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A lady with a love for literature and shiny things discusses books & bling.

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Floral Art Deco engagement ring.

I adore this floral Art Deco engagement ring. It’s a very stylized flower design, so it gives off an organic prettiness without being overly saccharine or cartoonish.

Floral Art Deco engagement ring, circa 1930's. Via Diamonds in the Library.See? So pretty, and with all of the geometric fabulousness you’d expect from a 1930’s Art Deco engagement ring.

An antique floral Art Deco engagement ring, circa 1930's. Via Diamonds in the Library.The ring is platinum with a half-carat European-cut diamond sparkling in the center. It’s also beautifully detailed. You know how I swoon for an embellished shoulder.

Antique floral Art Deco engagement ring, circa 1930's. Via Diamonds in the Library.I love that Lang Antiques has started providing pictures of their rings on actual hands. It makes it so much easier for me to imagine it on my hand.

This floral Art Deco engagement ring is currently for sale at Lang Antiques (and, for the record, it’s less than $4,000). It’s a rather large size, but Lang says this ring can be resized. All images and info are thanks to Lang Antiques.

 An antique Art Deco engagement ring with a floral design. Diamonds in platinum.

Kick-off of V-day blingfest.

Antique engagement and wedding rings at Barker's Antique Jewelry. One week until Valentine’s day! I’ve decided to celebrate by bombarding you with engagement rings.  There will be scores of sparkles. Piles of pretties. Avalanches of rocks. It’s going to start today. You are forewarned.

If that doesn’t sound fun, you have two options:

1. Picture these sparklers on your right hand; or
2. Come back on February 15th for our regularly scheduled programming. I will miss you while you’re gone.

A moment of seriousness before we launch in to the blingfest:

Diamonds, as pretty as they are, are something that have caused a lot of strife in the world. This isn’t a political blog, so I’m not going to go on about this at length. But I urge you to be informed when you make a diamond purchase: find out where your stones came from and educate yourself about what that means. If a retailer doesn’t provide any information about their diamond sources, take the time to ask them and research their answer.

Pre-owned diamonds are always a responsible choice, but remember that antique, vintage, and estate pieces don’t always have antique or vintage diamonds; they are often reset.

Diamonds are a significant purchase, and you want to be able to look at the lovely sparkly thing on your hand and know that your buying it didn’t make the world a worse place. Whatever choice you make, please let it be an informed one.

That’s all I’m going to say about that for now. If you’d like to more information, please consider checking out the sources below. And don’t forget to check back later today for more pretties!

Conflict Diamonds article by Amnesty International
“Blood Diamonds” and How to Avoid Buying Illicit Gems by National Geographic
The Conflict-Free Diamond Council
The Kimberly Process Website
Jewelers of America Position Statement on Responsible Diamonds

(Fabulous image of antique diamond rings thanks to Barker’s Antique Jewelry.)

Art Deco diamond panel ring by Lacloche Freres.

Whenever I see the name “Lacloche Freres” on a piece of Art Deco jewelery, I know it’s going to be good. This Art Deco diamond panel ring is no exception.

 Art Deco diamond panel ring by Lacloche Freres. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Have you ever seen a ring quite like this before? I think it’s very unique. It would appear to be simple from a distance, but the longer I look at it the more complex I realize it is. It’s designed as a pavé -set baguette-cut diamond convex cut-cornered rectangular panel trimmed with small single-cut diamonds and set to the center with a single-brilliant-cut diamond collet, mounted in platinum.

I think it would be a really spectacular engagement ring or a gorgeous right-hand ring. If I suddenly win the lottery, you can expect to see me wearing this as the latter. This beautiful thing is currently for sale at Humphrey Butler. All images and info are thanks to Humphrey Butler.

Alternate view of Art Deco diamond panel ring by Lacloche Freres. Via Diamonds in the Library.

Update: I’ve since found another, older listing for this Art Deco diamond panel ring with a new image. This one’s from a 2005 Bonhams listing.

It’s clearly the same Art Deco diamond panel ring, but the images looks a bit less cleaned-up. Beautiful.

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