Summer Sparkle and a Summer Break

Happy Thursday my sweetheart!  So it has been a few super fun weeks at the antique shop and those of you who follow me on Instagram will have seen a few of these photos already, but here I can tell you a bit more about them!

I may have had a little play around with all the beautiful aquamarine and diamond rings from Moira and Richard Ogden…

I have such a soft spot for Aquamarines and they sure tally up well with diamonds!  When you get a really beautiful one it is like gazing into the Mediterranean Ocean, with that light-blue, see-through colour, where you almost expect little tropical fish to swim past!

Multicoloured gold necklace from Moira Fine Jewels

Ahh this was a funny story..!  The guys at Moira Fine Jewels asked me to wear this necklace in the shop and I took a few photos of it for their social media.  I then unwrapped it once around my neck to take it off – only to realise that I got myself into a real tangle and sure couldn’t get out!  One of my colleagues tried to help me but gave up after five minutes – fortunately my favourite jewellery craftsman walked through the door that very moment and decided to help and after another five minutes I was freed!  But that ridiculous feeling of being trapped sure came over me for a split second – although I can think of worse ways to go than in a £23,000 necklace with garnets, aquamarines and amethysts!  We also decided to measure it as it is so super long, and here is a live shot from the exercise:

How to measure jewellery

There were no two ways about it: it had to be done manually with a tape measurer and we made sure that all the aquamarines, sapphires in a rainbow of colours, citrines, peridots and zircons were included – and ended up with an impressive 7 feet!

So anyway, that is what we have been up to lately and I will now be going away for two weeks, and I won’t have very much internet connection, so it means that I will see you again after the 13th of June!  Wishing you a wonderful summer until then – and make sure to wear all your most beautiful pieces during that time!!

Cushion cut diamond ring from Moira Fine Jewels

And here is one more for good luck – a stunning cushion cut diamond from Moira Fine Jewels… and we swoon!

The dazzling Alexandrite

Hello my lovely!  So in an earlier blog post called The Enchanting Birthstones of June, I mentioned a gemstone called Alexandrite, but I didn’t have a photo to show you at the time.  Well, the other day a stunning Alexandrite and diamond cluster ring did a short stint in the antique shop, so I took the opportunity to take a couple of two photos of it for you.

The spectacular thing about this gem is that it appears to change colour when viewed in different light: green in daylight and red/purple in incandescent (electric) light:

The Alexandrite displays a purple hue when viewed in the shop lights…

… and then it turned green when I helped it up in the daylight that came through the window

Alexandrite was first discovered in 1834 in the Ural Mountains in Russia, and legend has it, that it was called Alexandrite because it was found on the same day that the Russian tsar Alexander II came of age.  Because it displayed the colours of old Imperial Russia, red and green, it soon became the national stone of tsarist Russia.

An Alexandrite with great colour and that is finely faceted, is one of the most valuable gemstones around; often surpassing diamonds, sapphires and rubies in price.  They were very much sought after as they came out of the Russian mines, but when the supply diminished, so did demand.  However, in the late 1980s an Alexandrite mine was discovered in Brazil, and there was another surge in interest for the gemstone.  The Russian stones are however still the most valuable ones, so all you lovely June babies, this is your birthstone – and if you get your hands on one then hold on tight, as the ones with great colour change seem to be very rare to find these days!

There were two antique jewellery dealers in the shop when this ring appeared, and one of them asked the other one whether he would choose a three carat diamond ring or this Alexandrite, if he had the choice.  The other dealer didn’t hesitate for a second, but answered the Alexandrite, as it would make such an interesting piece of jewellery, although the diamond ring would potentially be a better investment.  The first dealer agreed with him and would also have chosen the Alexandrite.  And I couldn’t have agreed more – I definitely would have picked the unique Alexandrite!

Jewellery Designer Bear Brooksbank

Bear shows us an aquamarine and rock crystal cuff that she designed for a client

Good morning dear!  I am so very pleased to bring you today’s post, where we are meeting with London-based jewellery designer Bear Brooksbank.  Not only does Bear bring us a beautifully designed jewellery collection, but she also provides a bespoke jewellery design service and has an stunning range of antique jewellery pieces that complement her own designs.

