The Pearl Pig brooch by Swiss designer David Bielander, made of pearls and gold.

Founded in 2002, Hudson, New York’s Ornamentum Gallery will be the first and only contemporary jewelry gallery to be exhibiting at Design Miami/Basel (sister fair of Design Miami) to be held June 15-19 in Switzerland. A member of the fair’s selection committee went so far as to cite Ornamentum as “one of the best contemporary jewelry galleries in the world.”

While these curious, limited-edition pieces will set you back several thousand euros in some cases, I think they could gain value over time, depending on the career of the designer. I’m impressed by Ted Noten’s courage to mix and match low-end and high-end materials, like a ring with acrylic and black diamonds, and David Bielander’s sense of humor (sometimes dark) with his “swine” brooch cast in pearls or his silver salt cellar made in the shape of a slug. Of all the pieces though, the one I could see myself sporting around town tomorrow would be Jiro Kamata’s “Sunny” rings made of sunglass lenses and gold. It’s a fresh take on the “big ring” trend that just makes me smile.

Ring made of black diamonds encased in acrylic by Ted Noten.

 

Brooch in titanium by David Bielander.

Bejeweld skull ring by Karl Fritsch.

This little silver salt cellar might appeal to your darker side. By David Bielander.