Top

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

Vintage gold lockets under $150.

I’ve been seeing vintage-style gold lockets popping up for sale in mid-range fashion lines recently. I totally get it, they’re lovely and romantic. I certainty have nothing against a nice vintage-inspired piece, but I generally think it’s more fun to go authentic when it’s doable.

Without further ado, here are some gorgeous vintage gold lockets currently for sale on the bling-ey internet.

 Antique Victorian or Edwardian gold locket with scrolling bail and embossed front. Via Diamonds in the Library,

Antique Victorian or Edwardian gold locket with scrolling bail and embossed front (I adore this one).

Vintage gold locket from the 1950's or 60's with a rhinestone star design. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Vintage gold locket from the 1950’s or 60’s with a rhinestone star design.

Antique gold star locket with monogram; Victorian or Edwardian. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Another starry beauty: this antique gold locket has a more complex star-like pattern that I find it hard to look away from. It’s older, Victorian or Edwardian.

Early 1900s square gold locket necklace with engraving and "WW" monogram. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Early 1900s square locket necklace with engraving and “WW” monogram.

Antique Victorian flower locket necklace in gold. Via Diamonds in the Library.

The floral design on this Victorian locket is gorgeous. I also love the flowing monogram on the back. (This one is the reason I upped the price on this post to $150.)

Antique Art Deco locket in gold with embossed floral design. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Linear Art Deco floral embossed locket from the 1930’s – what a cool shape!

Vintage gold locket from the 1940's with floral engraving and original black and white photo. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Vintage gold locket from the 1940’s with floral engraving and original black and white photo.

Antique Edwardian embossed gold locket, circa 1900. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Embossed Edwardian locket from the early 1900’s – how much do you love the shape of this one?

Just to be clear: at this price range, the pieces aren’t going to be solid gold. They’re all goldtone; gold-filled, gold-plated, or made of other gold colored materials. Still lovely!

These antique and vintage gold lockets are all currently for sale at Maejean Vintage. I didn’t set out to feature pieces just from one store, but Maejean had so many perfect pieces that I just couldn’t help myself. All images and info are thanks to Maejean Vintage.

Manor of Secrets by Katherine Longshore.

My review of Manor of Secrets by Katherine Longshore, a YA novel set in a Downton Abbey-like world of historical intrigue. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Manor of Secrets by Katherine Longshore.

This book is: unremarkable.
Other elements: class differences, rich people acting badly.
Read it: if you like the idea of very watered down Downton Abbey.
Overall rating: 4.25/10

This book did absolutely nothing for me. From page one, everything that I expected to happen happened. Every character did what I thought they would do for the usual reasons. Nothing stood out as original, remarkable, or noteworthy.

As with many upstairs/downstairs types of stories, Manor of Secrets centered upon a privileged character and her lower class foil. In this case, the privileged character was revoltingly selfish, short-sighted, naive, and stupid. The lower class foil character was less selfish, but even more naive and short-sighted. Serious cases of TSTL all around.The turn-of-the-century manor house setting – which is what drew me in, to be honest – flat entirely flat.

I just didn’t understand the author’s goal in setting this story in the past and then having the characters use words like “stellar,” and sing songs that were written in the 1960’s. It was jarring and off-putting to find myself wondering mid-novel if it was supposed to be satire or not (the verdict: not). Maybe those elements were written out before the final version went to publication;I certainly hope so.
In short: I picked this up hoping that it would be a fun, mindless read. I was half right, but sadly not the half that would mean I enjoyed myself. If it had been longer, this would be a DNF.I would also not be me if I didn’t tell you that the clunky pearl necklace the girl on the cover is wearing is wildly uncharacteristic for a young heiress in the era in which this ostensibly takes place. She should be wearing something like this or this or this.

My thanks to NetGalley and Scholastic for providing me with a copy of this book for review.

Buccellati turquoise and diamond ring.

This ring is glorious.

Buccellati turquoise and diamond ring in gold. Via Diamonds in the Library.

I just love turquoise in gold – the color contrast is wonderful. This bombé cocktail ring centers a large and lovely oval-shaped cabochon turquoise. From the picture, it looks to be marvelous robin’s egg blue. The turquoise is mounted in 18k textured yellow gold and accented by a surround of rose-cut diamond trios. The piece is signed ‘M.Buccellati’.

If you’re familliar with Buccellati, you won’t be surprised by the intricate detail work in the gold that surrounds that juicy hunk of turquoise. I actually think we need to zoom in and get a closer look at the details.

Buccellati turquoise and diamond ring in gold. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Isn’t it magnificent? Texture city. And so detailed: see the tiny peaks where the gold meets the turquoise, like the cabochon splashed into the mounting or the gold is holding on to the stone? This is so much more than just a big ring. It also happens to be a 5 1/2, which makes it a perfect right-hand ring for me.

What do you think of it? Would you prefer something smaller, or are you dying to get this on your finger?

This Buccellati turquoise and diamond ring was listed in a December 2013 auction at Phillips. All images and info are thanks to Phillips.

Follow along with me on Instagram