For more than two decades, Joseph's Jewelry in the Georgian Village Shops was one of Kansas City's best kept secrets among lovers of fine jewelry. With his own personal sense of style and connoisseurship, Joe Candioto quietly became something of a "jeweler to the stars" known for big diamonds and bold designs offered without all the trappings of a flashy retail presence. His clientele list could have been taken from the pages of Who's Who in Kansas City. Local politicians, celebrities, philanthropists and even a few not-so-local television stars started out as a customer and then became a close personal friend who shared Joe's passion for fine jewelry and fabulous antiques.
The remainder of that jewelry and all of those fabulous antiques must now be sold to the highest bidder. Joe's favorite pieces gathered over half a century of buying trips to New York and forays into Estates around the Mid-west will be sold by Joe's heirs and The Joseph Earl Candioto trust.
It does not appear that Joe ever passed the opportunity to buy anything in the French Egyptian Revival style 'retour d'Egypte' and he did manage to gather his share of all things French besides. He liked Napoleonic objects, Sevres porcelain (a lot), Marble Sculpture and Fine Bronzes. The bigger the better. He had French Empire upstairs and Chinese Antiques down. It all came out of his 2500 square foot Leawood, Kansas home, including the 10' x 13' tapestry from 17th century, but no one could ever get it all back in there the way he had it. This will be the third and final sale of his personal collection and the best has definitely been saved for last.
