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

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One reader on how DitL inspired her custom engagement ring!

I could not possible be more excited to share this very special post with you today, my darlings. It’s about one of you – a fabulous Diamonds in the Library reader named Bella – and how reading this blog led her to the creation of her very own custom engagement ring.

I had the pleasure of following along with Bella’s story from as distance, since she first reached out ages ago to show me the family ring she planned on having reset, and then followed up to tell me that her husband-to-be had popped the question with the ring of her dreams, designed exactly as she’d imagined.

What do I have to do with any of this? Bella’s custom engagement ring was inspired by an antique piece featured here on Diamonds in the Library! I can’t tell you how honored I am to have been involved in someone else’s engagement ring journey, even in this small way.

Reader Bella had her very own engagement ring custom designed after she found inspiration in an antique ring featured on Diamonds in the Library.

Here’s the ring! Isn’t it gorgeous?

Bella is as articulate as she is discriminating in jewelry taste, so with her permission, I’m including the email she wrote me so that you can hear her incredible custom engagement ring story:
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Let’s look at antique engagement rings.

Today’s post is going to a DitL classic sort of post, where we round up a bunch of antique engagement rings and admire them together. I tried to come up with a theme, but really I’m just in the mood to admire the classic beauty of rings made 100 or so years ago.

The theme of this post shall be “these antique engagement rings are pretty, hooray!”

A spectacular 3.10 ct diamond Art Deco engagement ring with calibre sapphires. I love antique engagement rings.Let’s start things out with a bang. Several of these antique engagement rings are going to be from the Art Deco era, because that’s how I roll.

This magnificent beast is a spectacular 3.10 ct diamond Art Deco engagement ring with calibre sapphires. A huge, juicy diamond in an intricate setting with tiny, sparkling diamonds an vivid blue sapphires? What’s not to love.

This ring – and the others today – are all from perennial DitL favorite, Lang Antiques.

A fantastic die-struck Art Deco engagement ring from the 1920's with a sparkling 1.38 carat center stone. Such incredible details! From Lang Antiques.How freakin’ cool is this 1920’s ring? Its die-struck setting is ostensibly a straightforward solitaire, but the elegant, curving details beneath the diamond make it truly special. A unique beauty.

A beautiful antique engagement ring with a cushion-cut diamond sandwiched between two lovely emeralds. Art Deco, circa 1915-1920. At Lang Antiques. How about a perfect cushion cut diamond sandwiched between two luminous emeralds? Yes, please. I love antique engagement rings with colored stone details, and this one from 1915-1920 fits the bill.

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Store profile: A Brandt and Son.

Good morning, my darlings! It’s been a while since we’ve done a good old fashioned store profile, but I’ve got a great one for you here today. We’re going to be taking a look at the fantastic A Brandt and Son, a family-owned antique and vintage jewelry store outside of Philly.

I was in Philly for a weekend away with my husband (a weekend that I do admit was supposed to be jewelry-free) when the patient Mr. DitL agreed that sure, we could stop by just one jewelry store. I’d been following A Brandt and Son online for a while and had seen some of their treasures once at the NYC Big Flea, so I was thrilled to have a chance to go visit them in person.

A stunning selection of antique lockets at A Brandt and SonA Brandt and Son‘s online description is “A. Brandt + Son offers an extensive collection of Antique and Estate Jewelry, specializing in pieces from the Georgian era through the Contemporary period.” This sounds vague, but I assure you it’s completely accurate.

They do specialize in everything between Georgian and Contemporary. Their selection is exceptional, and it ranges evenly across all of those eras. I saw exceptional antique chains, Georgian necklaces, Edwardian pendants, engagement rings from all eras, mourning rings, and more – not to mention the swoonworthy motherload of Victorian lockets (see please above and drool).

Let’s take a look at some of the treasures I saw there.

Four stunning Art Deco engagement rings from A Brandt and Son. With diamonds, sapphires, and filigree details.A Brandt and Son had one of the best in-store selections of midrange Art Deco engagement rings I’ve seen anywhere. The kind that the majority of people will actually be able to afford: bigger than a twinkle but smaller than a boulder, and with plenty of knee-weakening detail. But I admit I’m biased; my own ring would fit into this stack perfectly.

A Victorian skeleton key pendant with retractable pencil and knife. At A Brandt and Son.One of my favorite things about A Brandt and Son is that they really did have excellent examples of pieces from all categories, from the most accessible – classic Art Deco engagement rings – to the unusual, like this Victorian skeleton key pendant.

Each key features a retractable hidden function. The left key hides a small knife blade and the right, a pencil.

An incredible antique man in the moon ring from A Brandt and Son. Carved moonstone with diamonds.One of the best man-in-the-moon rings I’ve ever seen!

This beauty is Victorian, and the man in the moon is actually carved rock crystal rather than moonstone, which is more commonly used in pieces like this. It reflects light in a ghostly glow, ethereal and captivating.

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