Sevan Biçakçi Archives

Your favorite jewels of 2014.

January 5, 2015

Good morning, my darlings, and happy 2015!

I thought I’d try something new and do a mini retrospective before we dive into what this bright new year has to offer us. According to my site stats, these are the 15 most viewed posts of 2014: the pretties you loved so much you wanted to look at them over and over, pin them and share them and send them to your friends.

#15: Van Cleef and Arpels Midnight Planetarium watch.

#14: Ring roundup: rose gold engagement rings.

#13: Ode to a moval: Lang Antiques’ 9.55 carat beauty.

#12: Fit for a Disney Princess: engagement rings (Part II).

#11: Two antique diamond rings at Lang Antiques.

#10: Two exceptional 1920s engagement rings.

#9: Tacori.

#8: Dreamy engagement rings by Erika Winters.

#7: Serious sparkle: JB Star rings.

#6: Eerie beauty: Sevan Biçakçi’s tiny masterpieces.

#5: 3.26 carat antique diamond engagement ring.

#4: Tiffany and Co black opal and diamond ring.

#3: Store profile: Erstwhile Jewelry Co.

#2: Ring roundup: more Art Deco engagement rings.

Your favorite post of 2014: The Treasures of Scott Antique Market.

The trends are pretty clear: you love rings, especially the Art Deco kind. In other words, you have marvelous taste, my dears. That’s no shock.

It appears that you are big fans of the fabulous Erstwhile Jewelry Co., because a whopping three of the above posts are exclusively their rings. Ditto for Lang Antiques, who also appear more than once.

You also enjoy interesting and beautiful designs, as evidenced by your love for the Sevan Biçakçi post. That’s wonderful, because one of my goals for 2015 is to keep seeking out and sharing fabulous new contemporary work.

Is there anything you’d like to see more of here in the coming year, my darlings?

xoxo,
Becky

2014 gift guide: unlimited budget.

December 12, 2014

All right, my darlings. We’ve made it through every price point that the average (and not-so-average person) could contemplate for gift buying.

Here’s what we’ve covered already: jewelry under $50, $50 – $100, $100 – $200, $200 – $350, $350 – $500, $500 – $1000, and $1000 – $3000, $3000 – $5000, and $5000-$15000.

Today we’re going to pull out all of the stops and look at the glittering gifts of our dreams.

Let’s take a look at some dream jewels for the lucky shopper with an unlimited budget.

Buddha Mama diamond star tassel earrings in 18k white and rose gold ($18,200).

Antique enamel, pearl, diamond, and sapphire necklace by C. and A. Giuliano ($130,664).

Aurélie Bidermann diamond and gold belt bracelet ($61,100).

Sevan Bicakci Fluttering Dove ring with smoky topaz reverse intaglio and diamonds ($17,727).

Coronet Diamonds’ Hekate necklace with 20.50 carats of diamonds (POA). Does this look familiar? See me wearing it here.

Antique Belle Epoque Russian diamond and emerald ring ($17,500).

One of a Kind Tanzanite with Opals necklace by Irene Neuwirth. 51.75 carats of tanzanites with Lightning Ridge opals in 18k rose gold ($73,540).

French Art Deco diamond and sapphire bracelet, circa 1925. 10 carats of diamonds bordered by calibre-cut sapphires ($60,000).

Yoko London Almalfi necklace with diamonds, pink sapphires, south sea pearls, ayoka pearls, and naturally pink pearls in rose and yellow gold (POA).

40 carat Georgian diamond tiara worn by Downton Abbey’s Lady Mary to her wedding. Circa 1800, convertible to two brooches ($191,757).

Arunashi Rock Basalt Butterfly Ring with diamonds ($48,400).

Antique style Fred Leighton old mine cut diamond double drop earrings in silver-topped gold ($125,000).

Wendy Yue Ruby Roses necklace with rubies, sapphires, tsavorites, and diamonds ($37,620).

Antique Victorian old mine cut diamond and ruby snake bracelet ($62,000).

Marie Antoinette earrings and ring by Wendy Brandes with tsavorites and amethyst (ring $20,000; earrings POA).

Edwardian tourmaline and diamond necklace by Drecier and Co., circa 1915 ($253,641).

If you would like to see more dream jewels at an infinite budget, please see almost every post I’ve ever written. Here’s a link to my archive.

I hope you enjoyed my 2014 gift guide as much as I enjoyed writing it! May you all have a wonderful December, darlings, whatever you celebrate.

All images and info in this post is thanks to the seller of each individual item. Please see descriptions above for links to original listings.

My review of the new Assouline Sevan Bicakci book.

November 19, 2014

Sevan Bicakci by Vivienne Becker.

This book is: a gorgeously-illustrated look at the life, inspiration, and work of Turkish master jeweler Sevan Bicakci.
Other elements: the culture of art and artistry in Turkey, incredible jewelry.
Read it: if you love jewelry, art, beautiful things, the Ottoman aesthetic, or just enjoy gorgeous images.
Overall rating: 9/10

I was crazy excited when I heard that this book was happening, and I’m pretty sure that you will be too, my readers. After all, I know you’re fans of his work: one of my posts on Sevan has been in my top 5 most popular articles for weeks, if not months.

Assouline’s just-released Sevan Bicakci book is a perfectly-balanced mix of jaw-dropping photos of the artist’s jewels and backstory about his life, processes, and inspiration.

The author, Vivienne Becker, is a veteran of high-caliber jewelry publications and her experience and expertise are obvious in the clarity of the writing, the perfect pace at which is proceeds, and the wealth of detail she provides about just the right subjects. Becker begins with a short introduction and then walks the reader through three sections: Sevan Bicakci’s life, his aesthetic inspirations, and finally the jewels themselves. I found it fascinating and enlightening to learn more about how Sevan became the artist he is, and frankly mind-blowing to learn more about how he creates his iconic reverse-intaglio dome rings.

Speaking of Sevan’s iconic designs: it would be remiss of me not to make a big enough fuss about the incredible photography in this book. It’s probably worth reading even if you don’t understand English, just to have the chance to see such wonderful photographs of such stunning, once-in-a-lifetime jewels.

You see my point?

You’ll appreciate the photographs even more once you learn from the book about Sevan Bicakci’s habit of keeping his most spectacular, award-winning pieces for his own collection. The new Assouline Sevan Bicakci book truly feels like a glimpse of something rare and wonderful, and that’s exactly what it is.

If any of you are looking for a non-jewelry gift for a jewelery or art lover in your life, I think this would be an inspired choice.

My sincere thanks to Dan at Studio PR for providing me with a review copy of the beautiful Sevan Bicakci book.

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