“Tourmalated”quartz ring by Bear Brooksbank

When you enter Bear’s office in East London you right away notice how light and spacious the rooms are, with tall, elegant windows and pure white walls – something that immediately appealed to my Scandinavian self!  This understated elegance is then further echoed in her jewellery designs, where clean lines highlight the fascinating gemstones that she has chosen to work with – and that is in fact how Bear starts designing each piece, by picking the perfect stone.

This beautiful quartz ring from another angle

What struck me about the designs was that natural inclusions of the gemstones hadn’t always been polished away; quite the opposite, as they were often the most striking features in Bear’s jewellery.  She explained to me that she loves to celebrate the natural look and feel of the materials, which in turn makes each piece unique.  Above you can see the perfect example of this, in a yellow gold ring with a tourmalated quartz centre stone.  Below is another great example, as on the right side of the aquamarine cuff you can see a big, natural inclusion in the rock crystal, that Bear worked into the design:

Aquamarine and Rock Crystal cuff designed by Bear Brooksbank

Bear is a qualified gemologist and she started her jewellery career at antique jeweller Humphrey Butler, an antique jewellery specialist here in London, who focuses both on estate jewellery and more contemporary luxury items, dating from the 18th century to the present day.  She began designing her own jewellery in February 2012.

Art Deco has long been a great source of inspiration for her, but lately she has found herself more and more inspired by the 1940s, as we can see in the beautiful Art Deco diamond dress ring below.  The ring is set with old round brilliant-cut diamonds, and I must say that there is just something so beautiful and romantic about old cut diamonds – do make sure that you take a closer look with a loop when you next run into one!

Art Deco Gold and Diamond Ring from Bear Brooksbank

Bear doesn’t sell her jewellery via her website, instead her clients find her by word of mouth.  Part of the experience of having a pieces designed by Bear is working together with her; exploring the design, studying the metal and the gemstones, and bringing out a beautiful piece that is just your own.  Once you are happy with the design, her workshop will go ahead and create the piece for you.

Earrings by Bear Brooksbank

Some of Bear’s designs are inspired by previous eras and some are of contemporary design.  When it comes to bespoke designs, she is able to remodel for example your granny’s brooch into a necklace, and she takes great care in preserving the sentiment of the heirloom, while creating a piece that you will love to wear today.  As mentioned before here on the blog, it is so easy to keep your favourite pieces hidden away safely as you don’t dare to wear them, but I thought that Bear summed it up perfectly when she said: 

“You mustn’t be too sentimental about jewellery – it should be worn!”

A selection of rings from Bear’s collection

Bear also does bespoke engagement rings, where prices currently range from £1,900 up to £8,000, but if you would like to commission a piece on for example a £500 budget, then that can also be done.  In Bear’s own words: “Price shouldn’t limit you from getting the piece of jewellery that you want.”

Earrings by Bear Brooksbank

So my dear, I would warmly recommend that you take a look on Bear’s website to see if you find inspiration or even a piece that you love – and then get in touch with her to create that perfect piece of jewellery for you!  And do remember so share a photo of it here on the blog, as we would love to see what you end up going for!

A Star Ruby Romance

I came across a Star Ruby in the shop the other day and it was so beautiful that immediately started my research to be able to show you what it looks like:

A star ruby and diamond cluster ring at Richard Ogden in Burlington Arcade

A Star Ruby is a type of ruby that shows a star-like phenomenon known as asterism.  The word “Asterism” is derived from the Greek word “aster”, which means star, so asterism is often referred to as “star” or “star-effect”.  The six-rayed star pattern that you can see in the gemstone is caused by needle-like inclusions that cross each other’s paths when they follow the underlying crystal structure.  Star rubies tend to be cut in cabochon style – like a dome – so that the centre of the star resides at the top of the dome.

