Carved Turquoise Earrings

Turquoise, emerald and diamond earrings, Art Deco

Yesterday a customer came into the antique jewellery shop where I work and wanted to try on a pair of turquoise earrings from our window.  I went to get them out and judge by my delight when I realised that I hadn’t actually seen them before (it is always exciting when new jewellery comes into the shop, as every piece teaches you something new) and I loved them!  Let’s take a closer look:

Turquoise, emerald and diamond earrings from Moira Fine Jewellery

You guys probably by now know my love for the Turquoise stone, which has been my grandmother’s favourite all these years.  She is so cute when she dresses up in a turquoise outfit top to toe and wears some turquoise jewellery with that – and a hat, always a hat!

Okay so back to the earrings: we weren’t completely sure of their age, but to me they look like your typical 1920s – or even 1910 – design, which is given away by that beautiful millegrain setting (when then metal is pulled up into tiny little beads along the edge).  At the top we have a natural pearl, which is a very rare thing these days and tends to fetch top dollars.  Suspended from the pearl is a diamond and emerald set cap withand on the bottom a carved Persian turquoise.

So these beauties are from Moira Fine Jewellery and I suspect that they won’t be sticking around in the shop for too long so I intend to spend all of today looking at them.

Have a lovely day my dear!

A Divine Art Deco-Style Diamond Ring

Art Deco-Style Diamond Engagement Ring at Richard Ogden

Oh I have such a crush on this ring and just had to share it with you guys!  It is an Art Deco-style ring here at Richard Ogden, with a centre diamond that weighs approximately 1.50 carats and is surrounded by brilliant and trillion cut diamonds – the trillion cut diamonds are the triangular ones that you can see on either side of the centre diamond.

Art Deco-Style Diamond Engagement Ring at Richard Ogden

In the photo above you can see around the small top diamond a millegrain edge – one of my favourite features in antique jewellery!  Millegrain is when the craftsman creates small beads out of the gold, that then run along the edges of the jewellery.  I love how it gives a piece such lovely character by softening the lines and adding some subtle sparkle to the design.

Art Deco-Style Diamond Engagement Ring at Richard Ogden

So there we are, a bit of Monday sparkle to kick off this wonderful week ahead!

Aladdin’s Cave at Christique Antique Centre

A stunning old picture, ca 1920s, that so beautifully overlooks the vintage jewellery  

So I spent a lot of time in Dorking last week, going through the never-ending treasure troves that are the antique and vintage shops: I visited two divine afternoon tea cafés and found the most glorious vintage glassware in the shape of champagne coupes and wine glasses.  I had a reeeeeally long wander through Christique Antique Centre, as around every corner you find something new that you just HAVE to have!  Love it.

Rummaging through these cabinets and imagining what stories the vintage pieces would tell if they could speak…

I will write a few posts on Christique and I wanted to start out by taking you to their vintage clothing and accessories section, which is located up a winding staircase in which you will bump your head in the low tudor style ceiling if you are not careful!  It is all part of the charm!!

An old wedding dress just waiting to be worn again – pretty sure you could find a whole outfit for your wedding in this shop – check out the fabulous gold heels on the right!

In there you just want to get dresses up in one of the beautiful gowns hanging from the rails, drape some pearls around your neck and wear lots of red lipstick, 20s style!

Just one of the rails with beautiful pieces of vintage clothing.  I would recommend going to a vintage shop to buy for example a dress if you are going to a wedding.  It is just lovely to see the exquisite designs and also knowing that no one else will wear the same dress! 

You can spend hours sifting through the clothes here… and yes, I know that vintage furs are a hot topic – is it alright to buy them or not?  Would be interested to hear your thoughts on it… would you wear vintage fur? 

Diving in, head first into this glorious treasure trove of vintage jewellery and accessories!

I have a couple of weddings coming up this year, so I am definitely coming back here for some fabulous accessories that will go with my dresses!  I am quite tempted to wear a hat but I will be travelling quite far for both weddings, so might have to give that a miss… but when one tries on these beauties it is hard to think rationally!

