NEW YORK, NY.- Phillips announced the expansion of its Jewelry team in the Americas with the appointment of Eva Violante as Senior Specialist and Vice President, based in New York.

Ms. Violante joins Phillips from Heritage Auctions, where she was the Fine Jewelry Director in New York. She also spent many years in both New York and Madrid as a Senior International Buyer at CIRCA, a prominent buyer of pre-owned jewelry, gemstones and watches.

She reports to Susan Abeles, who joined Phillips earlier this year as the Head of Jewelry for the Americas and Senior International Specialist, Senior Vice President. Ms. Violante will partner with Ms. Abeles, International Specialist Nazgol Jahan, and the New York team to contribute her expertise in designing and implementing a strategy for Phillips’ jewelry business in the Americas, one of the fastest-growing categories in the auction market.

In her new role, she will be responsible for working with new and existing clients on consignments and creating cross-marketing opportunities within Phillips. In addition, she will develop a long-term sourcing strategy for the department in coordination with Phillips’ global jewelry team, cultivating networks among collectors, dealers and influencers to develop relationships and maintain best-in-class knowledge of the global jewelry market.

The development of the Jewelry department is part of Phillips’ significant expansion of recent years, adding a complementary category to the company’s fast-growing areas of focus in the 20th and 21st centuries, which includes 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Watches, Design, Photographs and Editions. The company plans to hold its first New York jewelry auction under this new leadership team later this year.

“We are delighted to have Eva join our team as we’re building a world-class jewelry department around the world,” Ms. Abeles said. “It’s the right time to expand our department, and I am confident Eva will help us create an innovative and contemporary jewelry offering that will appeal to the increasing number of collectors of art, watches and design. Eva’s creativity, dynamism and experience will help us grow in this important category and present our clients with a well-rounded offering of exceptional jewels.”

In addition, Phillips announced the appointment of Anne Mock as an Associate Jewelry Specialist in New York. Ms. Mock joins Phillips from Harry Winston, where she was a Quality Control Analyst.

Ms. Violante, Ms. Mock and the entire New York Jewelry team will work closely with Myriam Christinaz, International Business Director, Geneva; Sarah O’Brien, International Business Development Director for Jewelry in London; and Terry Chu, who as Head of Phillips’ Jewelry department in Asia led the company’s first three successful auctions in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong team will hold its next sale later this month.

Phillips recently hosted a successful selling exhibition in New York of the work of Lauren Adriana, one of the world’s foremost designers of contemporary jewelry. The company plans to host additional exhibitions of the world’s most prominent designers of contemporary jewelry in its offices around the world.