These earrings by Amrapali are just fabulous. From the stylized birds on the top to the rubies and emeralds on the tassel, they are bright, fun, and happy. These beauties are by Amrapali and they are gold with diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, pearl tassels with a touch of enamel.
Art Deco opal and diamond ring by J. E. Caldwell.
It never surprises me when I find an Art Deco piece that I particularly love and it turns out it by J.E. Caldwell. This Art Deco opal and diamond ring is no exception.
This features a black opal set in platinum and surrounded by diamonds. It was made in 1925, by J.E. Caldwell. The black opal is beautiful on its own, but the carefully shaped diamond setting really makes it shine. Diamonds and opals are always a great combination, but the way these diamonds are set in the ridged silver frame at specific intervals provides a geometric visual interest here that many contemporary opal and diamond rings lack.
Don’t you love how the diamonds in the setting pick up the bright colors in the opal? This one must be truly wonderful in sunshine. Let’s cross our fingers that one of us gets to see it in person one day.
This Art Deco opal and diamond ring is currently for sale at Macklowe Gallery, so if you want more information or would like to make the excellent choice of buying this ring you can find its listing here.
Art Deco cherry blossom bracelet by Cartier.
This cherry blossom bracelet is one of the prettiest things I have ever seen. Art Deco era Cartier, circa 1925. It’s a diamond strap bracelet with a really lovely design of gem-set cherry blossom branches and flowers.
Isn’t it marvelous? As a DC native, cherry blossoms have a special place in my heart, and I think this is a spectacularly lovely interpretation of them. I think the blossoms make a perfect contrast to the clean Art Deco lines of the bracelet’s thick rectangular plates. I actually have a tattoo that would match this quite nicely.
This picture is from Hancocks, where the cherry blossom bracelet was listed for sale, but the it is no longer on their website.
I assume it was sold to some very fortunate person. Sadly for us, the fact that it’s no longer on their website means I don’t have a whole lot of information to give you. For example, the design looks like rubies, emeralds, and onyx, but I don’t know that for sure. It’s still wonderful to admire, even if we don’t know as much information as we might like.
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain.
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain.
This book is: Historical fiction about Ernest Hemingway and his first wife.
Other elements: Women not standing up for themselves, adultery, dependence on men, emotional abuse, alcoholism, polyamorous relationships, bullfighting.
Read it: If you are fascinated by Hemingway, if you like Lifetime movies, if you don’t mind weak female characters, you’re stranded somewhere with absolutely nothing else to do and have run out of thoughts.
Overall rating: 2/10
Gold, diamond and pearl necklace, circa 1900.
This necklace is a dream. It has some fairly ornate details – like the flowers along the upper part of the gold chain, the net of pearls and diamonds, and the diamond-studded flames scrolling out to either side – but it’s delicate enough that it still feels simple. This beauty is from 1900, and I think the Belle Epoque influence is pretty clear.
This necklace going to be part of Sotheby’s Important Jewels Sale in New York on 20 September 2012 – click here for the listing. All information about and photos of this piece are thanks to Sotheby’s.
Sotheby’s description:
Gold, Diamond and Pearl Necklace
Featuring a natural pearl drop measuring approximately 7.9 by 7.0 mm, accented by 20 button-shaped pearls measuring approximately 4.5 to 4.1 mm, further set with numerous old mine, round and old European-cut diamonds weighing approximately 13.00 carats, the necklace gathered at the sides by flame motifs, length 15¼ inches, circa 1900.
Two extremely fabulous wide bracelets.
I love a good bracelet. I don’t wear them particularly often – I type all day at my day job and I have very small wrists, so it’s hard to find ones that won’t fall off or flap around. When I do wear them, I tend to go for small, flexible bracelets. These two wide bracelets are the opposite of small and flexible, but they’re so amazing I know I’d find a way to make it work.
Wide bracelet #1 is pierced yellow gold cuff accented with a floral design in silver. The scrolling floral design is accented with 2.22 carats of diamonds and two rubies. I just love the way the silver and diamond floral design winds across the latticed gold – it really looks like the design just grew onto the trellis of the bracelet, rather than being man-made.
Wide bracelet #2 might be even more fabulous. It was made in India, so you know already it’s going to be stunning. This bracelet won my heart away by doing one of my favorite things in jewelry; it’s embellished everywhere. No surface is wasted. The inside and sides of the bracelet, which could easily have been left unadorned, are covered in a gorgeously intricate enamel design. The enamel, which is a starkly contrasting design of black and gold, creates a beautiful foil for the outer, geometric design in seed pearls, rubies, and diamonds. This bracelet really is something special.