Our Vintage & Antique Jewelry Blog

Last week, we were thrilled to host the launch party for Beth Bernstein’s new book, If These Jewels Could Talk: The Legends Behind Celebrity Gems. Inspired by one of the chapters, we exhibited a specially curated collection of sentimental jewelry, including vintage charm bracelets, colorful carved gems, and diamond encrusted brooches. See the full exhibition catalog here. 

We’re excited to introduce Beth Bernstein, author of the new book, If These Jewels Could Talk: The Legends Behind Celebrity Gems. Beth is a gifted writer and jewelry expert, whose passion has introduced her to a world of fabulous jewels and people.  She shares her wisdom through numerous articles, design, and jewelry consulting. Her previous two books are My Charmed Life: Rocky Romances, Precious Family Connections and Searching For a Band of Gold and Jewelry’s Shining Stars: Shaping Today’s Collectibles and Tomorrow’s Heirlooms.

We see a lot of fancy colored diamonds in celebrity engagement rings, but did you know that yellow diamonds have been popular for over a hundred years? Vintage fancy yellow diamonds, cut as cushions, Old Mine cuts, or Old European cuts, have a dramatic golden sparkle that elevates the most simple of settings to something really special. We were so inspired that we chose two Engagement Rings of the Week, one warmer hue set in gold from the 1940s and one cooler tone set in platinum from the 1960s.

We’re positively swooning over the beautiful gowns that debuted at the Bridal Week Fall 2016 shows. After obsessively poring over each collection, we identified three trends and created wedding jewelry looks to compliment them. We started by highlighting our newest cache of green rings (emeralds and demantoid garnets!) and then let the dresses lead the way.

It was bound to happen – our three diamond Engagement Ring of the Week just flew out the door to a new home! We know there are soon-to-be brides out there hunting for vintage engagement ring inspiration, so we decided to go ahead and share the photos anyway. If you love this ring, we may be able to find you something similar. Email us at info@doyledoyle.com with your ideas, and in the meantime, browse more vintage three stone rings.

Is it just us, or are sidewalks the new runways? From fashion bloggers to celebrities to off duty models, the streets of Fashion Week give us sartorial inspiration that’s a feast for the eyes. Over on Pinterest, we see the coolest street style looks as they happen and save our favorites to our Fashion + Jewels board. Of course, we can’t resist pairing them with jewelry from our collection!

On Thursday September 24, we joined forces with four neighborhood jewelry stores, Anna Inspiring Jewellery, Efva Attling, Marisa Perry Atelier, and Reinstein Ross to present The Gems of the Meatpacking District, a special night of incredible jewels and local treats.

On September 24th from 6-9pm, meet the Gems of the Meatpacking District! Doyle & Doyle is teaming up with four other fabulous jewelers to introduce the Meatpacking District as New York’s newest jewelry destination. Each of the boutiques, Marisa Perry Atelier, Reinstein Ross, Efva Attling, and Anna Inspiring Jewellery, is hosting a special event. We also have a special treat lined up: a behind-the-scenes sneak peek of Elizabeth Doyle’s personal jewelry collection.

Our community of jewel lovers has spoken, and here are our top five sparkling Instagrams from the month of August! This month, it was all about the diamond rings: vintage ones, antique ones, in stacks or individually. Follow us on Instagram to see our newest vintage rings, spectacular antique pieces, and behind-the-scenes peeks. 

This beautiful 1940s wedding set belongs to one of our Doyle & Doyle brides. We love the two-tone band she chose to compliment her vintage solitaire diamond ring. The band is from the same period as the engagement ring and they easily could’ve been worn together back in the day, but the classic style feels fresh and modern at the same time. Look for the #doyledoylelove tag to see more photos of our couples and their jewels.

Annnnnd, we’re back! For the first Engagement Ring of the Week in a long while, we chose one of our all-time favorites and a true classic, the Heirloom by Doyle & Doyle bezel set diamond ring in rich 18k gold. Designed by Elizabeth Doyle, this beauty is the perfect blend of old and new. The scroll band design is inspired by a vintage solitaire, but with the twist of a modern bezel setting. A vintage Old European cut diamond sparkles in the center and our signature star cut out on the underside allows you to see right through to the stone’s culet.

Our instagram community has spoken, and here are our top four jeweled images from the month of July! Follow us to see our newest vintage jewelry, spectacular antique pieces, and behind-the-scenes peeks.

