Original Miami Beach Antique Show Archives

Glorious antique jewelry from the Miami show!

August 23, 2018

It’s been a while since I had the pleasure of attending the 2018 Miami Show. I had a fantastic time frolicking among the aisles of antique jewelry dealers, and then immediately afterwards I got so sick that I had to stop blogging for almost three months.

That means that I never showed you the treasures I met at the Original Miami Antique Show, which is unacceptable. I’ve given you a peek or two here and more on Instagram, but no big juicy recap (yet).

That changes today!

Let’s kick things off with this little pair of Iberian emerald dream earrings from Jane Fletcher. These are a bucket list item for a lot of antique jewelry lovers, myself included.

I flipped one over so that you can see how incredible the back is! You could stare at either side of these pretty much forever.

This is the very first piece I saw at this year’s Miami Show and it utterly knocked my socks off. I mean, LOOK AT IT.

It’s an Art Deco era necklace pendant in the shape of a question mark. A HUGE one. Those are some very sizable emerald cabochons and how about that center diamond?

I would love this piece if it were tiny (actually, if it were tiny, I would have bought it in a second) but it’s surprising size makes it all the more delightful. Why did some glamorous Art Deco era baller want to dress like The Joker? We’ll never know, but I’m glad it happened.

Thanks to Pam Benson for showing me this beauty!

It’s not an antique show if I don’t get to try on a tiara. This was my favorite of the Miami show. It’s just so elegant and well-proportioned! Also I suspect it looks amazing on me.

This antique Victorian era piece was in the collection on JS Jewels LTD and Keith MacRae! Thank you again, gentleman, for letting me play with it for so long.

Here’s a closer look:

Just in case you wanted to see only the tiara, instead of the tiara and me (although I stand by my assertion that it looks awesome on me).

It’s such a stunner. How about those big juicy old cut diamonds, eh?Read More

Two stunning antique bracelets.

July 13, 2018

There have been so many exciting things going on in contemporary jewelry that we haven’t looked at much antique jewelry lately! Let’s make that right by admiring two truly spectacular antique bracelets.

Oh hello, pretty lady!

I met this magnificent portrait bracelet at Lucy Verity, who is a treasure and who bullied me into eating strangely flavored snacks from her native England while I admired her wares. (Thanks, Lucy!)

What’s super cool about this portrait bracelet – besides absolutely everything – is the fact that the portrait is signed and dated, so we know it’s from 1845. It’s a spectacular portrait, too! Just look at the delicate lace details of our mystery lady’s lace dress and cap, as well as the fetching ringlets of her hair.

So the front of this antique bracelet is almost unbearably fantastic…and then you turn it to the side and it maybe gets even better?

Not to hate on our mystery lady, because she’s quite lovely, but look at that blue enamel? Whoever owned this piece must have been very careful with it for these beautiful blue details to be in such good shape.

Ready to see the next one?

This antique bracelet is from Jane Fletcher and it doesn’t have a portrait, but it’s just as sentimental, if not more so.

The front features a diamond bow and initial displayed on a background of what looks like silk – possibly ribbon or a memento from the clothing of somebody special?

The display is rimmed in enamel and pearls, which are echoed on the design of the blue enamel and floral detailed cuff. Lovely and interesting right off the bat!

But the inside is even better….there’s a secret message! Read More

DK Bressler: a peek into the vault.

April 19, 2018

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.

See video of this piece here.

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

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