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Playful spring brights from SheBee.

March 21, 2017

Spring is struggling to arrive in my neighborhood, and it’s got me craving floppy hats, sundresses, and – above all – bright colors!!

I discovered this SheBee necklace while I was researching a story for Instore Magazine, and I loved it so much that I had to feature it here, too.

Isn’t it fabulous?

This joyful SheBee piece is called the Daisy Chain necklace – a whimsical name that perfectly captures this necklace’s playful but lovely spirit.

SheBee’s Daisy Chain necklace is sterling silver with rhodium plating, which makes for that rich, dark look to the metal. It’s set with colorful sapphires and tourmillated quartz, with gold-plated detailing.

Mixed metals, mixed stones, mixed colors – no wonder I like it so much. Visual interest galore!

Here’s a closer look at those daisy-like elements: you can see the tourmillated quartz inside its gold-plated border, surrounded by colorful sapphires in darker metal.

I think it’s the use of the tourmillated quartz that makes this necklace as utterly fantastic as it is – it’s an unexpected texture, and it introduces a slightly more serious, organic element into the design.

I was originally just going to show you the necklace, but I can’t resist sharing the earrings and bracelet with you as well.

Ready??

Treasure hunting at the 2017 Original Miami Antique Show.

March 15, 2017

All right, my darlings. I promised you dazzling treasures from the Original Miami Antique Show, and I am READY TO DELIVER.

I wandered through row after row and hall after hall of dealers’ booths, falling in love with everything from Renaissance era rings to tiaras to $2 million ruby rings that belonged to royalty (it was by JAR and I wasn’t allowed to take a picture).

Are you ready to admire? Because you know that the Original Miami Antique Show is one of the biggest and best antique shows in existence, especially for jewelry.

I thought we’d start strong with one of the most wonderful rose cut diamond rings I’ve ever seen – and a pretty cool photo I snapped, if I do say so myself. Thank you, convenient sunbeam.

This beautiful thing was at Jogani, whose dependably stunning array of jewels at the Original Miami Antique Show took my breath away, as it always does.

This necklace stopped me in my tracks – and led me to an introduction to a fantastic new dealer, Faerber NY. I’ll be showing you a few things of theirs and you’ll love all of them.

This antique necklace is special because it’s colorful!! It’s from 1890 and features pink quartz and aquamarine.

You know how much I love camphor glass. I already have several pendants in this style, and a bracelet – but I want a ring.

I seriously considered bringing this one home with me…and looking at the pictures, I’m totally having non-buyer’s remorse over leaving it behind when I left the Original Miami Antique Show. Such good finger coverage and side details!

This little hourglass is a Georgian era French love charm. It has naughty phrases on the sides in French!

It also really works as an hourglass – I spent a while turning it over and over and watching the tiny grains of sand shift from one side of the bulb to the other. See it in action here. Spotted in the collection of the one and only Lenore Dailey.

I have a weakness for spectacular agate specimens in beautiful settings, and this antique ring from Craig Evan Small is one of the best I’ve ever seen.

If the front weren’t magnificent enough – take a look at the design on the back! My antique jewelry Instagram buddies and I would call this a mighty fine ringbutt.

The sculptural elegance of Beolli for Vitae Ascendere.

March 9, 2017

I have great news for those of you who go crazy for modern, architectural design: Vitae Ascendere is expanding! Not only are they offering a new line, Beolli for Vitae Ascendere, they’re launching retail space inside the SoHo Grand Hotel – the grand opening is today!

I can’t tell you much about their shop, because I haven’t been yet, but I can tell you all about Beolli for Vitae Ascendere! is a line designed by Olga Baranova, a jewelry industry vetran with a unique vision. Olga’s jewelry journey began with an education at the prestigious Stroganov Moscow University of Art. From there, she moved to New York and enjoyed a successful career working for other jewelry designers.

With her new line, Beolli, Olga finally has the chance to create designs that honor her own aesthetic, rather than working to realize other people’s visions.

The piece above – the magnificent sliced pyramid ring in rose gold with amethyst – is a perfect example of what I love about Beolli for Vitae Ascendere. The ring is objectively beautiful, but it’s also so interesting! The sleek cutouts echo the silhouette of a larger ring, but in a way that makes you think half of this ring may have been spontaneously transported to another dimension. It seems to ask the question “Is this design unusual, or is it all other rings that are unusual?”

That feeling of shifted perspective, of the sudden knowledge that you have pre-concieved notion of what rings should look like and maybe everything you know is wrong, is an effect I experienced with many of the Beolli for Vitae Ascendere pieces. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

In nearly 5 years of writing Diamonds in the Library I’ve been lucky enough to see quite a few pieces of jewelry, so discovering something truly out of the ordinary is always a delight.

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