Antique, Vintage and Estate Fine Jewelry
We’ve been patiently waiting to get to this edition of the History of Engagement Rings because….. ART DECO! Yes, the 30’s were smack dab in the middle of the Art Deco period and this is one of our favorite times for engagement rings. And we also get to talk about two of the world’s greatest jewelry collectors, as they married during the 30s. Let’s dig in. [Read more…]
As we continue to step back in time, exploring the history of engagement rings, we find ourselves discussing the 1940’s today. The decade could be described as a decade of extremes. The first half brought the end of The Great Depression, followed up by war-time, which meant resources like metals were scarce and extravagances like diamonds were few and far between for most, if they existed at all. [Read more…]
Princess Margaret’s Wedding (Queen Elizabeth’s Sister)
Last week in A History Of Engagement Rings we talked about one of the greatest jewelry collectors of modern times: Liz Taylor. Oddly enough, or maybe not so oddly given that she was married 8 times, she shows up again here with us in the recap of the 1950’s. Four times (Conrad Hilton, Michael Wilding, Mike Todd and Eddie Fisher). 🙂
Liz Taylor and The Krupp/Taylor Diamond Ring
It’s time for another ride in the ‘what did engagement rings look like back then’ machine. Tonight’s decade? The groovy 60’s! The 1960s were dominated by the Vietnam War, Civil Rights protests and The Cuban Missile Crisis and also saw the assassinations of President John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. but they ended on a good note with the landing of the first man on the moon. And the engagement rings. Oh the engagement rings.
Princess Diana with her Sapphire and Diamond 1980’s engagement ring
We loved researching and writing the Famous Jewelry In The Movies series so much that when it ended, we felt a little lost. But then we started to think about engagement rings and how the styles have changed from decade to decade and bam! A new series idea was born. So, over the next 10 weeks we’ll explore the history of the engagement ring starting with the 1980’s (because you know we love our vintage) and heading backwards to the late 1800’s. Are you ready for the ride? Excellent!
The Pink Princie Diamond
With our Famous Jewelry In The Movies series over and out next (surprise) series not beginning until next week, we couldn’t just leave you hanging. So tonight, we bring you: The Five Most Expensive Diamonds Every Sold At Auction. Let’s dive right in.
Photo: Warner Brothers Films
For our final edition of Jewelry In The Movies, we bring you The Great Gatsby. Maybe we saved it until last because we most identify with the prohibition/flapper era. Maybe it was because Tiffany’s came out with a line to celebrate the film. Or maybe it was just because we couldn’t take our eyes off of all of the jewels that Carey Mulligan’s character Daisy Buchanan wore. While maybe a bored housewife of sorts, she did have the opportunity to wear the jewelry of the elite of the time. Yes, she was married to a bore. Yes, she could have had Jay Gatsby instead. We could debate her choices here forever. What’s not up for debate is how fabulous the jewels were.
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox
If you are a true jewelry lover, then you know one of the greatest collectors of all time was Elizabeth Taylor. Richard Burton was coined as saying, “I introduced Elizabeth to beer. She introduced me to Bulgari. The only word Elizabeth knows in Italian is Bulgari.” Taylor and Burton met on the set of Cleopatra and history was made.
photo: Darren Star Productions and New Line Cinema/Warner Bros. Pictures
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.
Photo: Columbia Pictures
Ok, another film we haven’t seen but still yet another piece of gorgeous jewelry with great history! In this movie, the setting is just after the end of medieval times, when dresses were big and heavy and men wore tights. Even the kings. If you’re not familiar with the storyline, King Henry the VIII is running through wives like some of us run through donuts (certainly we’re not speaking about ourselves, but we’ve read about people that eat a lot of donuts). Henry, who is married to Queen Catherine of Aragon, has had his way with Anne Boleyn’s sister, Mary, by this time, and likely fathered two children by her, although he never claimed them. At the time of his wooing of Anne, he was still married to Queen Catherine. But apparently, he’d grown tired of Catherine (and possibly concerned with having no legitimate male heir) and tried to have the marriage annulled. Which would have worked fine, since Anne’s marriage to an Earl’s son had been broken off by the Cardinal. But alas, Pope Clement VII wouldn’t grant the King an annulment and Catherine had to be dealt with. It’s largely believed that this single event began the separation of England from the Catholic Church and Church of England.
Photo credit: Twentieth Century Fox
Photo: Paramount Pictures
Released in 2003 and starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, the movie has a third co-star (you guessed it – I mean this is “Famous Jewelry In The Movies” after all). But we’ll get to that in a minute.
