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Your favorite jewels of 2016.

January 11, 2017

Happy 2017, my darlings!!!!

It’s been my habit recently to kick off each new year by looking at what you loved the most in the previous year. We’re going to continue that today by looking at what you loved the most in 2016 – by which I mean, of course, which posts were the most popular. I love these features because it’s a great way to revisit the best of the best of the past 12 months.

I decided to do the top 15, because the top 16 seemed like too many and the top 10 seemed like too few. In reverse order, of course, so that I get to have the fun of a dramatic reveal for #1.

Ready??

Your favorite jewels of 2016:

#15 How to take great jewelry photos with your phone.

A million years ago (okay about 5 years ago) when I started visiting jewelry stores and trade shows to take pictures of jewelry, I considered buying a big fancy camera. Then I decided: no, I’ll just work with what I have. Fast forward to now, and I’ve probably taken tens of thousands of jewelry photos with my phone. That’s more practice than the average jewelry phone-tographer.

When I meet fellow jewelry in person, the number 1 question I’m asked (besides: what is is a blog?) is if I have any advice for taking good photos of jewelry with a phone. This blog post is my answer.

#14 Jewels from the 2016 Original Miami Beach Antique Show.

Going to the Original Miami Beach Antique Show for the first time in 2016 was a jewelry dream come true for me. 2016 was a year that included more than on jewelry dream come true, but this was the one that I’d probably spend the most time daydreaming about.

Four days and what felt like an infinite number of antique jewelry dealers, all together in one place. I met dealers I’ve followed online for years, saw pieces of a quality I’ve only read about in books. I just confirmed I’m going back again this year (next month!) and I can’t wait.

This is one post of a two-parter: see more from the Miami antique show here.

#13 Necklaces through the ages with M. Khordipour.

This was such a fun post to write! Seeing the evolution of jewelry design over time is one of my very favorite things. I find it endlessly fascinating, both aesthetically and because of how it echos the changing needs, wants, and fears of society. (Did I ever mention I minored in Anthropology in college?)

This is not the first time that this dealer has made an appearance in the top posts of the year: their sister brand, Estate Diamond Jewelry, is tied to one of your very favorite posts of all time.

#12 Tiffany and Co kunzite and diamond ring.

I was tickled to see this post pop up. It was my very first post to go viral on Pinterest – from waaaay back in 2012, if you can believe it. It’s been repinned over 117,000 times as of today, if you count both the current URL and the original blogspot post.

I certainty understand why: this magnificent Ring Pop-sized behemoth of a huge pink ring is hard not to love.

#11 Store profile: A Brandt and Son.

After years of stalking their website and Instagram, I finally visited the fantastic A Brandt and Son in person! I loved my time at this gem of a jewelry store: they have some truly fantastic vintage and antique pieces.

They are incredibly friendly and welcoming and I can’t resist mentioning again that the street where this store stands smells like sugar and butter because of a nearby bakery. Going there is like stepping into some Wizard of OZ level jewelry dream, where the air reminds you of cake and there are cases and cases of treasures to adore.

#10 GIVEAWAY: up your layering game with Jennie Kwon.

This was such a great giveaway! We had 1,378 entries, which is just incredible. And understandable: I love Jennie Kwon’s designs, too ( and I wanted the prize, but it would have been poor form for me to enter my own giveaway, sadly).

I also took the opportunity to introduce you to some of Jennie’s other wonderful, delicate designs – like the layering pieces pictured above. Oodles of itty bitty irresistible pretties.

Feminist jewelry to wear while you smash the patriarchy.

December 16, 2016

Traditionally, I’ve tried to keep my political opinions and Diamonds in the Library pretty separate. You can tell what I think about certain things by looking at what links I share in my “What I’m Reading” posts, and even more easily if you follow me on Twitter, but I’ve kept my opinions about current events off of the blog, for the most part.

After this most recent Presidential election, I feel strongly that some things are just too important to stay quiet about. It is in that spirit that I bring you today’s roundup of feminist jewelry to wear while you smash the patriarchy.

Say it loud, proud, and with a cute little hammer.

I love feminist jewelry because there’s something deliciously subversive about taking an item that’s ostensibly intended to adorn women, something delicate and pretty, and turn it on its side as an expression of defiance and strength instead.

Every single one of these picks is an individual designer or an independent artist – if you purchase any of these feminist jewelry designs, your money will be going to support the arts, not a big corporation.

When it comes to fine jewelry, few designers are representing the feminist agenda more thoroughly than Wendy Brandes.

Her “BOSSY” and “NASTY” necklaces come to mind first, but if you look through Wendy’s website, you’ll see that the majority of her high end pieces are inspired by great women of the past, and her entire “Maneater” collection is dedicated to the idea of powerful women. Then there are all of her delightfully irreverent emoji studs, which can be worn in any number of ways.

Purchase of the BOSSY or NASTY necklaces also gets you a donation to Planned Parenthood in your honor.

What is a Black Lives Matter button doing in a post on feminist jewelry? It’s your visual reminder that feminism is nothing if it isn’t intersectional. For more discussion on this topic, here are some excellent resources from Book Riot (a whole list of books!) or articles from Everyday Feminism, Bustle, and Jill of All Trades.

100% of the proceeds from this particular #BLM button are donated directly to the movement.

13 ultra-cool contemporary engagement rings.

December 12, 2016

I was browsing the Greenwich St. Jewelers website the other day to see what was new (they’re always a great place to find interesting but wearable modern pieces) and I found myself captivated by the bridal section. There’s some really exciting things happening in contemporary engagement rings right now, and I haven’t been doing the category justice here on Diamonds in the Library in recent months.

Bridal is becoming a more and more open-minded field of design, with a wide range of styles that guarantee that anyone on the quest for a contemporary engagement ring will be able to find one that feels just right. I think that’s just wonderful and these great new designs deserve our attention.

Here’s a baker’s dozen of the coolest contemporary engagement rings I encountered in my recent browsing:

I love this setting from Sylvie Collection because it embodies so many of the recent important engagement ring trends in a beautiful, wearable way.

With warm rose gold, a simple halo, and an elegant oval diamond – this ring is rocking the “I’m on trend now, but I’ll still look good in 30 years” approach. Bonus: how cool are those thorn-like prongs?

This is the Trellis ring by Megan Thorne. I think it’s fantastic: it reminds me of bridges and skyscrapers.

I love how it involves all the traditional elements of an engagement ring but uses them in such a unique way, with the wide, openwork band and bezel-set center stone that’s the same width as the ring shank. It occupies space on the finger in an unusual way, while still feeling very engagement ring-like.

One of the things I hear the most frequently from women looking for engagement rings is that they want something easy-to-wear that won’t interfere with their daily activities: namely, they want a low-profile ring (that sits low on the finger) that won’t get caught on things as they go about their busy lives.

This Jennie Kwon ring is proof that a ring can be low-profile and high style. It looks like it’s about as comfortable and easy as a ring can be, while still bringing plenty of style.

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