Hutton Wilkinson, the 30-year business partner of jewelry designer
Tony Duquette, carries on his late colleague’s legacy of one-of-a-kind, artistic fine jewelry pieces through his own designs and, more recently, high-end coffee table books, the newest of which was released this month in standard and luxury editions. The 144-page tome entitled
Tony Duquette/Hutton Wilkinson Jewelry illustrates more than 170 pieces of Duquette and Wilkinson’s colorful and imaginative necklaces, bracelets, brooches, rings, and earrings. Also included are Duquette’s unique statuettes meant to sit atop a dresser as an artful way to display jewelry. The book explains the mythology behind each gemstone, as Duquette was known for his work with exotic semiprecious and precious stones, and reveals the healing and protective qualities they are said to possess. Highlights of the book’s 175 color photographs are Duquette’s first commissioned design, a tiara, worn in 1945 by Elsie de Wolfe to a party at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria; pearl and 18-karat gold earrings worn by the Duchess of Windsor; and his signature Talismans of Power collection. “To see the pieces all at once like this is a thrill,” says Wilkinson. “The book has the quality of going to a trunk show.” The $150 luxury edition of the book, limited to 1,000 signed and numbered copies, features a slipcase, bookplate, silk-ribbon bookmark, and gold stamping. (
www.tonyduquette.com)