You can see the star ruby to the top right here, and I took this photo so that you can see what it looks like when the star isn’t centred 

The placement of the star in the gemstone depends on the angle that you view it from, and in the photo above you can see an example of the star not being centred (the ring to the top right).  Out of every 100 mined corundom (rubies and sapphires) only three will show this star pattern – and only one out of these three will have a good star and good colour!  What really confused me with this particular star ruby was the colour, as I thought that it was a star sapphire (assuming that rubies are red sapphires and any other colour would be a sapphire!).  However, we get pinkish-red, purplish-red or purplish-brown rubies, and the one here is obviously a purplish-red one.

Purple Star Ruby and Diamond Cluster Ring at Richard Ogden

This beautiful star ruby is surrounded by diamonds in a classic Cluster Ring-setting and if you love it lots and lots you can buy it at Richard Ogden in Burlington Arcade for £4200 – and you can see it on their website here.

The Burlington Arcade in London

We have visited Richard Ogden in The Burlington Arcade, and I thought we should learn a bit more about the arcade itself today, since I have found that it is such a dear place to so many of us:

The entrance to the Burlington Arcade

For those of you who haven’t yet visited the Burlington Arcade, it is situated between Piccadilly Circus and Green Park, and the arcade itself runs from Piccadilly all the way back to Burlington Gardens.  It was built in 1819 by Lord Cavendish and at the time consisted of 72 small two-storey units and a top lit walkway.  Many of the tenants and their families actually lived above and below their shops in rather cramped conditions!  (1)  As time went by, some of these units were combined and the arcade now consists of approximately 40 units.

Oh I do love this picture of the arcade, as so kindly lent to us by Richard Ogden

In the picture above you get an idea of what the arcade would have looked like during its first century.  You can see the time typical outfits, where the ladies are wearing bustles under their skirts to support the drapery of the back of the skirt and to stop the skirts from dragging behind.  As for the gents in the picture, we have the tall hat from the late 18th century, which was still worn and developed into the top hat.  The top hat was worn throughout the 19th century and it was popular among the gents to style their hair into a windswept look, or to wear it short and curled. (2)

Burlington Arcade

Dating so far back in time I wasn’t surprised to find out that the Burlington Arcade is in fact one of the predecessors to our modern day shopping galleries and shopping centres.  The arcade is patrolled by Burlington Arcade Beadles, wearing traditional and very handsome uniforms, including top hats and frock coats.  Do say hello when you pass them as they are always very friendly, and helpful in case you need advice.

People strolling through the arcade

There is a very fascinating and also frightening story from the arcade, in 1964, when a Jaguar Mark X suddenly raced down the arcade (the only car to ever have entered!), forcing pedestrians to throw themselves against the walls to save their lives!  It came to an abrupt stop outside the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Association shop, where six masked men jumped out of the car, smashed the windows of the shop and grabbed jewellery valued to £35,000! (3)  They then reversed out of the arcade and drove off – and were never caught.  After this incident big black gates were installed at both ends of the arcade to prevent other vehicles from entering.

Laduree in Burlington Arcade

Today we can enjoy visiting a wide range of shops in the arcade: from fine antique jewellers to high end fashion fashion and of course Ladurée, the French luxury bakery with their delicious macaroons!

Sources:

(1) The Burlington Arcade Website

(2) V&A Introduction to 19th century fashion

(3) Wikipedia – Burlington Arcade

Extraordinary antique jewellery weeks

Good morning my lovely, it is almost the weekend after this four day bank holiday week!

Burlington Arcade

These past two weeks I have spent working in one of the antique jewellery shops in the beautiful Burlington Arcade, and it has just been such a treat!  I am just writing a couple of in-depth posts but just wanted to let you know that it has involved learning about everything from the history of the monarchy here in the UK and how it affected jewellery designs; we have also looked closer at cuts and colours of diamond and what to look for when you are buying an engagement ring (yup, full post coming up on that too!)…

Diamond rings at Richard Ogden in Burlington Arcade

… how to tell if an emerald is an emerald or a fake stone posing as one and I have seen one of the most intense green emeralds of my life:

Antique emerald ring from Portugal – Harvey & Gore at Richard Ogden

… and I have been able to wear my special antique jewellery every day:

Wearing my antique pearl necklace

… so this is just a preview of a few upcoming posts, so you can probably understand my excitement!  For now I wish you a lovely weekend and look forward to bringing you more sparkling beauties next week!