Late Friday Night Sparkle

Hello my lovely, I hope you are looking forward to the weekend as much as I am!  I have a small update to share with you today: for the next few months I will be writing the blog on Mondays and Wednesdays, but not on Fridays.  I have a LOT of things on my plate until this summer and obviously I want to keep up the quality of the blog, so that is the best solution for now!

We have had some busy times in the antique shop with Moira Fine Jewels preparing for the Los Angeles Jewelry, Antique & Design Show!

As for fun things that are happening in the jewellery world: the Richard Ogden Fine Jewels shop is busy busy at the moment, as Moira Fine Jewels is heading off to an antique jewellery show in Los Angeles!  In other words, the most glorious pieces of jewellery are coming into my eyesight on a regular basis and it is just heaven!  I haven’t come across any other antique jewellery dealers that have more fascinating signed pieces that these guys; Cartier, Boucheron, van Cleef and Arpels…

A pair of glorious 4ct diamond stud earrings from Moira Fine Jewels – just a little something I threw on this morning!

… and from time to time I cave in and help out by trying some of the pieces on – purely for non-selfish reasons of course!

Pretty glorious 1920s Art Deco diamond necklace from Moira Fine Jewels

I have also been past a couple of lovely antique and vintage shops in Dorking again, and can’t wait to bring you those posts.  Until then, have a wonderful weekend and remember to wear your most beautiful pieces of jewellery, and be your most fabulous self!  That reminds me that I must wear my most fabulous pieces of jewellery to a brunch on Saturday… hmm… looking forward to rummaging through my jewellery box tomorrow!!!

A little preview into a blog post about Christique Antique Centre in Dorking – such a treasure trove of antique jewellery, furniture and objects d’art!

Moira Jewels at the LAPADA Art and Antiques Fair

Good morning dearest!  We are back at the LAPADA fair in Berkeley Square from the other week, and today we are admiring the collection of Moira Jewels:

A few beauties from Moira’s collection: a pair of aquamarine and diamond earrings, and a black opal ring with diamonds

I have been told by quite a few people to look closer at the pieces that belong to Moira’s collection, as they are some of the finest antique and vintage jewels around.  Above is a pair of aquamarine and diamond earrings – pretty sure I can hear a few of you swoon!

A few dress rings (also called cocktail rings) from Moira.  I adore the opal at the front here with its soft colours

I obviously have the privilege of looking at Moira’s pieces to my heart’s content, as they have their collection on display at Richard Ogden in the Burlington Arcade!  Their pieces span across the 20th century and you will find signed originals from the finest design houses, covering the art deco period – and continuing on to 1940s gold work and the modernist creations of the 1950s to the 1980s.

Vintage diamond watches from Moira Jewels

… and if you are anything like me, then these Art Deco diamond watches will make your heart beat just a little bit faster!  Oh can you imagine wearing one of these to that birthday party, or to those drinks at the weekend?  As soon as I wear a special piece of jewellery, I get so much more inspired to get dressed up and match it with a lovely dress.  I do think that we have moved away a little bit too much from the times when we would often wear our finest, so let’s just bring that back, shall we?  I am doing a proper summer to winter-wardrobe revamp this week and I will make sure to keep some glorious dresses out to stay inspired to wear them!

 Diamond tiaras from Moira Jewels

And these diamond tiaras were just too pretty you guys!!  Here in the UK (since I know that you lovely readers are based around the world) it is quite common for the bride to wear a tiara, and so it is just wonderful when these lovely ladies come into the shop and try on our collection of vintage and antique tiaras!  I would love to hear whether you would choose to wear a tiara or a veil or flowers or just a gorgeous hairdo at your wedding?

I will write a longer post on Moira Jewels soon and bring you some more photos of these heavenly pieces, and now I would like to wish you a lovely rest of the day!

 

The 2 year anniversary of Decades of Elegance!

 

Vintage and antique jewellery everywhere – love it!

