Jewelry Archives

Enter to win this Art Nouveau pendant!

September 25, 2015

Hello, my darlings!

Did you know that it’s now been three years since I started writing Diamonds in the Library? Closer to three years and one month, actually.

This past year has been exciting for so many reasons: my first trip to VicenzaOro; my second annual visit to the summer jewelry shows in NYC; my wedding (!!!), at which I was decked out in antique diamonds; meeting so many fellow-jewelry lovers online and in real life, and so many more incredible experiences.

Another major life change that I’ve alluded to but not actually announced here is that I’m now a full time blogger. I resigned from my day job and I’m going all in with Diamonds in the Library. I’m still figuring out all of the glorious puzzle pieces of that, but I’m thrilled to finally have the time to devote to making this site in to all that it can
be. I also have a few exciting collaborations coming up – stay tuned for more details soon.

None of this would be possible without you, my dearest readers. Do you know what I think? I think you deserve a present.

Thanks to Trademark Antiques, I can offer you the chance to win a really good one.

This Art Nouveau pendant is antique, probably dating to the early 1900’s, and features a beautiful floral design in enamel over 14k gold. The prize includes the lovely 14k gold chain shown in the photos, so the lucky winner will receive this piece in ready-for-action condition.

Isn’t it lovely? I think it’s so wearable, with its gentle hints of color and enticing open design. The subtlety of the colors mean it would be at home in any season. I just love the way the flower’s tiny golden stem loops over the round frame of the pendant and then back around.

Please enter in the widget below. Only the first option is mandatory – as long as you enter your email address and leave a comment down at the bottom of the post, you’re entered to win. Completing the bonus actions will improve your odds of winning, but they aren’t required.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway closes on October 9th at 5 pm, so be sure to enter before then!! The winner will be chosen in a randomized drawing facilitated by Rafflecoptor. If the winner does not respond to our email within one week, the win will be forfeit and we will pick a new winner.

Good luck in the giveaway, my darlings! I wish I could enter myself…but that wouldn’t be quite fair, now, would it?

A huge thanks to the Trademark Antiques for donating this beautiful Art Nouveau pendant!

Ring roundup: antique snake rings.

September 21, 2015

I’ve been on a snake kick lately and I know I’m not the only one. Finding the antique snake ring of my dreams at the Baltimore Summer Antiques Show has done nothing to dampen my serpentine enthusiasm. They’re so lovely to look at, sinuous and sensual and always slightly mysterious.

They’re also rife with symbolic meaning. Did you know that Queen Victoria’s engagement ring was a snake ring set with an emerald? It represents eternity and everlasting love. Especially the ouroboros, the symbol of a snake that’s eating its own tail.

Let’s kick things off with this hefty antique beauty from Antique Animal Jewelry.

This one’s Victorian and it’s perfectly luscious. The scale detail, the chunky diamond head, the swirling body of the snake as it twines around the finger. Delicious.

What’s incredible about this 1930’s Art Deco triple snake ring from Maejean Vintage is that it’s actually sterling silver and gold fill – so as gorgeous and pristine as this badass beauty is, it would only set you back $185. I especially love the mixed metal design and the snakes’ tiny pearl eyes.

And then there’s this regal showstopper from Lang Antiques.

It’s Victorian, and fit for a queen. As much as I love this richly-hued sapphire, it’s the negative space around the snakes’ delicately twining bodies that slays me about this piece. I could trace those curves with my eyes all day.

This one is actually a vintage rather than an antique snake ring. not antique – it’s the youngest ring here, dating to the 1970’s.

But anyway: this particular beauty is from A Brandt and Son and the gorgeous detailing you’re drooling over is black and white enamel over gold. I swoon for its bold juxtaposition of colors and slightly open mouth.

My newest snake ring has a turquoise-set head, and I’m obsessed with it. This one from Addy’s Vintage is very different, but I love its warm yellow gold and robin’s egg blue turquoise stone. It’s a little later than some of these, circa 1910. So delicate and swirly.

And last but certainty not least: this elegant Art Nouveau beauty from The Eden Collective. Look at how delicately that snake is curled around its large, baroque pearl. Beautiful.

This guy from Erie Canal Collectors also vintage rather than antique – from the 1960’s. It’s possible that I should have called this article “Ring roundup: snake rings I feel like showing you and CATEGORIES BE DAMNED.”

This one’s cool though, isn’t it? I love those lines.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you enjoyed them! Do I have any other snake ring fanatics reading this?

Please click on the links above for image sources and seller information on each antique snake ring.

The Stefan Hafner Pegaso collection.

September 18, 2015

Happy Friday, my dears.

It’s been a slightly rough week in Becky-land, so this is going to be one of those posts where we mostly just look at pretty pictures and allow them to make us happy. How does that sound to you? Good, I hope.

Our mood-improving pretty pictures of the day are from the new Stefan Hafner Pegaso collection and they are extraordinarily beautiful. I have not had the honor of seeing these beauties in person yet, but they certainly pop in a photo.

Without further ado: I present today’s visual Xanax, the Stefan Hafner Pegaso collection.

Aaah. I think a knot in my shoulders just relaxed. Delicious colorful gemstones sprinkled among diamonds, sweeping lines of rose gold…this is what I needed.

The press materials I received on the Stefan Hafner Pegaso collection emphasized that Pegaso is all about playing with the use of color:

“Featuring a trail of multicolour precious stones set in rose gold, the wonderful sparkle created by the stunning colour effects accentuates the movement of light, like an impressionist sky.”

If color effects were the goal, I think this collection is a success. I’ve been enjoying the recent trend of multicolored gemstone combinations and this is a glorious iteration of it. The stones here are rubies, colored sapphires, tzavorites, and white, black, and brown diamonds.

The negative space here is so interesting, isn’t it?

A hint of skin would show through the array of gems. I love how the sides of the gap are uneven, like a chasm. Raw, organic, passionate.

Switching it up with another color scheme. You can really see the texture of the piece here; the lushness created by the uneven heights of the gems.

I love the unexpected combination of red, orange, and green. This ring is perfect for fall, with its warm rose gold setting and crisp, apple orchard color palette.

The side view of #2 reveals there’s some blue in there, too. So unexpected and such a great touch.

It reminds me of a landscape from this angle: like when you look out the window of a plane and you see the tiny houses and lakes and trees flashing by far below.

And all together. So, so fabulous.

What do you think of these Stefan Hafner Pegaso beauties, my dears?

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“Featuring a trail of multicolour precious stones set in rose gold, the wonderful sparkle created by the stunning colour effects accentuates the movement of light, like an impressionist sky.”

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