The Man With The Most Valuable Jewelry Collection You Never Knew Existed
March 22, 2021 1:04 PM Subscribe
"I choose for one reason: beauty. I select masterpieces." Surprisingly, even though he is a lifelong resident of Japan, the vast majority of his collection consists of jewels from the western world, from antiquity to the Renaissance and beyond. Previously.
Good point, elkevelvet. I should have put that in italics, as quoted by the author of the article.
posted by nickyskye at 1:42 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by nickyskye at 1:42 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
These are beautiful jewels and undoubtedly an amazing collection, but as self reportage in Forbes whenever some ultrarich person - or representative of an ultrarich foundation - tells their story, sentences like this always beg for more
"Within a few years I became the leading antique jewelry dealer in Japan"
posted by lalochezia at 1:56 PM on March 22, 2021 [10 favorites]
"Within a few years I became the leading antique jewelry dealer in Japan"
posted by lalochezia at 1:56 PM on March 22, 2021 [10 favorites]
Yes, very good taste, these are all beautiful!
posted by Meatbomb at 1:57 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Meatbomb at 1:57 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
wow. this is just so incredible. I will admit I love jewelry (as bling and as art) and his choices are impeccable. but damn!!! the Hellenistic gold pieces well over 2000 years old!!! the art/history/archaeology geek in me is drooling. for personal choice though, I would like all the Art Nouveau pieces, especially all of the dragon ones. so much beauty, such stunning craftwork. DA-ROOOOOL!!
posted by supermedusa at 3:16 PM on March 22, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 3:16 PM on March 22, 2021 [3 favorites]
omg the dude owns 5000 year old Mesopotamian jewelry!!! (yes I am still clicking through every single image)
posted by supermedusa at 3:24 PM on March 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 3:24 PM on March 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
The interesting thing here is that he credits his two years training to be Buddhist monk as what gave him the insight into the beauty inherent to jewelry. Not what I expected. Other than the jockey on the horse, the pieces he has chosen seem quiet and maybe a little understated despite the numbers of gems they contain. Quite a find, I have to agree.
posted by njohnson23 at 3:51 PM on March 22, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by njohnson23 at 3:51 PM on March 22, 2021 [4 favorites]
that_belongs_in_a_museum.gif
These are such a really amazing little display of human talent, skill and history. It low key bums me out that this is privately owned though. I dunno. I know many of them are displayed in museums, but that's not quite the same. This represents a bananas level of wealth no matter how you cut it.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:31 PM on March 22, 2021 [3 favorites]
These are such a really amazing little display of human talent, skill and history. It low key bums me out that this is privately owned though. I dunno. I know many of them are displayed in museums, but that's not quite the same. This represents a bananas level of wealth no matter how you cut it.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:31 PM on March 22, 2021 [3 favorites]
Thank you for posting this. The dragon made my morning.
posted by Cocodrillo at 5:44 AM on March 23, 2021
posted by Cocodrillo at 5:44 AM on March 23, 2021
Every one of those pieces is so gorgeous - it's not just the value of the gemstones, he clearly has an eye for their symmetry and form (the colors of the diamonds in that deco brooch!) The idea of creating a museum just to display them? I want to go to there.
posted by Mchelly at 7:34 AM on March 23, 2021
posted by Mchelly at 7:34 AM on March 23, 2021
Yes, that is a lot of wealth. My radical ideas re: a more equitable redistribution of wealth have shifted in the last few years.. When I see examples like this, I tend to think "someone gets to do that" and (in this case) enjoy that I can view the items online at least. If the super-wealthy person is collecting pretty things, vs. actively undermining a democracy somewhere or contributing to media channels that radicalize angry people to undermine their own democracy, I put that in the win column for the day.
posted by elkevelvet at 7:56 AM on March 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by elkevelvet at 7:56 AM on March 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
I have no knowledge of Japanese tax policy -- I will say that I don't mind wealthy Americans having private collections I would kill for, I just want them to buy those collections after paying a bunch of taxes. Ideally, some of those taxes will go to fund public museums. (And if we make it hard enough for people to remain ultrarich, the failkids will eventually have to start pawning the old masterpieces in order to fund their studios or fashion lines or whatever.)
But also...wow. This choker! This ring! This diamond butterfly! This adorable ducky pin!
posted by grandiloquiet at 8:37 AM on March 23, 2021
But also...wow. This choker! This ring! This diamond butterfly! This adorable ducky pin!
posted by grandiloquiet at 8:37 AM on March 23, 2021
Can we try not to make this thread about the US please? Thanks!
And yes, what an amazing collection that fellow has. He definitely has good taste. And it's neat that we can enjoy these pieces.
posted by Too-Ticky at 10:15 AM on March 23, 2021
And yes, what an amazing collection that fellow has. He definitely has good taste. And it's neat that we can enjoy these pieces.
posted by Too-Ticky at 10:15 AM on March 23, 2021
Great, now I need somebody to buy me a black opal pendant, and not a little skimpy one either.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 9:05 PM on March 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Sweetie Darling at 9:05 PM on March 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by hypnogogue at 1:06 PM on March 22, 2021 [2 favorites]