Hello my lovely, I hope you are having a fabulous week in this tropical heat!  Well, I just had a look at the weather forecast around the world for the Decades of Elegance reader-base, and I know that the Nordic countries are blessed with some beautiful sunshine and summer warmth – lucky you!  The same definitely goes for the UK (it is so toasty in London right now, wonderful!) and also for you Australian east-coast and American west-coast readers – not to mention sunny Dubai!  You lovely South Africans who are almost always bathing in sunshine are having a bit of colder spell at the moment, but you will surpass the rest of us in glorious weather soon so I hope you are alright about it for the moment 😉  And for the rest of you lovelies, I hope you are also having a fabulous summer – or winter for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere!

Art Deco pearl and marcasite earrings

And that is the Decades of Elegance Weather Report for the day.  I really didn’t mean to go on a tirade about the weather, but I was looking at my Google Analytics page to see where all you lovely readers are based, and that is what inspired the unusual intro to this post!

So we have been around for a wonderful two years this July, and my very first blog post was called Vintage and Antique Jewellery Today – which definitely inspired our catch phrase Vintage and Antique Jewellery Worn Today, which you can always see in our logo.  The post came to me as I was wearing this lovely 50’s necklace that my dear sister gave me – you might remember this picture, which also featured in that very first post:

The 1950s necklace that inspired my first blog post back in July 2012.  Copyright: Michelle Lindsell Photography

It has been such an exciting journey ever since!  Lots of hairstyles have been created that either show your antique jewellery beautifully, or where the pieces have been incorporated into the actual hairstyles:

We have travelled across continents – from the UK to Sweden, Dubai and Cape Town:

 Antique jewellery from Sweden – amethyst ring and bracelet.  From one of my favourite blog posts to date: A window into early 20th century Sweden

The amazing gold souk in Dubai, photo from the blog post Dubai’s Deira Gold Souk earlier this year.

In Cape Town we have visited beautiful wine farms – from the blog post Vredenheim Wildlife & Winery in Stellenbosch, Cape Town…

… not to mention all our exciting trips to the Jewel Tree in Cape Town – here a tanzanite and diamond ring from the blog post: You Brilliant Tanzanite

And we will not forget that sparkling month of February 2013, when Tiffany & Co complimented the blog and sent over photos of their collection for the Great Gatsby movie:

Tiffany & Co – Ziegfeld Pearl Necklace from the blog post Tiffany’s Great Gatsby Treasures  

I also so enjoyed the series Your Secret Jewellery Collection, where you sent in photos of your own collections with some historical information on the pieces.  It was an absolute delight to write about them and to see how you keep your favourite pieces stored:

And we have also had the opportunities to work with so many wonderful magazines and websites: The Antiques Roadshow Magazine, The Simple Things, Vintage Life Magazine, Vintage Brighton, Make and Sell Jewellery, The Sloaney, Londonswedes… you can find them all under the tab at the top of the blog called Press & Portfolio.

One of the published Decades of Elegance articles to date – from the blog post: It’s a Vintage Life

And I couldn’t have done any of this, if it hadn’t been for You, my dear reader!  Your encouragement, comments and suggestions give me a whole embrace full of new inspiration and drive, and I love hearing your stories about how the blog has inspired you to wear some inherited jewellery or try a new hairstyle together with a piece of jewellery!

A virtual red rose to you my dear – and let’s take a moment to admire this ca 18th century ring from Sweden – just amazing that antique jewellery can be so well-made that it lasts for 300 years+!

So here is a big thank you for reading the blog and giving me the inspiration to keep learning more about beautiful antique jewellery and spreading the knowledge!  I now believe that if you do what you love, then the universe works with you to help fulfil your dreams.  I hope that the blog gives you some motivation to do what makes you happy here in life.

