Worn together as a buzzing duo on a lapel or scattered on a jacket or dress, they bring that distinctly vintage mix of playfulness and polish that defined high jewelry in the 1940s.

05/28/2026

Naturalistic jewelry emerges strongly with the Romantic movement in the early 19th century, when clearly recognizable flowers and fruit begin to dominate ornament, moving away from the cooler neoclassical idiom.

Post‑Napoleonic scarcity of precious metals pushed jewelers to experiment with alternative materials and sentimental forms, while a broader cultural fascination with botany and the natural sciences encouraged close optical study of plant forms.

Flowers, foliage, and berries become the primary naturalistic language: tiaras, necklaces, and sprays are composed as lifelike garlands of leaves and blossoms, often arranged in complex, asymmetrical bouquets by the 1850s. The “language of flowers” is embedded in these diamond jewels; floral clusters and sprays could encode sentiments of love, friendship, or fidelity, with floral cluster rings and “daisy” style diamond arrangements remaining popular into the later 19th century.

05/28/2026

From the 1960s onward, Bulgari became synonymous with strong gold necklaces designed for “anytime, anywhere” wear, emphasizing volume, clean geometry, and confident proportions.

The house often reserved major diamond spreads for high jewel suites, while everyday luxury chains featured restrained diamond highlights to keep the focus on silhouette and metal.

Curb-link chain constructions became a brand signature, frequently worn mixed with chains suspending coins, intaglios, or colored stones, sometimes with discreet diamond framing for sparkle.

05/27/2026

Art Deco Ring centering a rare, pyramidal sugarloaf no‑oil Colombian emerald, framed by an architectural cascade of calibré and baguette-cut diamonds that echo the stone’s dramatic silhouette.

The emerald’s saturated, crystalline green appears almost luminous against the crisp geometry of the setting.

05/27/2026

For over two millennia, jade has been the most revered stone in China, prized above gold and known as “yu,” the imperial gem. Emperors, scholars, and aristocrats wore jade beads as emblems of virtue, refinement, and social rank, and pieces like this strand recall the courtly collars of the Qing dynasty, later reimagined for Western collectors in the early 20th century. In the Art Deco period, jewelers in Paris, New York, and Shanghai began pairing vivid green jade with platinum, diamonds, and calibré rubies, creating glamorous jewels for a new international clientele while still nodding to traditional Chinese craftsmanship and symbolism.

Across Chinese philosophy, jade embodies a constellation of virtues—benevolence, wisdom, courage, and integrity—and was believed to protect the wearer in this life and the next. The luminous green of fine jade beads is associated with spring, renewal, and prosperity, making strands like this a talisman for good fortune and longevity. Jade is also thought to “warm” and grow more beautiful with wear, so a well‑loved necklace carries the imprint of each generation that has touched it, turning an adornment into a living heirloom.

05/26/2026

Designed in platinum as elongated open arches set with baguette‑cut diamonds, suspending three articulated cascades of round brilliant and baguette‑cut diamonds that catch the light with every movement.

A chic synthesis of lingering Art Deco geometry and the more opulent, ultra‑feminine glamour that defined postwar French high jewelry, when Parisian maisons returned to platinum and diamonds to celebrate the end of wartime austerity.

Address

26 E 80th Street
New York, NY
10075

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 11am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 11am - 4:30pm
Thursday 11am - 4:30pm
Friday 11am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+12127722440

Website

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