Pharrell Williams is busy…very busy. In the last few years alone the 13-time Grammy Award-winning artist has launched his Humanrace skincare line; created a winter line of premium basics with Adidas; partnered with Ethereum’s NFT project, Doodles, as the chief brand officer; launched a digital auction house, Joopiter; and, most recently, was anointed as the men’s creative director of Louis Vuitton succeeding his friend the late Virgil Abloh.
To say this man has his finger on the cultural pulse would be an understatement: He’s the one creating the wave. While the fashion world anxiously awaits his debut at the French maison, he’s already been hard at work curating luxury auctions for Joopiter. The digital auction house was launched last October with the intention of being a hipper, more accessible (but no less pricey) alternative to established institutions such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s. The latest sale to drop is Joopiter’s first dedicated entirely to jewelry in partnership with William’s longtime jeweler, Lorraine Schwartz. It’s dubbed A Journey Through Gems.
The auction highlights include an enormous 50-carat D Flawless Type IIa heart-shaped loose diamond, a pair of 18-karat white gold 4-panel diamond-shaped earrings with natural purple sapphire, natural paraiba and diamonds, and an 18-karat white gold and Colombian emerald bib necklace with matching earrings. The sale will encompass a selection of ultra-rare stones and one-of-a-kind creations from throughout her career.
Schwartz is known as the queen of the red carpet with everyone from Beyoncé to Blake Lively wearing her creations to various high-wattage events. But unlike other big-name corporate brands, Schwartz’s clients are more than mannequins, they actually buy and own her jewelry. And she’s friends with them to boot—Beyoncé reportedly gifted Schwartz her dog. Williams is no exception—the two have been longtime friends and Williams has a trove of many of her pieces (some of which he auctioned off on Joopiter last October including a pinky ring with a 23.7-carat sapphire). “Lorraine Schwartz taught me so much about stones and quality, the clarity and the color and making sure the stones are cut correctly so that they’re not too heavy or they’re not too wide,” Williams told Robb Report last year.
A select number of the lots were even co-designed by Williams, including a 26-carat Asscher-cut canary yellow diamond ring. “I was lucky enough to meet Pharrell over 20 years ago, and we’ve built an incredible friendship through a mutual appreciation for the most exquisite and unique gems in the world,” said Schwartz in a statement. “To me, A Journey Through Gems is not only a curation of the finest bespoke high jewelry available now, but also the story of our journey and relationship as told through gems.”
The sale, which follows the most recent $5.25 million auction of Williams’ personal items, will be available for bidding starting Friday, March 17 on Joopiter.
