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Three Art Deco emerald and diamond pieces.

Art Deco pretties with diamonds and emeralds! I don’t need to tell you how utterly these three are my cup of tea.

Art Deco emerald and diamond brooch, circa 1930's. Via Diamonds in the Library.
This fabulous feast for the eyes dates to the 1930’s. Designed as an openwork geometric plaque set with circular, single-cut, and baguette diamonds, this brooch also suspends three marquise-shaped emerald and diamond drops. I think it is a marvelous example of clean but bewitching Art Deco emerald and diamond perfection, with its clean lines, restrained color scheme, and ration of positive to negative space.

Art Deco emerald and diamond ring, circa 1910. The center diamond - a circular cut stone of 2.07 carats.
Jewel #2 today is this fabulous Art Deco emerald and diamond ring. It’s not the first we’ve seen along these lines and it won’t be the last, given that this is my blog and I love this kind of thing.

The ring predates the brooch; it was made in 1910. The center diamond – a circular cut stone of 2.07 carats –  is set within a millegrain surround of circular and single cut rose diamonds and accented by emerald details.

 Art Deco emerald and diamond earrings by Cartier, circa 1935. Each earring is hung with a polished emerald within an open diamond-set frame.

These Art Deco emerald and diamond geometric earrings are the work of the ever marvelous Cartier. They’re contemporaries of the brooch, circa 1935. Each earring is hung with a polished emerald within an open diamond-set frame. The frames are each divided by a line of baguette diamonds and with fancy kite shaped diamond, from diamond set circle-and-dot tops, millegrain set.

I love the contrast of hard and soft here, with the straight lines of the frames, the liquidey emerald drops, and the perfectly round surmounts.

Please see the individual descriptions of each Art Deco emerald and diamond piece for source links. All image and info in this post are thanks to the original poster of each item.

Ring roundup: weirdos.

These rings all struck me as unusual in some way. But fabulous, of course.

Side view; Tutti-frutti Art Deco dinner ring, circa 1925. An unusual design with carved emeralds, sapphires, rubies, amethysts, citrines, and diamonds within a border of black enamel.Here’s the ring that inspired this post. It’s insane. Almost off-putting. It looks like a blank ring was covered in glue and dropped into a jeweler’s work tray. But the longer I looked at it, the more I came to love it. It’s beautiful – an abstract collage of varicolored gemstones set in a platinum and diamond canvas.

A Tutti-frutti Art Deco dinner ring, circa 1925. An unusual design incorporating carved emeralds, sapphires, rubies, amethysts, citrines, and diamonds within a border of black enamel.If you look closely, can see that the emeralds and rubies are carved, tutti-frutti style. The varying opacity of the stones mean that this beauty would catch the light in a really interesting way. It’s an Art Deco dinner ring from 1925, and the lovelies it’s set with include carved emeralds, sapphires, rubies, amethysts, citrines, and diamonds. The whole melange is framed within a border of black enamel.

Tutti-frutti Art Deco dinner ring, circa 1925. An unusual design incorporating carved emeralds, sapphires, rubies, amethysts, citrines, and diamonds within a border of black enamel.

I would wear it. Let’s see some more unusual rings!

28 carat emerald-cut aquamarine and diamond cocktail ring in two-tone gold, circa 1960s-1980s. Via Diamonds in the Library.
This ring looks like a porcupine trying to swallow an aquamarine that’s too large for its mouth. You know you see it too. But I mean that in the best way. It’s vintage, from the later part of the 20th century. With its ropelike mixed-metal details, baguette diamond accents, and giant aquamarine, I think this is an exceptionally cool piece.
A very unusual Victorian shell cameo ring in 9 karat rose gold. Via Diamonds in the Library.
This guy is really, seriously weird. Even the good folks at Lang Antiques aren’t sure what the figure is supposed to be (they identified him as “An ancient bearded ancestor of Gene Simmons (of the band Kiss),” which I am 99.9% sure is a joke). This unusual cameo, which is set in rose gold, is Victorian and does indeed feature a bearded man sticking his tongue out. I have a weakness for unusual cameos and I’d wear this one in a heartbeat.
Victorian conch pearl and diamond ring in platinum and yellow gold. Total diamond weight, 1.15 carats, circa 1880. Via Diamonds in the Library.This ring might look a little bit like a squid but it’s the prettiest squid you ever did see. It features a natural pink conch pearl (you know how I love conch pearls) and three sparkling white European-cut diamonds, totaling 1.15 carats. The diamonds are arranged in a pattern somewhat reminiscent of a fleur d’ leis. The ring is Victorian, circa 1880, and is set in platinum and yellow gold.
Vintage gold and ruby dragon ring in 18k gold. Via Diamonds in the Library.
I’m reasonably sure you don’t need me to explain to you what I love about this ring. But I will anyway: look at his little face!! Those ruby eyes are full of personality. That, and the incredible detailing of the gold – look at the horns, don’t they look like two elaborately coiled springs? And I love how the twisted motif goes all around the shank. This beauty is vintage, made Greece at an unknown date, and it’s set in 18 K gold.

If you’re hungry for more unusual rings, please revisit some of the memorable weirdos I’ve posted in the past, like the Chopard rubber duckie ring, the coral wizard ring, the diamond turkey ring, the Piaget cocktail-shaped cocktail rings, and Wallace Chan’s abstract serpentine masterpiece.

All of the pretties in this post were listed for sale at the fabulous Lang Antiques. All images and info are thanks to Lang.

Antique diamond bow and pearl sautoir.

Happy Wednesday!! How about something antique with a bow?

An antique diamond bow and pearl sautoir necklace.

Sigh. Perfection.

This lovely diamond and pearl sautoir dates to 1905, so I’d call it late Edwardian or early Art Deco. It dangles two lustrous silvery gray drop pearls attached by bellflower diamond caps to a platinum bar chain necklace spaced by diamond collet and seed pearl trios. The necklace also features a diamond-set triple loop ribbon tied bow, which dangles the two pearls from its ribbon ends.

An antique diamond bow and pearl sautoir from the Belle Epoque era.

I needed to give you a closer look at that bow. Look at its lovely, contoured ribbon shape, the way the millegraining adds texture along the edges, the perfect smattering of diamonds to add sparkle. I also love the asymmetry of the chains, the way that the diamond and pearl elements are different on the right and left sides. For a delicate piece, there’s a lot to add visual interest here.

Antique diamond bow and pearl sautoir.

Here’s the full view. You can see that it’s a longish piece; at about 20 inches, this necklace would dangle its silvery pearls just above a lady’s decolletage. An ethereal piece that I think could be very sensual, depending on what kind of neckline it was paired with. It would be a dream as a wedding-day necklace.

This incredible diamond and pearl sautoir is currently for sale at S.J. Philips. All images and info are thanks to S.J. Phillips.

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