Happy Halloween, darlings! I love Halloween, don’t you? Today, in honor of the spooky, magical holiday, we’re taking a look at the fabulous jewels of Anthony Lent.
I had the honor of meeting Mr. Anthony Lent himself over the summer and he took it very well when I told him that his jewelry reminded me of terrifying old-school fairytales; you know, the ones that they can’t actually tell to kids anymore because they’d never be able to sleep again. Dark and beautiful.
Is this a wood nymph, the spirit of the tree’s new seedling, perhaps? A woman who was transformed into a seed pod for displeasing a forest-dwelling witch? All I know for sure is that it’s gorgeous and I want to stare at it all day, wondering.
I must say I had a truly wonderful time chatting with Team Lent when I met them at a Couture event over the summer. Particularly Anthony himself, with whom I shared an in-depth discussion of times we were both shat upon by birds and if we believe that such things really are good luck. (The verdict: yes.)
He was also very patient with me as I went through a long litany of book references to try to explain the different fantastical fictional creatures that his work reminded me of. (If you see this, Mr. Lent, I still think you’d love Neverwhere.)
Lent’s background is in art; he’s a sculptor. If you found that surprising, please scroll back up and look at that first photo again. Each Anthony Lent piece is perfectly thought-out and exquisitely wrought with a personality all its own.
The designs range from angelic to nightmare-esque, but they’re all so charismatic and gorgeously-rendered that it’s impossible not to admire them all.
I have about 60 photos of this ring from when I tried it on. It’s just incredible: every tiny face suffused with emotion, each one blending seamlessly into the next.
You feel the magic in these, too, don’t you? When I saw them in person I kept expecting the tiny faces to blink or offer me three wishes. Or suck me in and trap me for all eternity.
I couldn’t get enough of these two hand rings. Look at the details: each set of hands has its own matched set of diamond bracelets and its own teeny tiny gemstone ring. Who could resist something so whimsical and gorgeous?
Here’s a closer look.
The Reach for the Stars brooch, from the Celestial collection, was one of my absolute favorites. The design is obviously beautiful and well executed, but my favorite parts are on the back.
Anthony Lent could easily have left the back of this brooch blank, but instead, he sculpted a tiny creature to grasp the pin in its mouth as a brooch fitting, a face for the back of the star, and a tiny snail to keep the brooch level and preventing it from tilting forward.
This snake bracelet is the first Lent piece I ever saw, at my very first JCK Luxury Prive. I noticed it right away because of the richly colored beads and the incredible detail on the snake’s head.
Have you ever seen a lovelier bat motif necklace? I wish I were wearing this to the party I’m going to tonight.
I hope you have a wonderful Halloween, my darlings. It’s one of my favorite holidays, personally.
All images and info except for the photos of the snake bracelet and the two hand rings on my finger is thanks to Anthony Lent.
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When I was a teen, my father found a ring similar to those tiny hands. The hands where holding a garnet and each hand had diamond bracelets. It was the most beautiful and unique ring I have ever seen. Sadly, it was stolen from my mother’s purse. She had taken her rings off and out them in her purse and thought they’d be safe since we were at a church function…she was wrong. I have searched for another ring like it for years and until coming across this site, I’d never seen another similar to it.
Oh, wow! It sounds like an incredible piece. I’m so sorry to hear what happened to it.
Bloody amazing – those rings with hands and the snake bracelet…where do you keep it btw? 🙂