Richard Ogden – Fine Antique Jewellery

As a few of you already know from the Decades of Elegance Twitter and Instagram accounts, I have spent a couple of very exciting weeks at the antique jewellery shop Richard Ogden in the renowned Burlington Arcade:

The history of Burlington Arcade dates back to 1819…

I so enjoyed learning about the Ogden family history, so I thought this would be a good place to start our visit:

Richard Ogden Ltd, Burlington Arcade, London

Jewellery has had centre stage with the Ogden family for four generations, ever since 1893, when the first Ogden family jewellery shop was opened by James R. Ogden – a master jeweller and watch specialist.  One of the most remarkable things that James did was help raise money for the excavation of Tutankhamun’s tomb.  He also restored various ancient gold objects found in the tomb, that now contribute to treasured collections in museums across Europe and America.  He corresponded with two of the then leading figures of international archaeology, Howard Carter and Sir Leonard Woolley and became Advising Goldsmith to the British Museum.  I find this especially fascinating as we have already learnt that the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 had a great impact on the Art Deco movement, a style that we love here on the blog!

Some of the stunning sculptures from ancient Egypt that we can now enjoy at the British Museum

In 1925, James’s eldest son William opened a shop in King Street, St James’s, London.  William had a keen interest in jewellery with a family or dynastic history, and his collection included many pieces that came from royals or were sold to royals.  He was known to be “more discreet than any banker” – and clients interested in these high profile pieces were always shown to the oak-panelled private rooms over his shop in King Street.

The Ring Room at Richard Ogden in Burlington Arcade

William’s son Richard continued the family tradition of dealing in fine antique jewellery after the war.  Richard quickly gained international renown and legends such as Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, Ringo Starr, Ingrid Bergman and, more recently, Madonna were on his client list.  Richard converted the lower ground floor of the shop to the famous Ring Room in the 60s (please see photo above).   The showroom has recently been refurbished to accommodate a series of fine jewellery exhibitions alongside its more traditional role.  Richard was also famous for creating exciting new designs, for example his famous Twinset engagement ring and wedding ring, which earned him a De Beers International Award in the 1970s.  Richard passed away in October 2005, aged 85.

Just a small selection of the diamond rings that you will find at Richard Ogden

Richard’s eldest son Robert is a trained designer craftsman and an expert in diamonds and unusual precious gems.  Until recently, he frequently broadcast on LBC radio, dating and identifying the listeners’ jewellery from their description.

We will soon return to Richard Ogden, as I am learning about everything from measuring diamond carat weight to telling the difference between an authentic emerald and a faux one – and I can’t wait to continue this journey with you!

You can visit Richard Ogden at: 28 Burlington Arcade, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0NX.

Nicky Butler’s ancient Egypt-inspired jewellery collection at the British Museum

The impressive entrance to the British Museum

The other day I popped by the British Museum to listen to Nicky Butler introducing his new jewellery range together with Barbara Hulanicki.  You might be familiar with the shop Butler & Wilson, and Nicky was one of the founders back in 1972.  We will find out more about Butler & Wilson in a future post, but today we are looking closer at his fascinating new range that is inspired by the ancient Egyptian collection of the British Museum.  Barbara Hulanicki interviewed Nicky Butler during this presentation, and you will probably recognise her as the founder of the clothing brand Biba, which dates all the way back to 1964.

Nicky Butler and Barbara Hulanicki at the British Museum

The pieces in Nicky Butler’s collection are made with semi-precious stones of turquoise, lapis, moonstone, green chalcedony and amethyst with iconic mouldings of ancient Egyptian objects.  The stones in each piece have been hand-set, that creates such a beautiful collection of statement pieces.  They are arriving at the perfect time, since we are all wearing statement pieces at the moment, whether it is with a simple t-shirt or a structured dress – such versatile pieces!  During the presentation a few beautiful models were showing them off:

Some of the beautiful statement pieces being modelled in the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery

Who said these pieces were only for the ladies?

Stunning pieces worn with a sequin dress

I suspect that I was especially drawn to the collection because of its connection with Art Deco, which we all by now know is my favourite era!  You might in fact remember from an earlier blog post – Eclectica Antique Shop in Wynberg, Cape Town – chapter II – that the Tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922, and as a result ancient Egypt became a very heavy influence on the Art Deco movement.  Consequently Nicky Butler’s collection drew my thoughts to Art Deco, which added an another layer of brilliance onto these beautifully designed pieces.

