Engagement rings Archives

Ode to a moval: Lang Antiques’ 9.55 carat beauty.

November 15, 2013

Oh, my dears. I had absolutely the most wonderful time at Lang Antiques last weekend. It’s going to take me a while to sort through my marvelous pictures (I took 1,599 of them) and figure out the best way to share them with you.

I thought I’d start by featuring one item that knocked my socks off with particular force.

This bamboozlingly beautiful ring is antique and all original. The delicious 9.55 carat center diamond has a noticeable yellow tint and is wonderfully plump cross between a marquise and oval shape: thus a “moval diamond ring.”

Does the setting on a ring for a knockout diamond like this need to be pretty? No. This baby would have been noticeable in any setting. But they went for it anyway, because Edwardian jewelers were GENIUSES.

Aaand there it is on my hand. It fit perfectly. Be still my heart.

There’s that amazing side detail. The faint yellow tint of this diamond was hard to capture in a photo, but this one gives a good sense of its true color.

This beauty was first brought to my attention by fellow bling blogger Erika Winters, who loved it before I did.

This moval diamond ring is currently for sale at Lang Antiques. The perfectly in-focus photos on the gray background are thanks to Lang, the others are my own. Thanks to Lang Antiques for their lovely images and for letting me play with their pretties last weekend!

More lovely antique rings from Erstwhile Jewelry Co.

November 4, 2013

My store profile of Erstwhile Jewelry Co. is still one of my favorite posts ever. Do you remember that antique engagement ring with the ribbon details? Gorgeous. I went to check in with Erstwhile recently to see what new treasures they’ve found since then.

As usual, Erstwhile’s selection of antique rings had me drooling on my keyboard (metaphorically). Let’s take a look.

This glorious antique ring is Edwardian, from 1910. It centers a 2.80 carat diamond set in gold and platinum and framed by calibre cut emeralds and single cut diamonds in a scalloped outer border. It’s lovely, light, and bold all at once.

This Victorian beauty was probably made as an engagement ring, but it would be beautiful on any finger. Set in silver and gold, it was made in 1875 and features a ruby and two old mine cut diamonds.

My favorite detail on this Art Deco engagement ring is the side view and how the opework gallery looks like a geometric sunrise. It’s also from 1920, is centered by a 1.18 carat old European cut diamond, and is accented by single cut diamonds and millegrain details.

This 2.3 carat antique ring was made in 1920 and it’s a dream come true. It’s listed as an engagement ring, but I’d be thrilled to wear this beauty on any finger. The gently engraved band sprinkled with sparkling stones; the elegant, architectural gallery, the old European cut stone in its octagonal setting.

This glorious Art Deco ring is from 1920 and it’s centered by a old European cut diamond prong set in a square setting framed in calibre cut emeralds. The shoulders feature a gorgeous triple-line design in diamonds that lends the effect of a split shank. It is decorated with millegrain details, elaborate engraving, and is the perfect size for my right hand.

Have I mentioned to you enough times recently how much I love engraving? I love engraving. This antique ring (actually, most of these antique rings) can remind you why.

This early Art Deco sapphire and diamond ring is another that I’d love to see as an engagement ring or as any-finger bling. It was made in 1910 and centers a vivid bezel set sapphire within two octagonal millegrain-edged platinum borders set with diamonds. It’s platinum on gold, and I’ve rarely seen a more powerful argument for mixing metals. How incredible is that side view?

I think this Art Deco emerald and diamond ring is basically perfect (although I’d say that about most of these antique rings). The lines, the colors, the texture! It centers a 1 carat bezel-set emerald accented with single cut diamonds and calibre cut emeralds decorated with delicate millegrain details.

All images and info in this post are thanks to Erstwhile Jewelry Co. Please see individual descriptions above for links to each of these antique rings.

Oscar Heyman jewels at JCK Privé NY.

October 24, 2013

Today I’m going to share with you the last photos I have from JCK Privé NY – the fabulous Oscar Heyman jewels that I was lucky enough to get to try on.

If you’re seriously into jewelry, your ears perked up at the name of Heyman. Oscar Heyman & Brothers have legendary status as a “Jeweler’s jeweler,” known for producing high quality fine jewelry for the likes of Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, J.E. Caldwell, and Shreve, Crump & Low. When Cartier was asked to produce a setting for the Taylor-Burton diamond, they turned to Oscar Heyman and Brothers. You can imagine my excitement when I turned a corner at JCK Privé NY and saw a booth full of Oscar Heyman jewels sparkling at me.

Tom Heyman – who kindly showed me around the booth’s Oscar Heyman jewels that day – told me that I had half a million dollars worth of jewelry on my hand before he added the diamond ring you see in this picture.

I don’t think I took a single bad picture of this yellow diamond and diamond ring. It was basically mugging for the camera. I hope it finds a good home.

At the Oscar Heyman booth, I was stuck again and again by the incredible beauty of the stones used to make the jewelery that I was admiring. Each piece had very clearly been crafted in order to best showcase the raw materials (and with great success). It was particularly evident with the incredible cat’s eye stones that I saw in several pieces, like this cat’s eye chrysoberyl and diamond bracelet.

Have I mentioned recently how glad I am that I started this blog? I never imagined that it would lead me into as many incredible experiences as it has. For an example, please see the opal, sapphire, and diamond ring above.

This emerald and diamond ring is probably the most magical thing I’ve ever had in my hand. I say that DESPITE all of the other mind-blowing jewelery you’ve seen me try on. This one is in my top 5 of all time, no question. Because: look at it. Holy moly.

How fun is this retro swoop brooch? “Swoop” being the sound I think it makes, rather than any official name. It’s an estate piece; Oscar Heyman & Brothers was founded in 1912.

This ring is even better than it appears at first glance, if you can believe it. Thanks to an ingeniously designed mechanism on the back, it snaps off of the ring mounting and can transform into a pendant on a matching necklace. I wasn’t able to to get a decent photo of the necklace or the mechanism, but please trust me that both were very cool.

One of my favorite parts of the visit was getting to see this: a draft of a diamond and yellow diamond bracelet. The stones are arranged on this foam in a rough form of how they’re going to be in the final piece.

This is the second stage (and the necklace that’s going to match the bracelet!) Here, the stones are set into a hard wax. From this point, Tom said, it’s about 6 months more work until the piece will be complete.

Tom took a turn being the hand model when we got to this sapphire and diamond moi et toi crossover ring. It did look fabulous on him.

A million and one thanks to the wonderful Tom Heyman, who spent quite a chunk of time letting me photograph the jewels in his booth one by one. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Additional thanks to Lang’s AJU for being as informative as always.

If you’d like to revisit the rest of the pretties I’ve shown you from JCK Privé NY, please click here for the Editor’s Preview recap or here for the Mimi So reap.

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