Trying on three antique tiaras in one day.

August 26, 2025

If you paid close attention to my NYCJAOS Spring 2025 coverage, you’ll know that I had the great pleasure of seeing THREE real antique tiaras at one show! I’ve given you a peek at these beauties, but I also thought they deserved their own post.

Trying on three antique tiaras in one day.

We did a general recap about the jewelry I saw at the most recent NYCJAOS show, but there also happened to be such a wealth of magnificent antique tiaras at this event that I decided they deserved their very own post.

I see no need to dilly-dally. Let’s get to the tiaras!

Victorian era turquoise tiara with removable leaf brooches, from Legacy London.

Shall we start with the oldest of the antique tiaras? This Victorian era beauty is from the collection of Legacy London. It features a foliate design with five removable turquoise and diamond brooches.

The leaf itself looks like ivy – a jewelry motif that symbolizes faithfulness and constancy, due to the plant’s penchant for “clinging” to things as it grows. I don’t believe that ivy usually grows beautiful trios of turquoise berries, but I’m not a botanist.

Victorian era turquoise tiara with removable leaf brooches, try on, from Legacy London.

Oh, did you think I wasn’t going to put it on my head? Obviously I put it on my head.

My “running around NYC on a hot day” hairdo doesn’t really do it justice, but I absolutely love how the pop of color from the turquoise really stands out in my dark hair.

This wasn’t the only one of the antique tiaras with a colored gemstone, but it was the only one with turquoise.

Victorian era turquoise tiara with removable leaf brooches, back view, from Legacy London.

One of my favorite elements of this tiara is the back view: once you turn it around, you see that each of the removable ivy brooches has an elaborate openwork design of veining in the back.

Absolutely lovely and so luxurious, given that the back of the piece would rarely have been visible when worn. A sign of true luxury and very thoughtful craftsmanship.

A magnificent en tremblant floral tiara from Paul Fisher, seen at NYCJAOS Spring 2025!

Next up in this bonanza of antique tiaras is this magnificent fairy queen dream of a thing. This unbelievably exquisite Titania-worthy tiara was in the collection of Paul Fisher Jewelry.

The most important thing you need to know about this piece is that those glorious, realistic diamond flowers are set en tremblant. This means that, rather than being solidly attached to the tiara frame, they’re each mounted on a tiny, trembling spring. This creates a gentle motion when the tiara is worn and makes the flowers look like they’re truly alive, caught in a soft breeze.

The 110 carat Georgian diamond rivière of my dreams.

July 29, 2025

The perfect antique Georgian diamond rivière is an item that graces many jewelry lovers’ ultimate jewelry bucket lists. I would probably trade a non-essential organ for this one.

The 110 carat Georgian diamond rivière necklace of my dreams, collet setting.

The 110 carat Georgian diamond rivière of my dreams.

First things first: what is a rivière?

A rivière is an iconic style of necklace that features a continuous line of diamonds, set one after another like a river of precious stones (thus the name). I’d argue that the classic diamond tennis necklace is a modern reinterpretation of this design, a subset of the rivière.

The rivière is the little black dress of the necklace world, an infinitely versatile piece that can go with anything. Antique ones are increasingly rare and especially desirable to collectors – you may recall how ecstatic I was when I managed to score an antique paste rivière of similar design at auction (find that story here: Part 1, Part 2).

Some rivières are consistent in stone size all the way around, while others, like this one, are graduated, featuring stones that get larger towards the front.

The 110 carat Georgian diamond rivière necklace of my dreams. I love the antique collet settings!

This glorious Georgian diamond rivière necklace is currently available from Hancocks London. It dates to 1820 and is probably the biggest one I’ve ever seen outside of a museum, with 110 carats of old mine brilliant cut diamonds in classic Georgian era cut-down collet settings.

This incredible necklace is even more than meets the eye: it has discreet hooks on the back of each collet to allow the length to be adjusted. How fantastic is that?? Even better, the hooks may once have suspended diamond drips or pendeloques, making it even more glamorous.

Those probable pendeloques mean this piece has a very famous twin. Managing Director of Hancocks London, Guy Burton, says that the piece is “is unquestionably one of the finest diamond rivière necklaces we have ever offered for sale” and adds that this piece bears a striking resemblance to the famous Napoleon Diamond necklace, currently in the Smithsonian.

You may recognize the collet settings – which are silver-fronted and gold-backed – from the moment the style is having in contemporary jewelry, like Zoe Kravitz’s Jessica McCormack engagement ring.