The model above is wearing the jewellery with a sequin dress – I would love to find out how you would have worn it?

The Egyptian Sculpture Gallery at the British Museum really is decorated with the most magnificent sculptures

Ancient Egyptian sculptures at the British Museum

I of course found myself straying during the evening, toward the stunning Egyptian sculptures that surrounded the event.

One sculpture more intimidating and fascinating than the other…

If you haven’t been to the museum for a long time – or ever –  I would so recommend a visit.  Strolling among these exquisite sculptures that date so far back in time is the most humbling experience.  I don’t think that anything has ever affected me the way this lion sculpture did that evening – I had to walk very close to it to get past, and for some reason cold shivers went down my spine when I came close to these massive teeth and its angry expression.  Quite a different experience when we are usually so numb to these things from having watched too many scary movies!

A few of the pieces from Nicky’s collection

If you fall in love with any of these pieces you can buy them at the British Museum‘s online shop or at the museum itself – and I was positively surprised to see that they were very reasonably priced, starting at £55 and going up to £275.

Glitter glitter everywhere…

First of all: I really missed you guys on Friday, when I wasn’t able to write a post as I was travelling!  Lots of love from a -17 degree Finland though, this time of year is just stunning over there when the sun is out, you can get a good idea from this photo on Instagram.

Decades of Elegance Vintage necklaces

A very exciting thing is happening on the blog at the moment, with this super lovely magazine writing a piece about the Decades of Elegance collection!  I will link to their website when the article comes out and I am really looking forward to seeing the finished piece, as I have had the chance to work with some incredibly talented people.  One of them is photographer James Oaten, whose photography I love as he captures details really well, without messing around with the photos. I really can’t wait to see how he applies his skills to a jewellery collection!

Vintage-style Leopard Bracelet £50 now £40                                                         Art Deco Pearl Ring £85 now £60                                                                            Costume Jewellery Pearl Choker £35 now £25                                                           Mother of Pearl bracelet £50 now £40                                 

This photo session also created a wonderful opportunity to take out all my pieces of jewellery and get an idea of what we have at the moment.  I have decided to put a couple of pieces on sale here, so if you see anything you love do get in touch with me on: info@decadesofelegance.com and we will make it yours!

Vintage-style Leopard Bracelet £50 now £40                                                               Art Deco Pearl Ring £85 now £60

The delightful history of Afternoon Tea

This weekend I went for a fabulous afternoon tea at the Bentley Hotel in Knightsbridge.  I will create a guide to London Afternoon Teas here on the blog soon, so that you will always be able to choose your perfect place!  My review of the tea at the Bentley Hotel will come later on this week, but here is a sneak peek of the hotel and of the history of this wonderful tradition:

The Bentley Hotel

Afternoon tea has been a dear tradition for almost two centuries and was “invented” by Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford.  Legend has it that she was visiting the 5th Duke of Rutland at Belvoir Castle in the 1840’s – a point in time when people would eat their breakfast in the morning and quite a late dinner, with only a light bite for lunch.  Now this would have set anyone’s blood sugars plummeting, which is exactly what must have happened to Anna as she complained about “a sinking feeling” in the afternoons.  She came up with the clever idea of asking for tea and cakes or sandwiches to be sent up to her room daily. and she found these afternoon snack sessions so delightful that she soon started inviting her friends to join her.  It didn’t take long for afternoon tea to become an established tradition in many middle and upper class households!

Lady N modelling a 1930′s Art Deco Pearl and Marcasite Ring

I just adored the seating area at the hotel, where we had our afternoon tea – how can you feel like anything other than a princess in a setting like this?

I love getting dressed up for afternoon tea – of course you don’t have to worry about what to wear, but I think it makes it one notch more special to wear a nice dress and of course some antique or vintage jewellery!  My dear friend Lady N is here modelling our favourite 1930’s pearl ring.

1930′s Art Deco Pearl and Marcasite Ring at the Bentley Hotel