Good morning! I hope you’re all having a lovely Memorial Day weekend. I celebrated a milestone birthday yesterday. And with big birthdays comes big pressure to know what you want. This has gotten me thinking about jewelry in a way I don’t tend to obsess on usually. Because it’s almost always such fantasy, it’s harder for me to grasp.
But in the spirit of celebrating, I’m leaning into the sparkle and delving into jewelry. Today’s Five Things are not necessarily things you will buy but eye candy to bookmark for when you think about your priorities in making serious, investment jewelry purchases.
Today, we are dissecting diamond earrings, in all of their deliciousness!! This category is enormous. And most of what’s out there is just extremely average (sorry, its true.) But there are so many stunning and interesting and unique varieties it feels like you are entering another universe once you start digging the hole.
I generally knew what I would want when making this type of purchase - of what felt special enough - and after I chiseled down my own list, I took a very unscientific survey of experts, collectors and friends about what did it for them as well. There were some clear similarities. But a lot of differences as well. Below, THE LIST:
My Top 5 (x2)
There are really two subcategories here. First, something that drops down and dangles slightly. Something that wiggles and sparkles as I shake my head. And second, some sort of wing or cuff that could hug and/or climb my ear in a dynamic way. I’m skipping studs this time around. They’re just not exciting enough for me, at this point in my life. I talked about this with Russell Zelenetz, co-owner of Stephen Russell, and quite possibly the jeweler with the most exceptional eye on earth. If you are coming to NYC, it’s one of the first places I’ll tell you to go. Worth it, if only to look at their collection of vintage Belperron and Calder. But I digress. When I mentioned this to Russell earlier this week he said: “a stud is like a men’s navy blazer. It just makes a look complete without having to think about it.” Which made me appreciate the idea more (that and his vintage triangle studs), but I still felt they weren’t going to make my list. Not enough of a style challenge for yours truly.
My dream drop earrings land somewhere in the mix of Sanjay Kasliwal’s traditional flower earrings which have been the top of my list since I started paying attention to jewelry many moons ago, Arielle Ratner’s Uni drops, an excellent modern twist on the Georgian, oxidized setting you find on many vintage diamond drops, William Welstead’s rose cut diamond teardrops, killing us with his impossibly tasteful simplicity!!, Sidney Garber’s honeycomb drops which you might never take off and if money TRULY were no object, a Stephen Russell old mine cut simple diamond drop pair that are so thin and light you almost can’t even feel them (they’ll only set you back $150k! :) )
So what is all this I’m talking about “old mine cut”? In the simplest terms, this means vintage stones, though technically it is more specific than that and an actual cut. But really, it’s what people are usually referring to as old stones. As Russell explains, they are a softer look. The stone itself is not softer, but stone cutting used to be more of an art than a science. Stone cutting was all done by hand, each stone cut to accentuate it’s own shape. The industry has changed over the decades and centuries to prioritize perfection (and technology). This makes sense to price out large quantities of stones. But the artistry is less apparent. So old stones tend to look a bit less glitzy, a bit softer next to your face. Jewelry experts, let me know below if I’m right!
But back to current innovation in design. The other category of dream diamonds (at least for my jewelry box) veer toward door knocker (in a GREAT way.) What I wouldn’t give for an Ana Khouri diamond cuff? On loan for the photo at the top! Or these vintage Sterlé wings below. I love the idea of something that feels extremely designed and almost “too big” while also hugging the ear. It’s why I love Brent Neale’s diamond encrusted petals and Sophie Bille Brahe’s huge diamond bows. And for the love of buttons. I could spend hours on Eleuteri and FD Gallery scrolling for 70s and 80s style ear clips.
And then there’s the itty bitty, never take ‘em off variety. For me, I don’t even need five to get you there. It’s a no brainer between Raphaele Canot’s mini hoops with unset dangling diamonds (fun fact: she was Cartier’s jewelry designer before launching her own line) and Lucy Delius' huggies (more on those below).
The Experts (and friends) Weigh In
And from our panel of experts and jewelry lovers, five other dream options to bookmark, research, hunt for at auction, save up for, or custom commission:
Will Khan, founder of Will’s Notebook, a must follow for all jewelry oglers like myself, says the ultimate diamond earrings are Jessica McCormack’s gypset drops. (These got a second from The Adventurine’s Marion Fasel, more on her below.) Luckily for me, we also had a jinx moment discussing the Sanjay Kasliwal flowers. So now I feel extra validated.
Daisy Shaw-Ellis, jewelry director for Vogue and Vanity Fair took no time at all to tell me she would like Fred Leighton’s old mine drops. But would settle for the newer cut version as well.
Leandra Medine Cohen, my personal jewelry advisor whether she likes it or not, loves her wings passed down to her from her grandmother but also turned me onto Lucy Delius huggies. These are now top of my list too.
Friend of Five Things Danielle S. and general wonderful person with a wonderful wealth of jewelry knowledge says any old mine drop (we are sensing a theme here!!!) or these from Ana Khouri!
Fairest lady of them all Melissa Ventosa Martin dreams of these Prounis soft gold bells. So therefore I had to try them on.
Marion Fasel, who is practically a jewelry encyclopedia seconded Will’s love of Jessica McCormack. But also said we should all be setting our sights on vintage girandoles. Wowza.
And that’s what I have for you today. Not an actionable newsletter one might argue, but a feast for the eyes on this Sunday morning. And a good brain tickler to get you thinking about your own dream diamonds! :)
Yours TRULY,
Becky
Happy birthday! This is so good. I love old mine diamonds and was lucky to have a visit to The Gem Palace in Jaipur a few years ago… Mecca for jewellery lovers! Curious your take on lab grown like Dorsey for those of us not spending 150k on a milestone birthday 😉
Happiest of Birthdays to you, Becky! I hope it was fabulous and you will continue to be feted for the next month!!
I love this piece as I am such a fan of old mine cut diamonds and vintage jewelry in general. William Welstead is to die for. LOVE his pieces! My fave earrings of all time are the diamond studs my hubs bought me and I changed to drops about 15 years ago.
FWIW I inheirited some earrings a few years ago that I will never wear and the stones were enhanced. I have been unable to sell them because of them being treated. It is VERY interesting that although lab grown diamonds are popular, and I certainly understand the attraction, I cannot sell these, YET! (If anyone here has any LA jewelry connections, please PM me. I am determined.) As my jeweler pal in SF says, when you can buy an 8 ct. lab grown for $2700 and a real old mine cut one would be many times that....but in his eyes, they are synthetic. And I think lots of us older gals may feel the same. Ultimately, it is still a free country and if someone wants to rock lab grown diamonds, more power to ya!