2025 NYC Autumn Jewelry, Antique & Object Show

On Sunday, November 23rd I attended the third annual Autumn addition of The NYC Jewelry, Antique, & Object show (NYCJAOS).

Antique and vintage jewelry is my favorite to collect, and it inspires my Elani Jewelry designs.  Antiques are usually high quality, unique, and can be conversation starters.

My goal with this show was not to buy anything, surprisingly, but to get inspired with my own designs and hopefully see something I’ve never seen before.

In this blog, we’ll review some of my favorite unique finds from this show.

Match Holders/Vesta Holders

Everyday simple objects that are made to be ornate are interesting to me since we live in a mass-produced capitalistic culture. In the NYCJAOS show, I ran into some animal-shaped vesta holders which are meant to hold matches.

My favorite animal vesta holder was a pig but this vendor also had fish cases, horses, dragons, owls and more.  Pig motifs, symbols of wealth and prosperity, were quite popular at this show.  Trend alert!

Mourning Jewelry

Another recurring find was mourning jewelry.  This isn’t my favorite type of jewelry (lockets containing braided hair give me pause) but it is fascinating. All of the jewelry in this particular showcase, by Keyamour, was black.

What stood out to me most was this black enamel “G” bangle with a heart and a crown that was made in remembrance for the Duke of Gordon in 1850. A piece of his hair was stored in the back of this bracelet. 

The other piece that stood out to me from this case was the angel cameo cross pendant. Not much is known about this pendant, but Keyamour theorizes that it may have been created to memorialize a son lost at war due to the single star shown above the angel.

Mourning-inspired or Victorian jewelry may become trendy due to a resurgence in gothic movies like Nosforatu, Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights. Check out my previous blog about charms to see how mourning in the Victorian era inspired Egyptomania.

Dumbbell Necklace

These necklaces are not antique but have all the look and feel of jewels made in days past.

A part of my personal workout routine is lifting a 10 lbs weight (I know, very impressive right 😉) so this caught my eye.

These necklaces are made of 18k gold and have 40 diamonds each.  To take it on and off, unscrew one side of the dumbbell.

To see this necklace in action, see Halles Jewels’s Instagram post here.

Crab Box

My favorite piece from this show was surprisingly not a piece of jewelry but a silver crab box!  Made by Mabuto in Milan for Gianluca Buccelati in Italy circa 1970 from Florence Larochas’s booth.

The detail on the crab is absolutely incredible and super realistic especially when you flip it upside down to examine the belly.  The crab is made out of silver with coral eyes.

The box may have been used to store salt or pepper on the dining room table or used as a pill pot.

Hummingbird Brooches

Even though the crab box is my favorite piece, these life-sized hummingbirds won for most jaw dropping. From Florence Larochas’s booth once again!

These handmade hummingbirds were commissioned by Asprey London in 1983.  Made from 18k yellow gold, rubies, and pave tsavorite garnet.

One hummingbird is male and one is female.  The male is a bit more flamboyant than the female as is standard to impress a mate.  You can tell the male is putting on a bit more of a presentation due to the rubies on his neck. These pieces are romantic and outstanding!

All and all it was a fabulous show filled with items I’ve never seen before.  It was nice to get to chat with the vendors and learn a little more about the history of each piece.  Comment below if you attended this show and what your favorite pieces were!

<3,

Rachael Elani aka Elani Jewelry

Back to blog

4 comments

love allll the pieces!

Jake

The hummingbirds are stunning!

Jessica

Love the photos!

Vivian

I love this 😍😍

𝔊𝔞𝔟𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔩𝔩𝔢

Leave a comment