Top

A lady with a love for literature and shiny things discusses books & bling.

You are here: Home / Archives for Jewelry

Andreoli’s beautiful, bountiful briolettes.

Good morning, my darlings!

I love clever jewelry and subtle jewelry and everyday jewelry, but sometimes you just want to feast your eyes on a big, juicy, brain-boggling showstopper. That’s what we’re going to do today, with a little help from Andreoli.

An incredible Andreoli necklace with 16.17 carats of diamonds and 328.28g amethyst briolettes!BAM.

The thing that makes these Andreoli pieces so remarkable – besides the obvious characteristics of size, color, and sheer glamour – is the enthusiastic use of briolettes. In this piece, the largest gems are briolettes: the ones that look like lush, trembling droplets of purple dew.

Beautiful Andreoli earrings with 2.16 carats of diamonds, 9.25 g round blue topaz, and 46.90 g drop blue topaz. I love those briolettes! So glam.

A briolette is a charismatic, opulent way of cutting a gem. A faceted teardrop-esque shape with many varieties, briolettes shimmer from every angle, presenting a constant, ever-changing sparkle rather than the concentrated flash of a modern round brilliant cut, for example.

Briolettes are frequently set in a way that allows them to move, reflecting light from their many factets in an ever changing dance. In other words, they’re a super sexy gemstone cut, sultry and opulent.

An incredible Andreoli necklace with 11.63 carats of diamonds and 306.23g peridot. Dripping with briolettes!

For example: imagine this Andreoli necklace when worn. Each luscious peridot briolette would rest gently against the curves of the lucky wearer’s décolletage, shifting gently from side to side with every breath she took. With each subtle movement, the faceted drop would capture the light in a slightly different way, trembling with a constant rain of shimmer.

Pardon me, I need to fan myself now. Read More

Elisa Solomon Mama collection: because moms are chic, too.

I don’t think I’ve ever done a Mother’s Day jewelry post before, but when I saw the Elisa Solomon Mama collection, I just knew I had to share it with you.

There’s something so touching and genuine about these pieces. Perhaps it’s the context: the fabulous Elisa, this collection’s designer, is expecting her own first child.

The Elisa Solomon Mama collection doesn’t have any of the gimmicks you often seen in jewelry marketed toward mothers – just the word “mama” in slightly childlike but still elegant balloon-style letters, embellished with two twinkling diamonds each.

Working mamas – or mamas who just like to look amazing – could wear these chic little pieces anywhere, with anything, from cocktail dresses to yoga pants.

Stud earrings from Elisa Solomon's Mama jewelry collection! In white or yellow gold with diamonds.I don’t have any kids myself, but I’ve watched some of my friends become mothers and it’s a profound change, even when you’re just watching from the outside. You go from not being anyone’s mother to being a mother all day, every day, for the rest of your life.

Isn’t that a transformation that deserves to be marked by a piece of jewelry? I think it is.

A yellow gold and a white gold ring with diamonds, from Elisa Solomon's Mama jewelry collection.Ideally I would have shown you the Elisa Solomon Mama collection a week or two ago for those of you shopping for Mother’s Day presents…but I was too slow!

It’s okay: you can buy your mom a present anytime, just because. I also think that any of these would be the world’s sweetest baby shower gift.

Mother's day with the ColesAnd on that note: I’m off to meet my own family for a stroll around a garden followed by a BBQ! The garden stroll is our usual tradition, the BBQ is a recent addition due to the fact that my sister’s boyfriend makes the best burgers ever.

I hope that you all have a wonderful day, whether you’re celebrating Mother’s day for yourself, for your mom, for someone who feels like your mom, or whether it’s just another day to you.

Images c/o Elisa Solomon. 

 A lovely ring from Elisa Solomon's Mama jewelry collection in yellow gold with pretty little diamonds. A necklace from Elisa Solomon's Mama jewelry collection in yellow gold with diamonds. Stud earrings from Elisa Solomon's Mama jewelry collection! In white or yellow gold with diamonds. The super chic and oh so sweet Elisa Solomon Mama jewelry collection - because moms are chic, too!

Alternative engagement rings at Fellows.

There’s something silly happening on the internet.

That’s not a rare occurrence. But this time, it’s something I take personally: there’s been an avalanche of random websites publishing articles about alternative engagement rings and giving truly idiotic, completely uninformed advice.

I love the alternative engagement ring trend, but when it’s practiced without understanding of the relevant gemological facts, it’s going to end in tears. And in a world with SO MANY beautiful rings that would work well as an alternative engagement ring, there’s no reason to give bad advice.

Today we’re going to talk a little bit about which gemstones make good alternative engagement rings and look at a few gorgeous and currently available possibilities.

The upcoming Fellows auction has so many fantastic alternative engagement ring options! I love vintage rings.Tradition isn’t the only reason diamonds are the most frequently chosen engagement gem: it’s also because they’re the strongest. There aren’t actually all that many gemstones that can hold up to everyday wear.

There are a few stones that genuinely work well, like sapphires and rubies, and a lot more that are an okay bet if you’re prepared to baby your ring and not wear it every day, but there are some – like pearls and opals – that are seriously high risk engagement stones. As in, you shouldn’t pick one of those unless you’re prepared to replace your engagement ring periodically.

Personally, I had been wearing my own engagement ring for about 4 days when I slammed it in a drawer. It hurt my finger, but because my ring was platinum with diamonds, it remained unscathed. If it had been an emerald, I probably would have been picking green shards out of my socks.

I understand completely the impulse to pick an alternative engagement gemstone based on what calls to you, rather than what is practical, but if you do, you could be setting yourself up for heartbreak. The more fragile the stone, the more likely that it will chip, break, or fall out and need to be replaced.

The upcoming Fellows auction has so many fantastic alternative engagement ring options.I got to talking – by which I mean Twitter ranting – about the recent avalanche in bad alternative engagement gemstone advice with the fabulous Nikky of Fellows Auction House (that’s where these stunners are from!). Nikki and I both agreed that it’s a shame that popular websites are giving people such bad advice about alternative engagement rings when there’s a whole world out there of fantastic rings that would work well as alternative engagement rings.

Auction houses – especially one like Fellows – which has a dazzling reputation for jewelry sales – can be a great place to find charismatic rings that you’ll be able to admire on your finger for years to come.

Let’s look at some, shall we? These beauties are all headed to auction at Fellows on May 11th.

I love the colors in this vintage ruby and diamond ring! It would be a great alternative engagement ring.Lot 2: A ruby and diamond ring.

Let’s be honest, this is a super sexy ring. The sensuous curves, the deep hue of the ruby, the sheen of the gold. We’re looking at a first class alternative engagement ring right here.

Even better: ruby is a great stone for everyday wear. The ruby and its corundum cousin, the sapphire, are just one step below diamonds on the Mohs scale of hardness.

The Mohs scale of hardness is one of the ways that different minerals’ properties are measured. It’s a great quick reference chart for how likely a gemstone is to survive everyday wear.
Read More

Follow along with me on Instagram