Alexander Calder's Alternative Bling

Everyone knows Alexander Calder for his distinctive, geometric mobiles and free-standing sculptures, but the iconic American sculptor also practiced a more delicate form of his particular craft: jewelry-making.

After reading Carol Kino's review of the book accompanying an exhibition of Calder's jewelry at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach next month and learning that " 'People smile at each other just because of their Calders — it's like a secret society,'" you might have wondered, "Where can I get a Calder bauble of my own?" The iconic American sculptor made 1800 pieces of jewelry in his lifetime. None of the designs have been reproduced. This is not Frank Gehry for Tiffany's.

The answer seems to have come across the transom early this morning, with the announcement that an exhibition of "fantastic jewelry and other extraordinary objects of intimate scale" titled The Crown Jewels opens on December 12th at Salon 94 Freeman, the downtown satellite of Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn's uptown gallery that has found itself in the thick of the buzz about contemporary galleries colonizing the Lower East Side. More details and prices to come.

Alexander Calder, Pin, Private Collection, © 2007 Calder Foundation, New York

Alexander Calder, Louisa Calder's 53rd Birthday Gift pin, Private Collection, New York, © 2007 Calder Foundation, New York

Alexander Calder, piece featured in The Crown Jewels