Q & A with Levi Higgs of Kentshire Galleries #LoveGold

I admire a man who has a good sense of style when it comes to jewelry.  Levi has impeccable style and taste for antique jewelry, which makes him a great asset where he works at Kentshire Galleries located at Bergdorf Goodman.  I knew I had to catch up with the busy grad student and ask him a few questions pertaining to gold jewelry and what ranks high on his wish list.  Here is what he had to say:

I started out in the jewelry industry as an interested student seeking an internship. I was studying art history in Seattle at the University of Washington, with a focus on decorative arts, and I sought out an internship at Alexandria Rossoff Rare Jewels and Finds, which later turned into a job. I then moved to NYC to continue my education at Parsons the New School for Design with the Master’s Program in the History of Decorative Arts and Design taught in conjunction with the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Here in the city I landed a part time gig at Kentshire Galleries, a specialist in antique and estate jewelry, and I work in their boutique located within Bergdorf Goodman!

I wear gold usually only at work, however I’ve persuaded my employers to let me borrow a brooch or two for an event. Gold is warm, and I use it usually in the form of a bold brooch to accent the colors in the rest of my attire. Sometimes I’ll even dress for the brooch if I know which one I want to wear that day.

I think our generation has very eclectic jewelry taste. I love bold and cheeky pieces like work by the contemporary jewelry house Solange Azagury-Partridge, but I also see wonderful craftsmanship in work by slightly smaller jewelry brands like Nora Kogan. Both have spunk and are statements to be made. I’ll never get over classics like a Cartier bracelet, but one should only wear one, as it is an emblem of love. I’m loving seeing rings all over every finger, it’s very Ancient Greece yet still seems of the now.

If I could change one thing, I’d totally axe ugly mall jewelry….Pandora and David Yurman are my least favorites and just get used to death by the typical sorority girl… Think Ugg phenomenon. (Too harsh?) I feel like those individual brands have merits within themselves, as some Pandora charms are lovely, but often they just become showy and heavy and bungled up in the “gotta-chatch-em-all” craze of collecting.

While it isn’t something I own quite yet…I’m really excited about the Miansai Nova bracelets for men. They have consistently had a good product, and I’m glad they are finally making complete link bracelets. I’ve been waiting for this iteration for a long time. And they have it in my favorite finish! Rose Gold. Here is a picture of what will soon be coming my way….

High up on my wishlist…. I would kill for a gold Victorian mourning ring set with banded agate. There is a beautiful one on a website called Isadora’s. And I’ve tried it on before and it fits. Meant to be. I will obviously never say no to a gold brooch of any kind, and if I hit the lottery, I’ll go straight for original George Jensen, fabulous David Webb monstrosities and a good old Victorian diamond flower a la the Vanderbilt Rose for good measure.

This post was brought to you in collaboration with LoveGold