Glorious antique jewelry from the Miami show!

It’s been a while since I had the pleasure of attending the 2018 Miami Show. I had a fantastic time frolicking among the aisles of antique jewelry dealers, and then immediately afterwards I got so sick that I had to stop blogging for almost three months.

That means that I never showed you the treasures I met at the Original Miami Antique Show, which is unacceptable. I’ve given you a peek or two here and more on Instagram, but no big juicy recap (yet).

That changes today!

Let’s kick things off with this little pair of Iberian emerald dream earrings from Jane Fletcher. These are a bucket list item for a lot of antique jewelry lovers, myself included.

I flipped one over so that you can see how incredible the back is! You could stare at either side of these pretty much forever.

This is the very first piece I saw at this year’s Miami Show and it utterly knocked my socks off. I mean, LOOK AT IT.

It’s an Art Deco era necklace pendant in the shape of a question mark. A HUGE one. Those are some very sizable emerald cabochons and how about that center diamond?

I would love this piece if it were tiny (actually, if it were tiny, I would have bought it in a second) but it’s surprising size makes it all the more delightful. Why did some glamorous Art Deco era baller want to dress like The Joker? We’ll never know, but I’m glad it happened.

Thanks to Pam Benson for showing me this beauty!

It’s not an antique show if I don’t get to try on a tiara. This was my favorite of the Miami show. It’s just so elegant and well-proportioned! Also I suspect it looks amazing on me.

This antique Victorian era piece was in the collection on JS Jewels LTD and Keith MacRae! Thank you again, gentleman, for letting me play with it for so long.

Here’s a closer look:

Just in case you wanted to see only the tiara, instead of the tiara and me (although I stand by my assertion that it looks awesome on me).

It’s such a stunner. How about those big juicy old cut diamonds, eh?

How utterly glamorous is this locket lady?

This is an Edwardian era piece from Excalibur Jewelry with exquisite platinum edging, lovely enamel, and a stunning portrait of a very fashionable mystery woman.

Look at her hat and her feathers! Or perhaps her fur stole? What do you think that is?

I have a thing for Art Deco diamond bracelets. Can you blame me? They’re so simple, so wearable, so marvelously flexible.

This is the Queen of Art Deco diamond bracelets. Perfect in every way, and utterly staggering in scale.

How pretty are these two pendants??

It’s hard to beat well-used moonstone, and these are two compelling and very different examples. They’re both from Roy Rover and the one on the left is no less than Edwardian era Tiffany & Co!

Hello, you beautiful piece of perfection! This, obviously, is an Edwardian diamond necklace. It is flawless and iconic and I could stare it forever.

Even better: Richard of Spicer Warin, who had this showstopper in his case at the Miami Show, says he knows a guy who could build a tiara frame for this necklace. A TIARA FRAME. So that it can ALSO BE A TIARA.

If you can afford this and you’re not buying it, I don’t know what’s wrong with you.

A glorious antique Egyptian Revival locket! I met this charming gentleman at Maryanntiques.

Like many of you, I have a particular weakness for Egyptian Revival designs and this one is particularly charismatic. I love the juxtaposition of the smooth surface of the locket with the cobblestone look of the turquoise and diamonds. And who could resist that face?

When I visit events like the Miami show, I mostly walk around and see what the vendors have brought with them.

But I sometimes also run into dealer friends who are shopping: like the wonderful Cassidy Vintage, who was kind enough to let me try on all of her brand new Miami Antique Show finds right there on the show floor.

This is an exquisite, intricate, subtle and arresting Georgian era piece.

It’s basically a tiny, wearable diorama made of precious materials. The small ivory figures within are completely three-dimensional; they’re minuscule statues in a careful tableau ringed in diamond floral elements.

Here’s a closer view!

It only gets more stunning. A huge thanks to Roy Rover for letting me spend so long staring into this piece.

An incredible and rare Queen Anne flat cut garnet and gilt metal necklace and earring set, circa 1750!

These beauties are from The Spare Room Antiques. I’m not completely thrilled with how this photo came out, but I HAD to show you these magical flat-cut garnets. Can you believe the size of this thing? So opulent.

I am always here for a portrait piece that shows a person in a fabulous hat (I actually think this is the third such piece in this post, if you count the Pharaoh) and this one is a stunner.

It’s quite a simple design overall, which makes the shoulder bows and glorious hat all the more striking. I think it looks like the lady is wearing a brooch, too, even if we can hardly see any of it. This lovely brooch is also from Roy Rover.

These two pieces introduced me to a glorious category of antique jewelry that is brand new to me: French theatrical jewels! That’s right. These are pinchbeck, not gold, and it’s because they were created to use in French theater productions.

That’s also why they’re so huge and eye-catching; they were meant to be seen from the audience of a theater. Thanks to Lucy Verity for introducing me to these!

A closer view!

I think that’s enough for today. Don’t worry, though: this is going to be a two parter…there’s more to come! Visit my archive of antique jewelry show recaps if you can’t wait, or come back soon to see the rest!

Thanks to US Antique Shows for hosting me for the 2018 Original Miami Antique Show.