OUR ONLINE SHOP gives you the ability to shop from any location using your mobile, laptop or desktop devices. We sell a wide assortment of ready-to-buy Essentials at our online shop, perfect as the foundation for a jewelry wardrobe and daily or day-to-night wear. We are also the go-to gallery for fine, talismanic, zodiac jewelry including pendants by Van Cleef and Arpels and Cartier.

Selections from our special Jewelry Collections are viewable online as well. We build these investment-quality collections over time. They include works by path-breaking South and North American and European makers. An exclusive selection of the finest, museum-quality Hopi, Navajo and Pueblo modernist jewelry is a part of Mahnaz Collection, as are the works of the renowned Burle Marx Brothers from Brazil. We also sell select, stylish and wearable jewelry styles from Heritage brands including Chaumet, the jewelry designers of Tiffany & Company, and the design-focused, family-owned firm of Hemmerle. Lost masters from the past such as the exceptional Italian House of Cazzaniga are revived. You can purchase them via e-mail, telephone inquiry or a gallery visit. We can also schedule a Zoom appointment.

We are active on Instagram @mahnazcollection and @mahnaz_redcactusjewels, where you can see new jewelry acquisitions, learn about their makers, DM us to shop directly, and access our Online Shop.

RESEARCH AND CATALOGUES We are best known for our jewelry from the 1960s and 1970s. Much of it is collected based on the research we conduct and then share in catalogues we originate at Mahnaz Collection. These are available for purchase here. The end of the 1950s -1970s saw radical technological, social and cultural change. Important jewelry design concepts were explored, marrying high with low, precious with semi-precious materials, along with a plethora of talismanic and India inspired (street and yogi not Maharaja) jewelry styles. New movements in art, architecture and design were originated in Europe and America, and similarly, influential design vocabularies entered the then stale and static jewelry world. These new designs were destined to become collectible modern classics - the focus of Mahnaz Collection.

The 1960s and 1970s were years of abundant creativity, exploration and innovation. Even today, in 2021, and the years along the way, fashion’s gatekeepers keep returning to these earlier decades for style inspiration. Then, makers wrought deep changes in jewelry design and used diverse styles: regular and formalist, organic and minimalist. Moving away from purely decorative adornments in white gold, platinum and diamonds after the Second World War, the jewelers relished the use of that most ancient and malleable of precious metals, yellow gold, while also experimenting with new concepts of value, of preciousness. Hard-stones and diamonds mixed together, and value became less associated with the combination of metals and gems used and more with the ingenuity of the jewelers and their design capabilities. Crafted by adventurous jewelers, goldsmiths, artists and sculptors creating largely one-of-a-kind pieces, by hand or in smaller workshops, the jewelry reveals the influence of nature and landscape; classic explorations of form, texture and shape; a fascination with locally sourced or rough-cut gemstones; and the avant-garde art, architecture and design of their place and time.

JEWELRY EXHIBITIONS of the highest quality, sometimes in collaboration with partners, are mounted by Mahnaz Collection in its role as a knowledge portal. Our live exhibitions have broad educational value and help to better inform clients, jewelry lovers, collectors, curators and scholars. We research, document and then appropriately display the jewelry, and prepare original essays for our catalogues. Significant exhibitions to date include Forma Livre: The Jewelry of Brazil’s Burle Marx Brothers; London Originals: The Jeweler’s Art in Radical Times (2016); and Material Beauty: Modern Hopi, Navajo and Pueblo Artist Jewelers. Since 2022, following the quiet of the COVID years, we reopened the gallery with exhibits on Women Pioneers, Nordic Design Jewelry, and Materials in Play, a show of global contemporary jewelers.

I

ABOUT MAHNAZ. Mahnaz is a longtime East Coast American, raised in her early years in South Asia, where jewelry, whether a simple metal bangle or fine gold and enameled piece, is very much a part of daily adornment, of life’s central rituals and the security of women. 

I am a constantly curious explorer of the world’s cultures. My family heritage includes the art, design and architecture of the Mughal, Persian and Western modernist worlds. My Bombay-born grandmother gave me a pair of late Victorian emerald and seed pearl earrings when I was 5 or 6. Most of the time, my favorite doll wore them. They were lost forever during the war between India and Pakistan in 1971 when the Indian Navy sank the ship carrying all our possessions. When you lose a piece of sentimental jewelry the ache never leaves you.

My first proper watch as a young teenager was a gift from my mother - an Omega designed by the British avant-garde jewelry designer Andrew Grima. I still own it, along with the first ring my mother had made for me when I was 10 or so - a cabochon cat’s eye set in rich yellow gold. I myself later collected antique Mughal era kundan and meenakari jewelry. I have traveled and worked across continents, collecting small portable, sculptural objects along the way - in Russia, former Yugoslavia, Brazil, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Senegal, and Mali. I find peace in the beauties of nature, and especially so in the ancient, monumental landscapes of the American Southwest. A scholar by training, I hold a Ph.D. in international relations and a BA in the liberal arts. Prior to starting Mahnaz Collection, my career was in the fields of international policy and professional philanthropy. I believe deeply in public service and sit on boards that serve all New Yorkers as well as the arts, including the New York Public Library and Lincoln Center. I have also served as a Commissioner for Public Design for the City of New York.

OUR PROFESSIONAL TEAM is highly knowledgeable, experienced, welcoming, and cultivated. We guarantee an inspiring personal jewelry experience. We respect your investment and provide dedicated service so you can securely enjoy your purchases and pass them on to the next generation. 

The Mahnaz Collection core gallery team includes me, Mahnaz; Adrienn Banyai, Team Director for Jewelry Sales and Business Strategy; and senior team members Kelli Lawson and Hilary Heard Gurley. Senior consultant Bella Neyman works primarily with Mahnaz on research catalogs, exhibitions, and museum visits, and also works closely with the team on a variety of projects. Other senior consultants in technology and editorial include Douglas Fanueil and Donna Ghelerter. Nick Blazer has recently joined the consulting team.

We are privileged to have our visual brand identity communicated for the past decade by lead artist-photographer Hee Jin Kang. Kevin Kish has also been a valuable long time photographer. We have worked on our branding, catalogs, and related design issues for ten years with Stephen Doyle and Rosemarie Turk of the design firm Doyle Partners, now closed. For all tech services, we rely on the patience of Mac Tech. KRA manages our accounts.

We are available daily, Monday through Friday, via phone, email, or Zoom, and by appointment at our Madison Avenue gallery. 

OUR SERVICES include Jewelry Commissions, Finder Services, Buying and Assistance in selling your jewelry, Repairs, Ring Sizing, and Cleaning. Mahnaz Collection works closely with global jewelry sourcing networks and private individuals to buy and sell fine jewelry and locate individual pieces upon request. If we do not have the piece you are looking for in our collections, we will certainly try to acquire it for you. Please get in touch with us at studio@mahnazcollection.com.

We provide repair and restoration services for jewelry purchased from us and work closely with relevant jewelers in the trade. Our select contemporary jeweler partners accept private commissions that adhere to their respective policies and Mahnaz Collection’s financial policies and timelines. No exchanges or returns are possible on commissioned jewelry, and all transactions are final. 

SHIPPING + RETURNS We ship promptly upon receipt of payment. Please read our detailed policies here, as well as our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.