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

To-die-for antique emerald and diamond bracelet.

Oh, my dears. You’re in for a treat this Friday morning.

A stunning antique emerald and diamond bracelet, circa 1910-1920. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Remember when I asked Lang Antiques to send me bigger pictures of an amazing opal and diamond necklace they were selling and they rocked my world by sending me these? They’ve done it again.

This piece is an Edwardian antique emerald and diamond bracelet, made between 1910 and 1920. The platinum bracelet is 3/4 of an inch wide and glows with a row of European-cut diamonds that leads to a 2.75 carat round cabochon emerald. The bracelet is further embellished by several smaller calibre-cut emeralds, openwork detail, and hand engraving.

Antique emerald and diamond bracelet, circa 1910-1920. Via Diamonds in the Library.

What really makes this exceptional in my book – besides the masterful use of the occasional bright emeralds – is the incredible openwork and the texture that the millegraining creates around the negative space. To say it’s a feast for the eyes is to flirt with understatement.

Detail view of an antique emerald and diamond bracelet, circa 1910-1920. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Just look at that detail. What do you think? Do you love this antique emerald and diamond bracelet as much as I do?

It’s 7 inches long, which means it would fit me perfectly. Just FYI.

An antique emerald and diamond bracelet, circa 1910-1920. Via Diamonds in the Library.

This antique emerald and diamond bracelet is currently for sale at Lang Antiques. All images and info in this post are thanks to Lang – specifically, thanks to the fabulous Lisa and gifted photographer Cole.

 A fantastic antique emerald and diamond bracelet, circa 1910-1920. Via Diamonds in the Library.

An antique emerald and diamond bracelet, circa 1910-1920. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Ring roundup: several more spectacular sapphire rings.

I enjoyed my last spectacular sapphire ring roundup so much that I decided to do another one. Let’s dive right in.

Antique style cornflower blue, natural, no-heat Ceylon sapphire ring

This ring isn’t afraid to bring the serious sapphire firepower, with that cornflower blue, natural, no-heat Ceylon sapphire which clocks in at an extremely respectable. 15.50 carats. It’s contemporary but extraordinarily glamorous, with antique-style open scrollwork galore.

Art Deco sapphire and diamond ring, circa 1915
This is an early 20th century sapphire and diamond ring, circa 1915. It has a lozenge cluster of sapphires at the center, formed by a square cut and four triangular cut sapphires, with a border of single cut diamonds, a pierced gallery, and a plain shank. It is simple but I think the overall shape – which has the vaguest suggestion of a flower, with the subtle indentations in the center of each side of the diamond – is really pretty.

A glorious Art Deco sapphire and diamond ring.

This spectacular sapphire and diamond ring, a definite crowd-pleaser, is an early 20th century diamond and sapphire ring, circa 1910. It is millegrain set with a cushion cut diamond, the surrounding calibre cut sapphires forming a lozenge, diamond dart highlights to the corners and a diamond set outer border. I think it’s really spectacular.

Sapphire and diamond ring by Tiffany & Co. A contemporary piece in the Art Deco style.

This round beauty is a contemporary Art Deco-inspired piece by Tiffany & Co., part of the Great Gatsby collection. Fabulous, yes? And very easy to see the Deco influence, especially when it’s in such company.

A wonderful antique sapphire and diamond ring

Next up is an antique platinum-mounted sapphire and diamond marquise shaped cluster ring, circa 1890. The ring has a central marquise shaped sapphire bordered by lines of diamonds and calibre cut sapphires. The border is formed to look sort of like a ribbon wrapped around the central sapphire and flattened. I was surprised by the date; doesn’t it look Art Deco? A forward-thinking jeweler, I guess.

A magnificent and unique sapphire and diamond ring.

This baby is another ring that is both huge and beautifully designed. It’s another contemporary Art Deco-style piece, set with a 7.11 carat cushion-cut sapphire and just under 3 carats of baguette and oval-cut diamonds. I wouldn’t turn this one down.

A beautiful cabochon sapphire and diamond ring. Art Deco era.
This ring is quintessentially Art Deco in a way that makes me think of buildings, but it’s also a little early to be called Art Deco in terms of age. This antique cabochon sapphire & diamond ring, is from 1905. It features an oval cabochon sapphire centered in a pierced and millegrain set bombe diamond mount.

An antique sapphire and diamond ring

This knockout of an Art Deco cocktail ring centers a 5.33 carat Burma sapphire, so its chances at fabulousness were pretty high from the get-go. It’s further embellished by an oblong two-row border of calibre cut sapphires and diamonds, with a scalloped edge, and diamond line shoulders.

These spectacular sapphire rings are not all from the same source, so please see individual descriptions above for links. All images and info are thanks to the original poster of each item.

Have you entered my giveaway yet? You could win a free pair of diamond earrings!

 

Cartier emerald and diamond necklace.

This Cartier emerald and diamond necklace is pretty spectacular.

An emerald and diamond necklace, by Cartier. This piece features two large emeralds (44.42 and 42.50 carats) surrounded by 75 carats of diamonds.Via Diamonds in the Library.First of all, it’s huge. HUGE. Those emeralds are 44.42 and 42.50 carats, and they’re surrounded by 75 carats of diamonds. You could put these stones on a paper plate and they’d still be spectacular.

I happen to think that Cartier did a marvelous job with their raw materials here. The overall design of the necklace is fairly simple, which I think is appropriate to showcase such high-caliber stones. It’s about 17 inches long; the hand in the photo above can give you a sense of the scale.

Emerald and diamond necklace, by Cartier. This piece features two large emeralds (44.42 and 42.50 carats) surrounded by 75 carats of diamonds.Via Diamonds in the Library.The shape of the three rows of diamonds draw the eye gently down to the two emeralds, pinching in slightly right before the center element for greater effect. The diamonds around the emeralds are graduated in size to lend maximum emphasis to the beautiful green gems. The stones are  mounted in platinum and 18 karat yellow gold.

Detail - an emerald and diamond necklace, by Cartier. This piece features two large emeralds (44.42 and 42.50 carats) surrounded by 75 carats of diamonds.Via Diamonds in the Library.

You can also see, if you look closely, clusters of pear-shaped dimonds framing the diamond-wreathed emeralds of the center elements. The contrast in shape adds a bit of texture. A lot of thought went into this necklace.

This Cartier emerald and diamond necklace was listed in Sotheby’s October 2011Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale. All images and info are thanks to Sotheby’s.

I’m giving away a pair of diamond earrings! Have you entered the contest yet?

A rare and remarkable emerald and diamond necklace, by Cartier. This piece features two large emeralds (44.42 and 42.50 carats) surrounded by 75 carats of diamonds.Via Diamonds in the Library.

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