In the News

From "Hotel Bel Air," Beverly Hills, California, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1997

Claremont Rugs: A Reputation You Can Stand On In the market for an investment- or collector-quality fine-art carpet?

To avoid having the rug pulled out from under you by "carpet baggers" in this rapidly changing market - especially if you're new at it - it's essential to know who and what you're dealing with. And if you're dealing with Jan David Winitz and his Claremont Rug Company, it's a sure bet that you're making a wise investment. Winitz knows all there is to know about antique Oriental carpets, from dyes to fibers, from artistic designs to regional and period influences. A Claremont rug is as authentic as the reputation that Winitz stands on.

With collecting of, and investing in, fine rugs at an all-time high, Claremont, based in Oakland, Calif., has set itself apart from the hundreds of Oriental rug dealers servicing the U.S. market. Rolled in a sterling reputation and a clientele that includes royalty, Claremont is one of the few major carpet companies that deal exclusively in antique rugs that are individually crafted works of art.

"I offer many years of expertise to every client who walks through the door. I enjoy imparting knowledge about these rugs; it is as important to me as it is to a buyer that he or she is aware of exactly what they're buying. In this way, they are able to have a full appreciation of the value, both artistically and monetarily, of their selections," says Winitz.

Though Claremont Rug Co. looks like a small-scale operation housed in a beautiful showroom, it is a $25 million yearly business servicing an elite who's-who of national and international rug-buying clientele. Claremont is one of the country's most influential and highest-quality Oriental rug companies, with rugs averaging $40,000 apiece - 10 to 20 times that of the ordinary Oriental rug company - and a client list that Wall Street brokers would envy.

In the showroom, stark white walls and a few antique furnishings make room for one of the most impressive rug collections ever assembled outside of a museum. It's hard to imagine walking on rare works of art, yet Winitz assures visitors that these rugs, though perishable, are durable through the centuries. In fact, normal wear actually improves their value by giving their fibers a lustrous patina. While many rug dealers purvey mass-produced carpets of recent vintage, Claremont's collection is exclusively pre-1930, many much older, and all in pristine condition. Winitz is the driving force behind Claremont, advisor to moguls, movie stars, and old money collectors who know him as the Leo Castelli of rugs.

Winitz has turned the country's top fine art buyers into rug collectors by sharing with them his love of rugs. For example, a top executive of a Fortune 100 high-tech firm hired Winitz to place collectible-level rugs in every room of his 30-room estate. Fortunately for the collector, Winitz has a sharp eye for investment value as well as art. Many of Claremont's rugs have appreciated four-fold over the last 15 years.

Winitz's love of rugs was cultivated from an early age. His grandmother collected rugs and displayed them throughout her three homes. Winitz spent summers with her in her beachfront Long Island, New York, home, absorbing her view of rugs as art pieces. When she died, she left him a collection of 350 rare 17th- and 18th-century carpets that became the basis of this collection.

Having been entrusted with this impressive collection, Winitz set about learning everything there is to know about rugs. He studied rugs, taught courses about antique rugs at the University of California at Berkeley, and founded a rug study group. After meeting his wife, Christine, also a rug collector, the couple decided to open a rug gallery with another collecting couple. Claremont Rug Company was born in late 1979 and has grown by leaps and bounds in 17 years.

In their first year, Winitz sold just over $200,000 worth of rugs. He found his niche in educating a clientele who knew next to nothing about rugs but had wonderful taste. But good taste in art does not guarantee access to the rarest of rugs. Clients count on Winitz's international connections to find them only the "old masters." To gain entry into the Claremont collection, a rug must qualify by being a unique work of art, extremely old, unusually beautiful and original in its design, with a stunning palate of naturally dyed hues.

Oriental rugs of this high quality were created 70 to 200 years ago in Persia, as well as in Turkey, India, the Causasus and Central Asia. Many of these were rugs commissioned by kings and courtesans, passed down and preserved through the generations. Claremont rugs were created either by nomadic tribespeople, or urban or village artisans.

"The weavers who created these rugs had a daily connection to the earth and its cycles," Winitz explains. "These rugs reflect the weaver's world view and tell a very personal story. Each rug conveys the individual vision of the artist, with the background of 4,000-year-old traditions passed on at the loom from mother to daughter."

Winitz believes the "living within the art" quality of rugs contributes to people''s passion about them. "With fine art rugs, you're standing in the middle of a work or art, in the center of the weaver's world. In no other type of art do you get this perspective," he explains. "People love to collect rugs not just because they're rare, but because they are a truly utilitarian art form, created by master artists who simply wished to express the beauty of their inner world."