Rings Archives

Victorian acrostic ring giveaway!

March 11, 2021

Who’s ready for a fantastic giveaway!??! I am super excited to be able to offer you the chance to win this incredible Victorian acrostic ring.

Victorian acrostic ring from Laurelle Antique Jewellery. The gems spell REGARD.

Victorian acrostic ring giveaway!

This exquisite original antique piece comes to us from the wonderful Laurelle Antique Jewellery. This Victorian era acrostic ring uses the secret code of gems to spell the word “regard,” a term of endearment popular in that time period (learn more about acrostic jewels here).

This gorgeous ring is 15 karat gold adorned with engraved chasing down the sides and a halo of creamy pearls around the central gemstones, which contain the secret message (R)uby (E)merald (G)arnet (A)methyst (R)uby (D)iamond.

This beauty is valued by Laurelle Antique Jewellery at £1,000 and is an iconic example of the classic Victorian acrostic ring and would be a worthy addition to any jewelry collection, whether it’s your first antique piece or a bucket list item you’ve been searching for!

For the chance to win this ring, just follow the directions in the widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The winner will also have the chance to have the ring sized by Laurelle Antique Jewellery’s jewelers before the prize is shipped out, if sizing turns out to be necessary.

So to recap, all you need to do to win this incredible acrostic ring is enter your name and email address in the widget above to sign up for Laurelle Antique Jewellery’s mailing list!

If you’d like to increase your chance of winning, you can also do the optional actions in the widget above: comment on this post, follow me on Instagram or tweet about the giveaway, but those are not mandatory for entry.

If you have any questions or run into any trouble, leave a comment below or shoot me an email.

We’ll choose a winner on March 30th, so don’t forget to enter before then!

Win this Victorian era acrostic ring from Laurelle Antique Jewellery.

If you like this ring (who wouldn’t?) be sure to check out what else is on offer at the lovely Laurelle Antique Jewellery. Here is their website and their their Instagram.

Learn more about acrostic jewelry here.

Photo by Laurelle Antique Jewellery.

What is acrostic jewelry?

March 9, 2021

We’re going to talk about one of my favorite obscure subgenres of jewelry today: acrostic jewelry! Popular in the Georgian and Victorian eras, acrostic jewelry is jewelry that holds a secret message coded in gems (!!).

What is acrostic jewelry?

In acrostic jewelry, the first letter of each gemstone in a piece spells out a word. You most commonly see acrostic jewelry spelling out classic terms of endearment, like “adore,” “regard,” “dear,” or “dearest.”

Early Victorian acrostic ring in pansy form, circa 1830. The gems spell out REGARD, a message of love. From Nalfie's.

So an acrostic ring spelling out “dear” might feature a (D)iamond, (E)merald, (A)methyst, and (R)uby to spell out D-E-A-R. The ring above uses the same method to spell REGARD.

This particular acrostic ring is early Victorian and takes the form of a pansy for extra romance (pansy means “think of me”). This piece is circa 1830 and is from Nalfie’s.

This Georgian era acrostic jewel features lovely gold cannetille work and gemstones that spell 'LOVE.' From Argentum Antiques & Collectables on 1st Dibs.

The utterly romantic trend of acrostic jewels began in the Georgian era and flourished throughout the Victorian period. It is believed that acrostic jewelry was first created by Jean-Baptiste Mellerio of the House of Mellerio, who started designing jewels with gems that spelled out “j’adore.”

Napoleon Bonaparte admired Mellario’s acrostic designs and commissioned acrostic jewels for both Empress Josephine and his second wife, Empress Marie Louise.

The Georgian era acrostic pendant above features lovely gold cannetille work and gemstones that spell ‘LOVE.’ This beauty is circa 1820 and includes a compartment on the back for a lock of hair. It’s from Argentum Antiques & Collectables on 1st Dibs.

These three antique Georgian era lockets are from Fable & Windsor and they are all acrostic jewelry with gems that spell 'REGARD.'

These three Georgian era lockets are from Fable & Windsor and they are all acrostic pieces with gems that spell “REGARD.”

Secret messages of love encoded in gems went perfectly with the Georgian and Victorian love of romance and symbolic meanings. These sentimental jewels would have been gifted to lovers, family members, or even treasured friends.

Let’s look at a few more examples of acrostic jewelry, shall we?

Antique acrostic ring from the Victorian era. The gems in the flower spell out DEAREST. From Audrey & Wolf.

This lovely acrostic ring is from from Audrey & Wolf and dates to the Victorian era. It takes the shape of a pretty little flower with gemstones that spell out “DEAREST,” starting with the diamond in the middle.