Photo credit: Warner Brothers Films
When thinking of famous jewelry in the movies, Gone With The Wind isn’t a file that typically springs to mind. But we shouldn’t let this iconic film’s jewelry go unappreciated. If you think about it, the O’Hara family was pretty wealthy until the ravages of war came home to roost. And we know that Rhett was quite the entrepreneur and made money hand over fist during the reconstruction. But there was also his friend Madam Belle – she had done well during the war and was herself a very wealthy woman. Even the staff (we’re going to call them that, not to be disrespectful, but because we really dislike the other term(s) used) had jewelry in the movie. Mammy had a brooch on at the scarf around her neck, a ring and earrings in most scenes.
Photo: Paramount Pictures
We couldn’t have a series on jewelry in the movies without talking about “Breakfast At Tiffany’s”. I mean, really, Tiffany’s is in the title of the movie! And apparently, they were thrilled with the publicity when the movie came out in 1961, although we have to wonder if they really even needed any publicity. They were pretty well set as an NYC icon by then.
Photo: Touchstone Pictures
Unless you were under a rock in the 90’s, you saw it. In the theater. Replayed on TBS or another cable channel. Via your own VHS copy…. Pretty Woman. Some of us saw it more than once. Ok, maybe 22 times and counting. And we own the VHS and DVD versions. And we can recite the whole movie word for word and lines from the movie actually make their way into our everyday conversation. I mean, I’ve read about people like that.
In the movie, the now eponymous necklace, which was called La Coeur de la Mer (Heart of the Sea) was modeled after the Hope Diamond but was in fact not a diamond at all. The movie prop was made by Asprey & Garrad, a London jeweler, and it was really a blue cubic zirconium in a white gold setting. However, for the 1998 Academy Awards, in which the actress Gloria Stuart, who played the older Rose in the movie, Harry Winston created a real pendant, which was worn by Gloria to the awards (photo above). It is still one of the most expensive pieces ever worn to the awards ceremony (and that’s saying something!), valued at $4M and made up of a 170ct sapphire surrounded by 103 diamonds.
An Edwardian Platinum, Diamond and Fancy Intense Yellow Diamond Ring, Tiffany & Co., Circa 1905. Vertically set with a pear-shaped diamond weighing 3.59 carats and a pear-shaped diamond of fancy intense yellow color weighing 3.57 carats, the intricate openwork mounting set with old European-cut diamonds weighing approximately .90 carat, signed Tiffany & Co. Photo credit: Sotheby’s
The year is 1837. President Andrew Jackson is in power, until he is succeeded in March by Martin VanBuren. The state of Michigan is admitted into the Union as the 26th state. Both Houston, Texas, and Chicago, Illinois, are granted city charters from their respective states. Grover Cleveland (the 24th and 26th President of the United States) is born, as are men by the names of J. P. Morgan and James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok. And in Alton, Illinois, abolitionist printer Elijah P. Lovejoy is shot and killed by a pro-slavery mob while he attempts to protect his printing shop from being destroyed a third time. So, not much notice was probably given when a 25-year-old man named Charles Lewis Tiffany opened a small “stationary and fancy goods” shop in New York City with his friend John P. Young, naming it Tiffany and Young.
Daisy Fellowes Tutti Frutti Necklace.
Photo Courtesy of the Cartier Collection
Today we start a series exploring the various jewelry houses that have become household names and legends in the jewelry arts. Their designs, innovations and sheer beauty put them head and shoulders above other jewelers of their time. Many of these iconic businesses still exist today. Some do not. We start off our series with the Maison de Cartier (House of Cartier).
An Art Deco pink topaz and diamond ring, 1930s. Designed as fancy-cut pink topaz weighing 4.57 carats, flanked by three baguette-cut diamonds to each side, mounted in platinum.
Photo credit: Symbolic Chase
Greece. Home to blue skies and even bluer waters. Gorgeous islands and, theoretically at least, those epic Greek Gods we all learned about in middle school. Turns out the Greeks had their hands in a lot of things back in ancient times. Not the least of which was naming newly identified jewels. What do you do when you find a sunny yellow gemstone? Name it after the island on which it was found, of course. And when your island is named Topazos, Topaz seems like a good option.
Retro Modern Diamond and Sapphire “Sputnik” Ring
It is often said, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” And in our next historical jewelry manufacturing period, that couldn’t ring more true. We left off last with the Art Deco period and its grand geometric shapes, where the diamond was king of the hill. But as has so often been the case, the period known for its flamboyance and frivolity was cut short by the return of war. WWII was a major blow to the jewelry arts. Platinum again became impossible to come by and gold somewhat scarce. In some instances, if you were to request a newly created piece of jewelry, you’d be expected to provide your own precious metals and even then you’d be required to “share” some with God and country.