De Vera

You could travel around the world in search of one-of-a-kind decorative items and centuries-old antique jewelry. Or, you could let rare-object hunter Federico De Vera do the work for you. After making a name for himself at his San Francisco shop, De Vera opened his stunning, high-ceilinged New York satellite store in 2003. Antique glass display cases show off Venetian blown-glass vases ($500–$25,000), Japanese Buddhas ($5,000–$30,000) and lacquer boxes ($1,000–$15,000), and a range of Greek, Roman and Victorian jewelry (starts at $1,000). Mixed in with antique baubles are pieces that De Vera designs himself using rare materials and recovered stones (starts at $1,000). Sure, the merchandise here doesn’t come cheap, but it’s worth a visit to this museum-like shop just to do some vicarious globe-trotting.