Antique treasures at Cape Town’s Jewel Tree

I hope you all had a lovely Early May Bank Holiday on Monday and it is just wonderful to be back here on the blog with you!

Now, I have been wanting to bring you this post for a long time and we are finally here.  On my latest trip to sunny Cape Town I spent numerous hours in my favourite antique jewellery shop, Jewel Tree.  As always, they had the most exquisite collection on display – everything from dazzling pieces of antique jewellery to their own designs:

Art Deco style diamond ring, new design reusing antique diamonds at Jewel Tree in Cape Town

They design their own pieces by reusing antique cut diamonds, above in the Art Deco taste: a handmade 18ct white gold setting with mille grain set diamonds in an intricate fretwork setting, the center stone is an old Victorian cut diamond, surrounded by six smaller old cuts as well as a further two smaller diamonds and framed with thirty six old cut diamonds – a total diamond weight of 1,9ct.  

A nine stone diamond ring of flower head design

I was not surprised to find that this beauty has now been sold, but we can still admire the stunning design where nine stones create a flower with a combined diamond weight of 1,45cts.  It is set in 18ct gold, the shank is done in yellow gold and the setting finished in white gold.  Swoon!

Antique ring with sapphires and diamonds

So if you are looking for an engagement ring, this is the place to go!  You can choose to get yours designed just the way you want it, or you can pick a piece that has stood the test of time and that sparkles at you with all its brilliance – 100 or so years after it was initially made.

 

Stunning antique silver cocktail shaker and glasses

We were also drawn to the silver pieces in the shop, for example this stunning cocktail shaker with a set of matching glasses – if it was good enough for Gatsby it is good enough for me!

Antique pipe case in silver

One of my favourite thing when it comes to antiques is discovering all kinds of unexpected items!  For example this case in silver where you can see the contour of a pipe – simply a must for all the fashionable gentlemen back in the days!  The pipe case was actually made for Liberty & Co, and one of the two pipes in the case has an amber mouth piece and is marked Liberty & Co on the pipe, with a silver hallmarked collar, and the other is a modern replacement pipe.

Antique fan shaped silver box with hinged cover, made by Walker & Hall, Chester 1901

Antique fan shaped silver box with hinged cover, made by Walker & Hall, Chester 1901

The beautiful interior with its original rich gilding

… not to mention this antique fan shaped silver box with a gilded interior!  These are the most perfect things to give away as a present to someone who already has everything.

Ca 1920s bracelet from Jewel Tree in Cape Town

… and I was just beyond thrilled to have this exquisite silver bracelet, which we think is an American piece from the 20’s.  I will make sure to post a photo very soon, when I am wearing it with one of my favourite dresses – I can’t wait!

A huge thank you to Jewel Tree for having us and we will keep an eye on your Facebook-page where so many of us keep falling in love with all the beautiful pieces that you post!

April Diamond Dreaming

“She who from April dates her years,
Diamonds shall wear, lest bitter tears
For vain repentance flow; this stone,
Emblem of innocence, is known.”

Antique chandelier diamond earrings at Westleigh Antiques, Grays Antiques Market

The traditional birthstone for April is the Diamond, which is known to bring all you lovely April children balance, clarity and abundance in life.  It is of course a symbol of eternal love, and the word Diamond comes from the Greek work “adamas” meaning “hardest metal (1).  It is after all one of the hardest substances on the globe, dating back billions of years in time!

Rough diamonds are found in nature and skilled diamond cutters cut them into various forms, creating reflecting facets that lead to the incredible brilliancy that we know so well (2).  Diamonds are also though to increase a person’s energy, whether positive or negative, as well as the healing properties of other crystals.  In other words, if you wear a diamond with an amethyst, it will increase that crystal’s soothing and calming properties.

