I always love when I get a chance to visit DK Bressler! I saw this fabulous jewelry dealer most recently at the Original Miami Beach Antique Show, in February.
I actually have a whole lot of photos saved up from the most recent Miami show and most of them aren’t ready yet, but I decided I couldn’t wait to give you a peek! DK Bressler was on fire this year – Founder Ronald Kawitzky was on hand and he opened up the vault for me – and I thought they’d be a great way to give you a taste of Miami while I work on getting everything else ready.
There’s absolutely nothing in the world like Edwardian era platinum work. Light as a feather, almost impossibly delicate, Edwardian era platinum jewelry is a testament to the technology of that era – early 20th century advances in technology made these ethereal lines of metal possible.
This delightfully whimsical brooch is in the shape of a butterfly or a moth. You’d expect a butterfly, but the wings are so long that it gives me a moth vibe…I’m no entomologist, though. The chubby antique diamond in the middle is icing on the cake, along with several substantial bezel set diamonds on the wings and an icing of smaller diamonds throughout.
This glorious necklace was the first thing I touched at the DK Bressler booth. Can you blame me? Such a classic Victorian beauty, with emeralds, pearls and diamonds in silver and gold.
This piece is such a dream. Those are some sizable emeralds and pearls! It was common for major necklaces from that era to have frames that they could be attached to in order to wear them as a tiara instead of a necklace.
I don’t know if this piece ever had a frame, but wouldn’t it look incredible as a tiara?? Not that it makes a bad necklace, either. Fit for a queen in either direction!
Rings!! Here’s my favorite thing about DK Bressler: they have absurdly glorious museum-quality jewels and they also have smaller treasures starting at around a few hundred dollars. You can drool all over the once in a lifetime pieces and then still find something you can afford to go home with, even if you don’t have a tiara level budget.
And btw when I say “museum quality,” I’m being literal: Ron showed me one piece that was recently returned from being on loan to The Met). Read More
This incredible piece is the Renaissance era ring. It dates to the year 1590. And I held it in my hand. Me, holding a ring from 1590. My job is the coolest ever.
The ring features a ruby – deliciously lumpy, as the whole piece is understandably worn by time – in a gold setting.
Traces of the black and white enamel and the underlying design in gold remain, especially in corners of the ring more protected from daily wear, like this corner of the ruby’s setting. (Ignore the red, it’s reflected from my dress.)
Kicking things off with the first of the three plique-a-jour pieces to catch my eye: how gorgeous is this thing? I think it looks like a rose window from a European cathedral.
Plique-a-jour piece #2
