With tapestries and jewelry on display at the Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan, the fair makes you question the boundaries of art-versus-design.

Visitors to Salon Art + Design at the Park Avenue Armory in New York later this month will be seeing ever more contemporary decor, furniture, and fine art amid the vintage lamps and furniture. 

The 11th edition of Salon Art + Design, the collectible design and art fair, will be held at the Park Avenue Armory in New York November 10 – 14 with 52 exhibiting galleries and 11 “special partners,” designers and artists who will be exhibiting in individual rooms of the historic Armory. Among the exhibitors of art and design are two independent jewelry designers, two galleries featuring contemporary and 20th century jewelry works, and an exhibition of natural mineral works.

If you’re planning a visit, Wilensky Exquisite Minerals, a newcomer to the show, should also be on your go-see list. The NYC gallery will be debuting a new exhibition of mineral specimens that any jewelry aficionado will appreciate—and welcome into their homes as compelling interior design objects.

For gem enthusiasts, the colorful stones offer more than meets the eye. From innate healing properties to deep wells of energy and striking sculptural shapes, the Wilensky Exquisite Mineral Gallery in New York enables visitors to interact with crystals up close, in their raw form. Designed by Antonio Pio Saracino, the meditative space features a moody palette of black walnut and brass that enables the minerals to shine with their vibrant hues and glistening exteriors. Using the latest lighting technologies, collectors have the ability to manipulate the lighting within the display cases for each crystal, in turn changing the perception of the mineral itself. “Some minerals are dense and conglomerate of shapes, some are translucent, some transparent, and some with internal inclusions. Light is everything to enhance the presentation of the pieces,” he shares.

With the finest specimens now selling for more than $2m, a different kind of collector is joining the “rockhounds” and spiritualists.
 

The market for fossils, meteorites and other geological curiosities has grown rapidly over the last 20 years, with collectors drawn to the rarest of examples. Yet it’s their decorative qualities, rather than their historical significance, that guarantee success at auction.

Minerals have been popular collectibles for centuries but they’re particularly in vogue now, at least partly because they’ve often proven to be such good investments.

There’s a glistening metallic sculpture displayed on a stand that grabs my attention the minute I walk into the Wilensky Gallery in Manhattan. 

Anyone interested in geeking out on rare, natural minerals and stones will want to head directly to the Wilensky gallery, located in New York City’s Chelsea arts district. Aside from presenting these pieces as one would art, Wilensky has dedicated itself to holding a number of exhibitions as well.

Art is inspired by nature, often elevated to greatness by its adaptation and heightened aesthetic.

Gems & Jewellery contributor Olga González FGA DGA shares some highlights from the Tucson gem shows, including Colombian emeralds and the British businesses enjoying success ‘across the pond’.

Known for its exceptional mineral specimens, Wilensky Fine Minerals is sure to lure even more enthusiasts to its New York gallery with a display of rare, faceted grandidierites, supplied by Mineral Arts manager and gem dealer, Brice Gobin. Here we find out more about these unusual gemstones that are destined for high-jewellery houses and private collections worldwide. 

When I was in Tucson, the team at Omi Gems’ booth treated me to something special: a viewing of not one but six grandidierite gems.

I had heard of the gemstone before but had never seen one in person. As it turns out, not many people have. They’re rare, and let me tell you, they’re gorgeous.

Even non-gemologists can get caught up in the Wilensky gallery’s incredible display of rare, natural minerals and stones.

Stuart Wilensky of Wilensky Fine Minerals (www.wilenskyminerals.com) recently spoke with The Curator's Eye (www.curatorseye.com) about the history of his gallery and his advanced marketing philosophy. 

Wrested from the depths of the earth but possessing a beauty that seems almost unearthly, fine mineral specimens are now being collected as natural works of art.