The 110 carat Georgian diamond rivière necklace is the best antique riviere I've ever seen. I love the antique collet settings!

One more look so you’ll see it clearly in your dreams, too.

Click here to find this magnificent Georgian diamond rivière necklace at Hancocks, or see a list of other available rivières I’ve rounded up for you here.

Images and info c/o Hancocks London.

Defiant jewelry: talismans of strength.

July 8, 2025

2025 has thrown a lot at us, but defiant jewelry is here to help! What is defiant jewelry, you may ask? Don’t worry – I’ll show you.

My own daily defiant jewels are this No charm from Automic Gold and a vintage gold switchblade charm.

Defiant jewelry: talismans of strength.

When times get tough, jewelry can help – but sometimes the gentle comfort of pretty, sentimental pieces aren’t enough. On those days, you don’t want soft reassurance, you want a fierce focus to ground you in your rage, a touchstone to remind you that you’re a badass who won’t give up, a hero with a spine of steel who refuses to bow down to injustice.

Defiant jewelry is the answer. These talismans of strength connect you to your power and help you reach for the determination to carry on and keep fighting. One of my favorite defiant jewels is the Gem Corps’ Sweet Chairiot, which you can read all about here.

The photo above is two of my own personal favorite talismans of strength: my Automic Gold “NO,” charm, which reminds me of the beauty of boundaries, and my gorgeous tiny vintage gold switchblade charm, which reminds me that I am strong even though I’m small and cute (in case you didn’t know, your girl here is 5′ 2″).

And if you need some defiant jewelry in your life, here are some fantastic options to consider:

Vulpecula Jewelry Hands Off necklace pendant with porcupine, in yellow gold.

The first defiant jewel we’re looking at today is Vulpecula Jewelry’s Hands Off pendant. This Georgian-inspired design in yellow gold features the words “HANDS OFF” above the image of porcupine on a gold disc.

I love the subtlety of this piece’s message – you really can wear it anywhere and no one will realize its message unless you give then a close look. I also adore the structural detail of the gold nubs around the outside and how the subtly mimic a porcupine’s spines.

This design is also available as a ring.

No ring and nope ring by Psyche Fine Jewelry.

Saying no really is a beautiful thing, and these rings from Psyche Fine Jewelry’s “The Power of No” collection celebrate that. They’re so sleek and chic, with their precise angles and brushed finish.

Like the Hands Off charm above, these beauties are subtle enough that you could wear them anytime, anywhere, and most people won’t notice their true message.

This defiant jewel is made from recycled 14K or 18K yellow gold and the brand donates 5% of each ring’s sale price to RAINN – the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization.

This charm by Circa 1700 has a very powerful message. Seen at NYCJAOS Spring 2025.

And now for a less subtle example of defiant jewelry! This charm by Circa 1700 has a very powerful message…it bears the ultimate defiance in the words “FUCK OFF” in elegant, engraved and diamond studded script (and with a heart for the “O,” of course).

This pendant is a weighty jewel and its craftsmanship is utterly exquisite. I had the pleasure of seeing it in person at NYCJAOS Spring 2025 (video here), and I also recommend visiting the great @JasmynTea’s Instagram if you’d like to see how someone who owns this piece styles it in real life.

Please do not disturb necklace pendants in yellow gold by Black Umbrella Jewelry.

If you appreciate the message of the piece above but you want your defiant jewelry to be more work appropriate, then I highly recommend Black Umbrella Jewelry’s gorgeous “Do Not Disturb” pendants.

I have a vintage piece with the same message and I love to wear it on days when the weight of the world is getting me down as a reminder to not let other people’s foolishness affect my peace. It’s very hard to find vintage versions of this design – I’ve only ever seen one other besides my own, and it’s long gone – but Black Umbrella Jewelry’s version is a fantastic way to capture this feeling in brand new elegant gold.

If you like this, you might also enjoy Black Umbrella Jewelry’s “Tears of my Enemies” pendant. You can find them both here.

My tiny vintage gold knife charm reminds me that I am strong.

And here’s a look at my tiny gold knife charm in danger mode! Yes, it really opens, and yes it is almost unbearably adorable.

You can’t have my knife charm, but I have rounded up some similar options here.

The No ring and the Nope ring in yellow gold, by Psyche Fine Jewelry

That’s all the defiant jewelry I have for you today! What do you think of these talismans of strength, my darlings? Do you have any pieces like this that you wear when you need a boost of determination?

Click here to shop these defiant jewels.

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