This detailed vintage engagement ring from the 1940s is a little work of art. A center Old European cut diamond sparkles amid swirls of diamonds and delicate millegrain.

We’re thrilled to debut the newest Heirloom Collection for spring/summer 2015! When designing these pieces, Elizabeth Doyle was inspired by the heavens above, mixing stars, moons, and globes with geometric links and drops. The collection is fashioned in a mix of rich 18k yellow gold and bright sterling silver, with a scattering of sparkling diamonds. These are the perfect everyday pieces to build your jewelry wardrobe or give as a gift (just in time for Valentine’s Day!).

To celebrate the festive season, we present our holiday gift guides!

The New Meets Old gift guide highlights the intersection of vintage jewelry and modern shapes. Bold antique pieces pair with classic styles that transcend their time period, plus modern jewels influenced by vintage design.

Since Doyle & Doyle’s founding in 1998 by sisters Elizabeth and Irene Pamela Doyle, they’ve showcased a beautifully curated selection of vintage, antique, and estate jewelry. Led by the Doyles’ love of history and design, Doyle & Doyle also serves as a resource for the community to discover the rich history of jewelry and personal adornment. In this tradition, we are excited to introduce The Vault, an ongoing series of exhibitions of curated collections around a theme.

For the second Vault exhibition, Elizabeth selected a topic close to our hearts: rings. The reasons people exchange rings, and the feelings they evoke, inspired “Sentimental Rings: From Birth to Death and In-Between.” Elizabeth’s co-curator is none other than the ring queen herself, Danielle Miele of Gem Gossip. Danielle’s love affair with rings is well documented in her “Show Me Your Rings” series, where she invites readers and fellow jewelry lovers to submit photos of their favorite collections. We’re excited to share a selection of her treasured pieces, alongside rings from Elizabeth Doyle, Doyle & Doyle, and other private collections.

While most of the pieces included in “Sentimental Rings” are from private collections and not for sale, click here to shop our Vault-inspired curated collection for similar styles. Doyle & Doyle rings included in the exhibition will be available for purchase after “Sentimental Rings” ends on November 9.

The rings in “Sentimental Rings: Birth to Death and In-Between” comprise five themes:

Birth & Childhood: Commemorating the birth of a child or significant event in childhood.

Memento: A souvenir of a special event, time or place.

Love Token: A gift of friendship, remembrance or romantic love between two people.

Courting & Marriage: Stating an intention of love, betrothal and commitment.

Death & Mourning: Honoring and remembering the departed and revering mortality.

Whether simple or dramatic, a bride’s ensemble reflects her personal style and can set the tone for the entire wedding. A lot of thought goes into her head-to-toe look, from the dress to the shoes to the jewelry. After tearing ideas from magazines and pinning up a storm, she may be overwhelmed by the possibilities. Luckily, there’s an easy way to pinpoint a style – look to the venue! The couple’s choice of location will influence the color palette and decor, why not let it also inspire the fashion? Based on our Doyle & Doyle brides, we’ve curated five looks based on popular wedding venues. Couture gowns from Giambattista Valli, Elie Saab, Vionnet, and Chanel are matched with vintage and antique jewelry to create bridal styles that are both modern and timeless.

Is there anything more romantic than a garden wedding? Trailing ivy, a sun dappled lawn, and colorful flowers are all the decoration you need to create a beautiful day. Perfectly at home in any garden is this flower strewn Giambattista Valli gown, matched with wedding jewelry that picks up the palette of pink, green, and yellow. Wouldn’t a jeweled butterfly look beautiful perched on the shoulder, at the waist, or even in the bride’s hair? And we love the sentiment of Victorian forget-me-nots which decorate the delicate bangle. Add in a pair of colorful cocktail rings and diamond briolette earrings for sparkle, and you’re ready for “I do”.

She’s been a hit on Instagram and Facebook, so we’ve selected our vintage emerald cut ring as this week’s Engagement Ring of the Week!

Featuring a 1.64ct emerald cut diamond flanked by baguettes, this ring is the epitome of timeless elegance. Emerald cut stones are difficult to photograph, but trust us, this diamond has sparkle and fire like you wouldn’t believe. The clean lines and classic style ensure that it will always be in fashion, plus it’s easy to wear and maintain.