I think these beautiful circa 1900s sapphire and diamond stud earrings are so classic. The stones are topped in silver and the backed with 18kt gold. And I think it would fantastic with this outfit!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Piece of the Day! Color Change
Incredible Color Change Sapphires!!
One of my favorite pieces right now. Not only is this piece Retro chic but it also has beautiful color change sapphires sweeping the top of the dome. A rare variety of sapphire, known as color change sapphire, exhibits different colors in different light. Color change sapphires are blue in outdoor light and purple under incandescent indoor light, they may also be pink in daylight to greenish under fluorescent light.
One of kind.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Piece of the Day!
Hi There.
Here at Isadora's we have decided to share with you all of our exciting pieces. Since each one has such a uniqueness we've decided to share one piece at a time..
As a design and art major, I can't help but analysis the pieces of jewelry that come in and out of the store and wonder what the jewelry designers influences may have been at the time of it's creation. And as I peer down at this beautiful circa 1950's ring I can't help but think of it's architectural influences. This stunning Emerald and diamond ring reminds me mostly of the Eames House. The house is located in the Los Angeles and was built by husband-and-wife design pioneers Charles and Ray Eames, to serve as their home and studio in the late 1949's.
The avant-garde designs of the house echo's in this 50's ring. Skillfully girded and playful are both with a wonderful timeless quality. And Awww Great Craftsmanship!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
THE BEAUTY OF CARNELIAN
One of my favorite stones is carnelian. Like onyx, agate and chrysophrase it is a member of the quartz: chalcedony family and it has a color ranging from a vibrant orange to a deep rust red. Its name comes from the Latin root "Caro" or "Carnis" meaning flesh. Which can be attributed to the flesh color sometimes exhibited by this beautiful stone.
Archeologist have found carnelian pieces dating as far back as 1800 BC, recovering it from the Bronze Age Minoan layers at Knossos on Crete.
Popular in many eras, the Romans believed it signified courage and popularly used it for signets or seal rings as wax does not stick to it. (When you touch carnelian it has a slippery finish that is very distinctive to the touch.)
In ancient Egypt they placed carnelian stones on their mummies as they believed it would assist in journeying to the afterlife and there were carnelian stones in King Tutenkahamen's mask, discovered in the 1920's.
The Babylonians and Greeks believed it meant "Good Luck".
Monday, May 2, 2011
Mother's Day and the Beautiful Sentimentality of Heirloom Jewelry
I like “Mother’s Day”. There is something beautiful about a holiday centered on thanking someone for all the wonderful things they do and for essentially giving one the gift of life. And because mother’s day puts me in a sentimental mood today I am going to write about a sentimental style of jewelry – the locket.
When I think of lockets I always think of my great grandmother. I never saw her without one of two lockets around her neck. When I was born she wore a clear locket with a photograph of me in it. Three years later when my brother was born she alternated a locket with my photograph and a locket with my brother’s photograph, which I can tell you was a bone of contention for quite some time. Now at the mature age of thirty I wonder if at some point there was a third locket of my father that we ousted upon our births.
But what I do know is, I walked proud when my great grandmother had my photo strung round her neck so everyone could see. And when I was little I thought everyone wore clear lockets so people could see the photograph within. But as with everything we learn more as we age and a magical vista of beautiful and different lockets was introduced to me.
So today I decided to learn a little more about lockets.
According to my research the first locket can be traced back to William the Conqueror and 1050BC. At that point in history a locket housed not a picture but poison, powder or snuff and was at that time called a “Loquat” (Old English for small latch or lock).
It was in 1679 that the locket became popular as a device to hold a memento, often a lock of a loved ones hair. (It is even said the term “Lock of Hair” comes from the Victorian tradition of snipping a curl of hair from a loved one and placing it in a locket).
It was not until the 17th Century that the locket began to hold a picture like it most frequently does today. At that era in pre-photographic historic time it would have been a small painted portrait often given to a loved one as a memento on the commencement of a journey or a place for a woman to keep an image of her children.
And then in 1860 we get closer to modern tradition with the advent of the miniature photograph.
Jewelry is a very personal thing. We wear it close to us and while our jeans and sweater might change with the shifting season and even faster shifting styles, our jewelry, the pieces we love we wear for a lifetime and the stuff we really love is worn for generations.
I am lucky I come from a family that loves jewelry and values passing it down from generation to generation, finding a connection between mother, daughter, grandmother and great grandmother. I have four generations of women’s jewelry in my jewelry box and often on my person. I have my great grandmother’s Victorian brooch given to her in Montana by my great grandfather. I never met my great grandmother Aya but I have a connection in that piece of jewelry that she passed down to my grandmother and she in turn passed down to me. I have my great grandmother Lucille’s opal ring because we were both October Birthdays and she felt it was important that that piece be passed down to someone with a like Birthday. I have my grandmother’s engagement ring from her second marriage and I have my mother’s favorite earrings from her college years, a pair of hoops bought on a memory filled trip to Morocco. I do not wear these pieces every day but every time I put them on I think about that mother.
And lockets, to my mind, seem one of the most personal pieces of jewelry of all. In my readings I read that the heart locket came into popularity during the Victorian era because is represented another’s heart resting on one’s own and that it held a woman’s feelings for the man, woman or child pictured within.
Heirloom jewelry is such a beautiful, tangible thing, connecting one to those one loves, not only for one generation but also for many. Jewelry like family can be multi-generational, a sentimental love story between grandmother, mother and child.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Isadora's Returns From Buying Trip with Exquisite Antique Jewels
Wondering where the women of Isadora’s were last weekend—Shopping. Laura Dalesandro and manager, Elizabeth Schoenleber skipped town last weekend to shop, shop, shop.
They went on a buying trip, bringing back some of the most jaw dropping beautiful antique pieces. Their cache includes a Georgian purple sapphire ring, Victorian citrines, a Fleur de lis bracelet, seed pearl tassel earrings, diamond engagement rings and a stunning pink/peach tourmaline ring. (I’m personally lusting after a pair of onyx and black enamel Victorian dangle earrings that extend almost from ear to shoulder.)
There is no way to encapsulate in a paragraph or two all the fantastic jewels that were purchased for the store this past weekend. You will have to see them for yourself.
We invite you to drop by and take a peek. Can’t make it in?--We will have all the pieces up on our website within the coming weeks.
We look forward to seeing you!!!
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