Acrostic pieces are highly collectible and they’re getting harder and harder to find. Most of the pieces featured in this post are already sold, but not all. If you see one you love, don’t wait: snap it up!

A Georgian acrostic jewel from 1820, this locket's gems spell out the secret message of love REGARD. From The Three Graces.

This exquisite Georgian era acrostic locket from 1820 is from The Three Graces.

This beauty is a truly exceptional example. It is adorned with layers of grape vines and grape leaves, which The Three Graces says symbolizes fecundity, plenty, and the reaping of life’s bounty. Hidden within the vines are gems spelling out REGARD with a Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby, and Diamond.

The locket opens to reveal a secret compartment, perfect for keeping the hair of a loved one or other treasure.

Pretty pink jewels by Alexia Connellan.

February 11, 2021

I wasn’t planning on doing any kind of Valentine’s Day post this year but then these pretty pink jewels by Alexia Connellan showed up in my inbox and they were everything I needed to see right now and I knew I HAD to show them to you.

Victoria Bracelet by Alexia Connellan. With pink tourmaline, diamonds, and pink sapphires.

I didn’t originally recognize Alexia Connellan’s name but when I looked at her website, I quickly realized that I have fallen in love with her designs before! Most memorably was this gorgeous sunny yellow ring at a previous years’ of the AGTA Spectrum Awards Design Competition.

Alexia Connelian’s work is characterized by the expert use of rare gemstones in vibrant, joyful colors. She’s a gemologist as well as a painter and sculptor; her designs are the product of a lifetime of seeing the world through an artist’s eye.

Spiral earrings by Alexia Connellan, with morganite, pink sapphire, and akoya pearls.

These pretty pink jewels were released as a Valentine’s Day capsule collection, but I think we can all agree they’d be perfect for wearing any day (or every single day?).

These are the luscious Alexia Connellan Sprial earrings. They feature two pink akoya pearls surrounded by pink sapphire and diamond melee and two beautiful morganite drops (9.5 TCW) in 18K pink gold.

For this piece, the designer was inspired by the “beautiful curves of Christoper Wren’s “Dean’s Staircase” in London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral and the double helix of DNA.”

A beautiful pink Toi et Moi Ring by Alexia Connellan! Pink and magenta spinel with diamonds and pink sapphires in rose gold and platinum.

Could this ring by any more romantic?? It’s in the toi et moi style, which means “you and me” in French.

“I acquired these two gems at the same time and they always looked like a loving couple to me. Their colors and shapes complemented each other so well that I could not bear to split them up into two separate pieces of jewelry.
I decided to put them together in a Toi et Moi ring and let these two soulmates remain together forever.”

This Toi et Moi ring features two extraordinary unheated spinels with pink sapphire and diamond melee in pink gold and platinum.

The hydrangea earrings by Alexia Connellan. Pink sapphires and diamonds in pink and peach gold with South Sea pearls.

These are the stunning Alexia Connellan hydrangea earrings. I have a particular weakness for these because we had hydrangeas in my yard growing up and these earrings really do evoke their bountiful pink puffs of blossoms.

These earrings feature a pair of white South Sea pearls with pink sapphire and diamond melee in 18K pink and peach gold.

The Princess of Hearts and Queen of Hearts necklaces by Alexia Connellan. Biurmese ruby and pink spinel with diamonds.

These two pendants are the Queen of Hearts and Princess of Hearts pendants. They feature a Burmese ruby (left) and unheated pink spinel center stone within a star halo formed of heart shaped diamonds.

Alexia Connellan isn’t just a designer with an eye for extraordinary gemstones, she is also a designer who is committed to doing right by the communities who mine those gemstones. She uses ethically sourced Artisanal and Small Scale Mined (ASM) colored gemstones and post-consumer recycled diamond melee in her pieces whenever possible.

Victoria Bracelet by Alexia Connellan, side view. With pink tourmaline, diamonds, and pink sapphires.

I gave you a peek at this bracelet up top, but it deserved a closer look. How glamorous is that side view? This beauty features a 16.11 purple pink tourmaline in the center with pink sapphire and diamonds melee in pink gold.

What do you think, my darlings? Do these designs call to you the same way they call to me? Does the pink rock your world too, or would you rather see these pretty pink jewels in a different hue?

If you want more pink jewels, I now have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to this glorious color! You can also see pink pretties by Omi Prive here, by Suzy Landa here, and by Tiffany Co here.

See more from Alexia Connellan on her website.

Images c/o Alexia Connellan.