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

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Let’s look at antique engagement rings.

Today’s post is going to a DitL classic sort of post, where we round up a bunch of antique engagement rings and admire them together. I tried to come up with a theme, but really I’m just in the mood to admire the classic beauty of rings made 100 or so years ago.

The theme of this post shall be “these antique engagement rings are pretty, hooray!”

A spectacular 3.10 ct diamond Art Deco engagement ring with calibre sapphires. I love antique engagement rings.Let’s start things out with a bang. Several of these antique engagement rings are going to be from the Art Deco era, because that’s how I roll.

This magnificent beast is a spectacular 3.10 ct diamond Art Deco engagement ring with calibre sapphires. A huge, juicy diamond in an intricate setting with tiny, sparkling diamonds an vivid blue sapphires? What’s not to love.

This ring – and the others today – are all from perennial DitL favorite, Lang Antiques.

A fantastic die-struck Art Deco engagement ring from the 1920's with a sparkling 1.38 carat center stone. Such incredible details! From Lang Antiques.How freakin’ cool is this 1920’s ring? Its die-struck setting is ostensibly a straightforward solitaire, but the elegant, curving details beneath the diamond make it truly special. A unique beauty.

A beautiful antique engagement ring with a cushion-cut diamond sandwiched between two lovely emeralds. Art Deco, circa 1915-1920. At Lang Antiques. How about a perfect cushion cut diamond sandwiched between two luminous emeralds? Yes, please. I love antique engagement rings with colored stone details, and this one from 1915-1920 fits the bill.

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The 2016 Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show.

Happy Monday, kittens! I finally have my photos all edited and I’m ready to show you what I saw at the The Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show!

Unlike most antique jewelry shows, the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show is not open to the public: you have to be a dealer (or registered attendee of the JCK or Couture trade shows, or a lucky member of the media) to attend.

This means that almost everyone there is there to get down to serious business, rather than just admiring the pretties. It’s a high-energy environment that attracts a lot of top-shelf dealers with exquisite pieces to offer. I had a marvelous time.

Beautiful brunch jewels on Anya of GemFever and Beth BernsteinBecause the show attracts such great jewelry, there were a lot of fun jewelry people around, too! I was lucky enough to have pre-show breakfast with the lovely Beth Bernstein, Susan of Circa 1700, and Anya of GemFever, all of whom brought fierce jewelry game to the breakfast table. That’s Beth’s bling on the right, Anya’s on the left.

The Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show is what I would call a medium-sized antique jewelry show: it’s one casino ballroom – about half the size of the Baltimore Summer Antiques Show. Doable in one day if you’re okay with not seeing everything. I only gave myself one day there, and while it was hard to tear myself away knowing I wasn’t coming back, I did see a lot of amazing pieces.

A case full of stunning pieces at Lowther Antiques' Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show booth. I made a beeline straight for Lowther Antiques: not only are Pat and Virginia two of my favorite jewelry-dealing ladies to chat with, they also have a dependably mind-blowing selection.

Glorious Georgian jewelry from Lowther Antiques. Just look at these glorious Georgian jewels from Lowther Antiques.

These caught the light like nobody’s business. Extraordinary condition for pieces of jewelry that have been around more than twice as long as any living human.

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Store profile: A Brandt and Son.

Good morning, my darlings! It’s been a while since we’ve done a good old fashioned store profile, but I’ve got a great one for you here today. We’re going to be taking a look at the fantastic A Brandt and Son, a family-owned antique and vintage jewelry store outside of Philly.

I was in Philly for a weekend away with my husband (a weekend that I do admit was supposed to be jewelry-free) when the patient Mr. DitL agreed that sure, we could stop by just one jewelry store. I’d been following A Brandt and Son online for a while and had seen some of their treasures once at the NYC Big Flea, so I was thrilled to have a chance to go visit them in person.

A stunning selection of antique lockets at A Brandt and SonA Brandt and Son‘s online description is “A. Brandt + Son offers an extensive collection of Antique and Estate Jewelry, specializing in pieces from the Georgian era through the Contemporary period.” This sounds vague, but I assure you it’s completely accurate.

They do specialize in everything between Georgian and Contemporary. Their selection is exceptional, and it ranges evenly across all of those eras. I saw exceptional antique chains, Georgian necklaces, Edwardian pendants, engagement rings from all eras, mourning rings, and more – not to mention the swoonworthy motherload of Victorian lockets (see please above and drool).

Let’s take a look at some of the treasures I saw there.

Four stunning Art Deco engagement rings from A Brandt and Son. With diamonds, sapphires, and filigree details.A Brandt and Son had one of the best in-store selections of midrange Art Deco engagement rings I’ve seen anywhere. The kind that the majority of people will actually be able to afford: bigger than a twinkle but smaller than a boulder, and with plenty of knee-weakening detail. But I admit I’m biased; my own ring would fit into this stack perfectly.

A Victorian skeleton key pendant with retractable pencil and knife. At A Brandt and Son.One of my favorite things about A Brandt and Son is that they really did have excellent examples of pieces from all categories, from the most accessible – classic Art Deco engagement rings – to the unusual, like this Victorian skeleton key pendant.

Each key features a retractable hidden function. The left key hides a small knife blade and the right, a pencil.

An incredible antique man in the moon ring from A Brandt and Son. Carved moonstone with diamonds.One of the best man-in-the-moon rings I’ve ever seen!

This beauty is Victorian, and the man in the moon is actually carved rock crystal rather than moonstone, which is more commonly used in pieces like this. It reflects light in a ghostly glow, ethereal and captivating.

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