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

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Ayva jewelry is the spring bling you’ve been waiting for.

Good morning, darlings! I have something so pretty to share with you today – I hope you’re ready for it.

Earlier this week, I was answering emails (I spend a LOT of my time answering emails) and I came to one from a young brand, Ayva jewelry. I took a look at the photos the designer, Priyanka, had sent me and I was immediately overwhelmed by a lovely, peaceful, sunshiney feeling of warm happiness.

Let me show you what I mean:

The May ring, Mila earrings, Nina ring, and Raina necklace by Ayva jewelry

Just look at these bright, joyful Avya jewelry designs. I want to wear that pink necklace with those yellow earrings. I love them together.

I’ve always been a sucker for atypical gemstone color combinations, and these are so so good, with their vivid colors, dynamic lines, and intriguing use of negative space.

 

The Ayva jewelry Kalena earrings, Alina ring, and Riva earrings use yellow sapphires, amethyst, and diamonds with yellow gold for a beautiful and unique color combination.

I especially love the color combination of the yellow sapphires and amethyst with little white diamonds and yellow gold. It’s just so pretty, while still feeling fresh and interesting. And you know how I’ve been so into yellow sapphires lately. I want to wear them and let them make me feel the way that they look.

I especially love those open hoop earrings at the top of the collage: the tumble of brightly colored gemstones down the sensuous curve of yellow gold, with the space maintained between the stones is so eye catching and impactful without feeling over-the-top or gaudy. And that ring! The four layers of diamond pave linked by a fan of yellow sapphires around an amethyst. Love it.

The Lira necklace by Ayva jewelry, with gemstones and diamonds in gold.

And then there’s this Ayva jewelry necklace, coming in strong with gorgeous geometry, perfect negative space, AND dynamic colors combos. Be still my heart.

What do you think of these pieces, my dears?? Are you feeling Ayva’s light, bright aesthetic as strongly as I am?

All images and info are thanks to Ayva jewelry.

Beautiful gemstone and diamond rings by Ayva jewelry

The Ayva jewelry Nina necklace. Green tourmaline with diamonds and amethyst.

The Kalena earrings by Avya jewelry, in yellow gold with yellow sapphires, amethyst and diamonds or in white gold with blue sapphire and diamonds.

The Lira necklace by Ayva jewelry, with gemstones and diamonds in gold.

Three beautiful pairs of diamond and gemstone earrings by Ayva jewelry

Three fabulous diamond and gemstone rings in white gold by Ayva jewelry.

Three glamorous pairs of diamond and gemstone stud earrings by Ayva jewelry

Two beautiful gemstone and diamond necklaces from Ayva jewelry

Two stunning pairs of diamond and gemstone earrings by Ayva jewelry

Recap: my Anthony Lent Instagram takeover.

Happy Friday, my darlings!

As many of you doubtless already know, I had the pleasure earlier this week of collaborating on an Anthony Lent Instagram takeover!

Anthony Lent jewelry is one of my very favorite contemporary brands, so the chance to run their Instagram account for four days (with the offer of loaner jewelry to take the photos that would make it possible) was an opportunity too good to refuse.

I know you’re not all on the ‘gram, so I thought I’d do an after-the-fact recap dedicated to my Anthony Lent Instagram takeover today so that everyone can see all of the fabulous photos all in one place. I’m even including  a few never-before-seen bonus photos, because I just adore you that much.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed this recap of my Anthony Lent Instagram takover!

It was a really fun project and I was glad to have the chance to spend so much time with these stunning pieces. My conclusion, after getting to spend several days focused on photographing seven pieces of Anthony Lent’s jewelry, is that he is a true artist whose work only gets more incredible with further familiarity.

You need to know how amazing all of these pieces feel when worn: there’s nothing like solid, buttery gold against your skin. Chilly at first, but gradually warmer, with a solid, comforting weight. There’s no question that everything here is of the very highest quality.

Do you love Lent’s work as much as I do? Which of the pieces I was lucky enough to get to play with do you love the most? (And yes: I did have to send them all back. Well…almost all.)

To see more of Anthony Lent’s stunning work, please see these previous posts, my Anthony Lent Pinterest board, or the Anthony Lent website.

A brand new #AnthonyLent ring in yellow gold next to a serpentine Victorian era piece from my own collection. An Anthony Lent snake ring in yellow gold with diamond eyes. Beautiful gold rings by Anthony Lent. Rings by Anthony Lent. On their own up top, paired with several Victorian era rings from my own collection below. The Anthony Lent Green Sapphire Moonface Airline earrings in yellow gold and Shoko leaf pendant in rose gold. The Anthony Lent micro moonface stud earrings in gold. So tiny, they're shown here in a one eighth tsp measuring spoon. The Anthony Lent one hand band in gold with cabochon sapphires and diamonds. The Anthony Lent Shoko leaf pendant in rose gold.

Fairy tale design for a modern world: Unhada jewelry.

One of the coolest things about my jewelry blogging career is the way that it’s expanded my horizons: I can love jewelry now that I wouldn’t previously have understood. This open-mindedness has brought me the opportunity to appreciate brands that I wouldn’t have glanced twice at four years ago.

Unhada jewelry is not one of those brands.

Unhada’s aesthetic connects directly to my inherent sense of beauty: I would have loved these designs when I was 8, 18, or 28 and I’m pretty sure I’ll still love them when I’m 83. I was drawn to these pieces the moment I saw them, and I the more I see, the stronger that feeling is. The lines, the textures, the colors – they’re irresistible to me.

A beautiful necklace, earrings, and ring by the wonderful Unhada jewelry

Within seconds of meeting the fabulous Jocelyn Prestia – the lady behind Unhada jewelry‘s loveliness – I immediately understood why her work spoke to me so strongly.

Let’s let Jocelyn introduce herself.

“I come from a creative family and took to writing growing up. I also felt like I suffered from an imagination too large for a human being. I dreamt up islands, worlds, fairy tales, and realized a part of me really believed in them. […]

Fast forward and I start to realize my love of antique jewelry. I began to attend a lot of the antique shows and try to learn how to ultimately open up an antique jewelry shop because I was so inspired by the Doyle sisters on so many levels. However, I realized that there weren’t many people like the Doyle girls (as I call them) who had an educational background to truly understand what they were selling so I decided to study gemology.

I’d always dreamed of being an expat and loved the city of Bangkok so my husband and I decided on a whim to move there so I could study at the GIA. Living in Bangkok opened a door to a magic world where I learned so much by being surrounded by a huge colored gem market.”

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