Diamonds are believed to increase the powers of other gemstones when worn together.  Antique diamond rings at John Joseph, Grays Antique Market

As always, we must look into the legends that surround this birthstone, and the Diamond doesn’t disappoint: ancient Hindus believed that diamonds were create by lightning bolts and they would attribute so much power to diamonds that they placed them in the eyes of statues of deities.  The Greeks believed that diamonds were tears of the Gods, splinters of stars and crystallised lightning (oh I do love that!).

So enjoy your birthday month all you lucky April born ones, and here is to hoping that a diamond crosses your path on your day!

Sources:

1. American Gem Society

2. Birthday Gems

April Diamond Dreaming

“She who from April dates her years,
Diamonds shall wear, lest bitter tears
For vain repentance flow; this stone,
Emblem of innocence, is known.”

Chandelier diamond earrings at Westleigh Antiques, Grays Antiques Market

The traditional birthstone for April is the Diamond, which is known to bring all you lovely April children balance, clarity and abundance in life.  It is of course a symbol of eternal love, and the word Diamond comes from the Greek word “adamas” meaning “hardest metal”, as it is one of the hardest substances on the globe – dating back billions of years!  

Rough diamonds are found in nature and skilled diamond cutters cut the gemstones into various forms, creating reflecting facets that lead to the incredible brilliancy that we know so well.  Diamonds are also thought to increase a person’s energy, whether positive or negative, and also the healing properties of other crystals.  In other words, if you wear a diamond with an amethyst, it will increase that crystal’s soothing and calming properties.

Diamonds are thought to increase the powers of other gemstone when worn together.  Antique Diamond Rings at John Joseph, Grays Antique Market 

As always we must look into the legends that surround this birthstone, and the Diamond doesn’t disappoint: Ancient Hindus believed that diamonds were created by lightning bolts and they would attribute so much power to diamonds that they placed them in the eyes of statues of deities.  The Greeks believed that diamonds were tears of the Gods, splinters of stars and crystallised lightning.  So enjoy your birthday month all you lucky April born ones, and here is to hoping that a diamond crosses your path on your day!

Sources

1. American Gem Society

2. Birthday Gems

A sparkling Christmas party at Grays Antique Centre II

In this last post before Christmas we are visiting DB Gems at Grays Antique Centre, where I was mesmerised by this late 19th century diamond tiara:

Late 18th Century tiara with rose cut diamonds at DBGems, Grays Antique Market

The centre stone is a Rose Cut Diamond, and this sounds so alluring that I just had to find out more:

The Rose Cut dates all the way back to the early 1500s (1) and was a very popular choice of diamond cut during the Georgian and Victorian eras (2).  However, as cutting technology developed the Brilliant Cut became the popular choice in diamonds, as it provided more sparkle in candle light and so the rose cut fell out of fashion for a while.  It did however regain popularity soon again and has remained a treasured choice in engagement rings until this very day.

A rose cut diamond as the centre stone

You might notice in the photo above that the centre diamond is raised above the others?  A rose cut stone is cut to resemble the spiralling petals of a rose, so it features a flat bottom and a dome-shaped crown.  It can have anything from 3 to 24 facets, which are the flat areas on the stone that allows it to reflect light and dazzle us!

Vintage cufflinks at DBGems, Grays Antique Market

I was also delighted to see the amazing collection of cufflinks at DB Gems, that will make the perfect Christmas presents for the gentleman in your life who has everything!

Antique diamond rings at DBGems, Grays Antique Market (please forgive the reflection in the photo!)

I also spent a looong time admiring their necklaces and diamond rings.  We can also glimpse some sapphires and rubies in the photo above, just in case anyone is after a wedding present for their loved one for example..?

Grays Antique Centre, 7 Davies Mews, London, W1K 5AB 

A huge thank you to Grays for having us over!  Hopefully you will get a chance to pop by there during Christmas as it really is a wonderland of beautiful jewellery and works of art.

Sources:

(1) Tracy Matthews

(2) Brilliant Earth