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A Halloween snake jewelry roundup.

Good morning, my darlings, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

I love this holiday so much. Silliness, exuberance, the breaking of rules, and the possibility of magic – what’s not to love?

A Halloween snake jewelry roundup.

In honor of Halloween, I’ve decided to do a roundup of fantastic snake jewelry! As we’ve discussed before, snakes motifs in jewelry represent all kinds of wonderful, romantic things – but, being snakes, they still exude an air of sensuous danger and temptation.

Without further ado, please enjoy the following glorious serpentine jewels.

Antique snake rings from Roy Rover.


A box of delicious antique snake rings from Roy Rover!

A magnificent antique snake bracelet.


I met this mind-blowing snake bracelet at last year’s Lueur show.

A spectacular set of Victorian jewelry with blue enamel and diamond snake details. Stunning. At Keyamour.


A spectacular set of Victorian jewelry with blue enamel and diamond snake details. Spotted at Keyamour.

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How to wear a brooch: 13 styles you’ll want to try.

What’s a cooler piece of jewelry than a brooch? They can be shaped like anything and to wear one, you just stick it to yourself in any way you want. I’m all about them…in theory.

In reality: I’m terrible at brooches. They make me nervous. I can put them anywhere I want? What if I choose a stupid place? What if the brooch isn’t at the right angle? Is it hanging correctly? I’d better try this another day.

I’m determined to overcome my brooch fears and I’d like to invite you to join me! The weather is getting colder, and autumn and winter are the perfect seasons to wear a brooch. So many layers and accessories just ripe for adornment.

To aid me on my quest to wear a brooch like a boss, I’ve rounded up some brooch-spiration to encourage me to try new things. Without further ado, I present 13 ways to wear a brooch.

A fantastic antique diamond and demantoid garnet lizard brooch from Lang Antiques.The combination of textures and colors is what really kills me about this photo from Lang Antiques. I love the chunky knit of the sweater with the nubby old cut stones of the diamond and demantoid garnet brooch.

That, and how the lizard is positioned so that it looks like it’s gazing curiously out at the world. I want a shoulder friend as cool as this one.

A Vionnet gown from 1938. I'm loving the rhinestone star details - I want to recreate this with brooches.This is not brooches. This is rhinestone detailing on a Vionnet gown from 1938. Why is it in my article on how to wear a brooch? Because it makes me want to cover the straps of a cocktail dress with brooches.

The fabulous Anya of GemFever rocking an antique bar brooch on a blue blouse.This image comes to us from my lovely friend Anya, who is kind of a wizard with brooches (teach me your ways, Anya!).

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A remarkable rose cut retrospective.

Some weeks ago, I was chatting with the lovely Nicole from Lang Antiques (as I often do) and she said had something good to show me. Something rose cut and remarkable.

If you’ve paid attention to any of my posts on Lang Antiques’ pieces ever, you know that something noteworthy from them is always, always worth paying attention to.

Are you familiar with rose cut diamonds, my darlings? They are most commonly found in antique pieces, as it’s traditionally an older diamond cut, but I’ve been seeing a resurgence in new rose cut pieces lately in contemporary and I’m totally into it. It’s a gentle, romantic cut that shimmers with an endless luminescence, a soft contrast to the cold fire of the meticulously engineered modern round brilliant cuts.

Well, the fabulous Lang Antiques has recently come into possession of a most remarkable collection. It was the property of a curious individual identified only as “an intrepid traveler with a passion for rare and wonderful rose cut diamond jewelry.” And oh my goodness, did this person have good taste.

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From rings to brooches to bracelets (and even some hair bling) this wonderful mystery person amassed rose cut diamonds of every shape and size. Can you think of anything more satisfying than having an interest this specific – rose cut diamonds, mostly antique – and also having the funds and time to pursue it?

I think that my own tastes are too eclectic to ever concentrate my buying power in a niche this specific, but I’m sure that if I had enough money in my jewelry buying budget I could come up with some pretty fabulous mini-collections. Something to daydream about!

I’ve known about this rose-cut goodness for a while, but I couldn’t figure out how to write about it…I’ve decided that just presenting you with an overview of alllllllll of the beauty is the best way to go. Without further ado:

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Please peruse the slideshow for an overview of what the collection has to offer, or just click straight over to Lang Antiques to see all the rose cut deliciousness for yourself.

You’ll notice there’s also a bonus tiara in there – a real Victorian era stunner. I don’t know who this rose cut collecting world traveler was, but they were a jewelry lover after my own heart.

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