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Jewish Wedding Rings

Submitted by jewelrywhore on Tue, 07/20/2010 - 12:20
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I don't know much about these, but I think they are spectacular.

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Designer You Should Know: Stanley Hagler

Submitted by jewelrywhore on Fri, 07/02/2010 - 11:48
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Stanley Hagler began designing jewelry on a dare in the 1950s. His first piece sold to the Duchess of Windsor, and his career took off from there.

Hagler developed his own extremely ornate style, which involved insane amounts of beading and pearls.

In 1979, Stanley Hagler met Mark Mercy, and hired him as an apprentice. In 1986, as the company was growing, Hagler realized he needed more help and hired Ian St. Gielar.

Designer You Should Know: Kenneth Jay Lane

Submitted by jewelrywhore on Thu, 09/10/2009 - 16:12
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Ok, ok, I realize you know who Kenneth Jay Lane is - think, enameled zebra bracelets, fabulous cocktail rings - but do you really know KJL? Yeah, me neither. Let's proceed!


Mr. Lane was born in Detroit in 1930. He attended the University of Michigan and the Rhode Island School of design before moving to New York and scoring a gig as an art director for Vogue.

While working at Vogue, KJL decided he wanted to design, and started working as the fashion coordinator at Delmans Shoes. After Delmans he moved to Dior and became an associate designer, and interned for a few summers in Paris under Roger Vivier - hot damn!

It was the embellishments he created for shoes at Dior that piqued his interest in jewelry.  And before long, the big guns - like Saks 5th Ave and Neiman Marcus - were snapping up his collections, and he was on his way.

"I want to make real jewelry with not-real materials" (via).

Designer You Should Know: Hattie Carnegie

Submitted by jewelrywhore on Wed, 08/26/2009 - 22:58
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"We have the loveliest women in the world in this county and wherever there are beautiful women there will be beautiful clothes. To show the American woman herself off to best advantage—that has always been my aim and that is my real biography" (via).

—Hattie Carnegie

Hattie Carnegie was born Henrietta Kenangeiser in Vienna in 1889. She was the oldest of seven children. Originally she was a milliner, and owned a shop in NYC named "Carnegie-Ladies' Hatter" (via).

After her hat shop took off, she delved into the world of clothing design, and opened up a new boutique on the Upper West Side (via). It was there that a lady could get everything she needed for a night out: "furs, hats, handbags, gloves, lingerie, jewelry, and even cosmetics and perfume— everything, in fact—but shoes" (via).

Antiques Roadshow's English Memorial Jewelry, WhereIn I Stood In Front of TV and Made Bizarre Noises

Submitted by jewelrywhore on Wed, 04/08/2009 - 13:46
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Stood. I was standing. So excited I couldn't sit down. Something's wrong with me.

Anyhoo. On to the jewelry.

I'm Bringin' Cut Steel Back

Submitted by jewelrywhore on Wed, 01/14/2009 - 22:22
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I have a new obsession. Besides really expensive cheese. My new obsession is cut steel jewelry. It's pretty much the coolest thing ever.

Whatchuknow About Intaglios and Cameos?

Submitted by jewelrywhore on Wed, 12/31/2008 - 00:55
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We all know what a cameo is, but which of you jewelry afficionados knows what an intaglio is? I sure as heck don't, so let's explore, shall we?

According to Minerals.net, "An Intaglio is a gemstone carved into a cameo, but instead of the engraving raised above the background, as in the cameo, the engraving is etched into the background. Intaglios were used as royal seals."

Ok, so instead of "protruding", like a cameo, an intaglio is concave, so when it comes into contact with the wax, it makes a "correct" representation of the image. The design is cut into the stone. Get it? I had to repeat that last paragraph, and do crazy hand gestures to myself, before I completely understood. Ha.

Anyhoo.

Here are a few examples of intaglios (and cameos - I'm so sneaky!). I definitely prefer the antique intaglios, but there are some great modern versions available, too.

Intaglios and Cameo at Christie's

Can you tell which are the intaglio and which is the cameo? I guess it helps that the cameo is obviously a different color. Whooops. ;)

Polish Jewelry, Cookies and Crazy Families

Submitted by jewelrywhore on Mon, 12/15/2008 - 22:09
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The holidays are about family and spending lots and lots and lots and lots of time with them. And even though they sometimes make you want to chew your arm off in frustration, they're still family, and you love them despite their insaneness. Most of the time. ;) So it's always fun around Christmastime to think about your heritage, where you came from, where your roots are, what it was exactly that contributed to you being crazy. As far as I'm concerned, I'm mostly Polish and Finnish. Accordingly, we make Finnish Desserts and Polish Desserts for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day snacking (Yum!

American Indian Jewelry Appreciation!

Submitted by jewelrywhore on Thu, 11/13/2008 - 22:14
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November in NC is American Indian Heritage month. Apparently we have the 8th largest American Indian population in the country! Whenever I think about American Indians, I think about their insanely beautiful crafts and, especially, about the jewelry. ;) I've compiled some lovely examples of American Indian jewelry, along with history and info about each type.
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