Our Vintage & Antique Jewelry Blog

Have you seen (or are eagerly planning to see) the Charles James fashion retrospective at the Met? After perusing the red carpet looks from the Met Gala, and only seeing a handful of lavish gowns befitting the theme, we decided to curate our own Charles James-inspired vintage jewelry collection.

This week, we’re celebrating the opulence of the Gilded Age, which ran from the 1870s to the 1910s. Like last week’s Art Deco post, we’re inspired by a museum exhibition, “Gilded New York”, currently on display at the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY). Many of our most beautiful antique jewels were made at this time, and we’ve pulled together our favorites into The Gilded Age collection.

The newest Engagement Ring of the Week is inspired by the fantastic exhibition, Elegance in an Age of Crisis: Fashions of the 1930s, currently on view at the Fashion Institute of Technology’s museum. The exhibition provides an overview of both women’s and men’s fashions of the 1930s, a pivotal decade that introduced the first truly modern clothing and accessories. Our 1930s Art Deco star sapphire and diamond ring, with its dramatic proportions and streamlined details, is a perfect compliment to the beautiful clothing on display.

Some have called him the “Faberge of our time” or likened him to Verdura, Bulgari, or Tiffany. But the reclusive jeweler JAR is a unique artist in his own right, with a stunning eye for design, detail, and construction.

Joel A. Rosenthal grew up in the Bronx and spent his childhood soaking in the atmosphere of New York, visiting museums and gaining a love of art and history. After graduating from Harvard in 1966, he moved to Paris and met his lifelong partner, Pierre Jeannet. Sharing a passion for beautiful objects, they opened a specialty needlepoint shop, where Rosenthal painted canvasses, selected yarns, and experimented with the rich color palette for which he’d soon become known. In 1976, Rosenthal and Jeannet opened their jewelry boutique, JAR, on Place Vendome, side by side with the most storied jewelers in the world. From the start, he was confident that his designs and craftsmanship would be as sought after as those of his neighbors.

One more week to our November 15th Grand Opening at 412 West 13th Street! Inspired by the spirit of our new neighborhood, we’re showcasing a 1940s Engagement Ring of the Week that fits perfectly into the industrial, cobblestoned streets of New York’s Meatpacking District. The chunky Old Mine cut diamond is a striking contrast to the streamlined, architectural mounting, fashioned in palladium. 

This week’s spotlight engagement ring is a true Edwardian beauty.  Lacy filigree and elegant swags of diamonds frame the central Old European cut stone, giving this substantial ring an airy lightness. We’ve paired it with a thin band of channel set sapphires for a modern touch, or try a romantic antique “1910” wedding band on your other hand.