I like to brag about living in Nashville as much as I can–especially to my counterparts who live in NYC and LA, who think their high cost of living, traffic jammed cities are the best places to live. Lucky for me, I have one more thing to boast about besides the wonderful people who call TN home and the rolling hills of the countryside, and that is Williams Galleries in Green Hills. Predominately an art gallery featuring 19th & 20th Century American paintings and antique American folk art, lifelong collecting and researching has spawned this space. Ideally tucked away, by appointment-only, surrounded by upscale shops, great restaurants, and an ever-growing locale–Williams Galleries is Nashville’s best kept secret for fine antique and estate jewelry.
Randi Williams, who owns the gallery along with her husband, is keeper of the jewels, where she gladly wears pieces from her inventory in the coolest way possible. A Bvlgari suite from the 1960s? She has worn those chic pieces with black leather pants and a V-neck. A bold plume-like French dress clip by Suzanne Belperron? She has tucked it seamlessly against a belt for a head-turning look. Her attitude toward these high-end pieces of jewelry is dynamic and has others catching on by investing in pieces by Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Seaman Schepps, Rene Boivin, amongst others. Jewelry of this stature should not lead one to feel intimidated by it–Randi has been teaching this to her clients since she started.
I got to try on numerous pieces–so many rare and fine jewels, all drool-worthy and highly covetable. A backdrop of art went hand-in-hand with its appeal, and one soon began to blur the lines between the art hanging on the walls and the art hanging from our ears, necks, wrists and coiling around our fingers. Jewelry, after all, is art–from the gemstones, to the gold and everything in between. There’s a reason why one might not realize this when you walk into any other jewelry store. But when you ring the doorbell and enter Williams Galleries, and begin to feast your eyes on the remarkable pieces of jewelry, you soon learn these are wearable masterpieces by highly skilled artists called jewelers.
Make sure to stop by Williams Galleries if you are ever in the Nashville area. Don’t forget it is by appointment only. If you have any questions, feel free to email Randi at wmsamart@aol.com
Special thanks to Clark Heldman for facilitating the meetup and being a great model!
Sanjeev October 17, 2015 at 5:53 am:
Very nice post. Specially the gemstone studded jewelry designs that all are awesome and fantastic. That is like a good combination of gemstones and jewelry.
Kate Stevenson October 30, 2015 at 9:15 am:
Wow these pieces are amazing, I love the chain style statement bracelets and the turquoise and crystal rings, such a unique and unusual jewellery collection 🙂