A Night at the Museum: Detroit Hosts Fine Jewelry Event

Detroit--The Motor City got a dose of sparkle Thursday night via a new fine jewelry collective.

Rove, a private fine jewelry concierge service launched this year by Detroit native Christine Tobias Colman, hosted its first private pop-up shopping event at The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.

"With the resurgence of the city, there are lots of opportunities in Detroit right now," said Colman. "I saw an opportunity in the fine jewelry space. So many talented designers are not represented in (Detroit's) market and I wanted to change that, so I decided to host this event to connect emerging and established fine jewelry designers with the buyers and collectors in the community."

Designers like Michelle Fantaci, Spinelli Kilcollin, Jade Trau and Beth Bugdaycay of Foundrae descended on the museum for the event.

Amid music and cocktails, the designers’ pieces were on display for shoppers and collectors to peruse and purchase.

The evening also had jewelry from Alison Lou, Bibi van der Velden and the Gemfields x Muse collaboration, which features works from Fantaci, Carolina Bucci, Dezso by Sara Beltran, Elena Votsi, Holly Dyment, Nikos Koulis, Savannah Stranger, Silvia Furmanovich and Yossi Harari.



Colman got her start in the jewelry industry as a diamond wholesaler at Lazare Kaplan International Inc., which specializes in ideal-cut diamonds, and then went on to work as the vice president of sales and marketing at Jade Trau.

In 2013, Colman returned to Detroit to get her MBA at Wayne State University before launching Rove this year.

"Rove is a private jeweler to the Detroit community that will also curate pop- up events in Detroit spaces," Colman explained of the fledgling company. "Rove's goal is to facilitate a unique avenue to purchase fine jewelry, and help buyers find pieces that meet their individual aesthetic."

Colman wants to connect the jewelry industry with Detroit in an effort to revive the financially depressed city, much like brand Shinola, which has announced plans to open a hotel in the metropolis.

Part of the Rove pop-up’s proceeds went to the museum, and Colson said that future pop-up events will benefit various Detroit-based charities.