CURATED at Luxury Lifestyle is a new event dedicated to emerging jewelry designers – one of my very favorite jewelry categories! I had the chance to pop up to NYC to see everything in person and I can’t wait to show you the jewelry I saw. Rings by Crevette Design Studio First things first: what is CURATED at Luxury Lifestyle? It’s a section of the NY NOW Trade Show, a select showcase of carefully chosen emerging jewelry designers’ brands that includes extra support for its participants. In the words of its organizers, Liz Kantner and Robin Kramer: “CURATED at Luxury…
Author: ANGadmin
When this Egyptian Revival necklace popped up in my email inbox, I thought, “oooh, pretty.” But when I read the accompanying press release and realized how cool its story really is, I knew I had to share it with you. Gorgeous, isn’t it?? I didn’t take much notice of this beautiful piece the first (or second, or third) times I watched The Devil Wears Prada, but I’ll never miss it again. I love how the vibrant colors of the antique enamel, turquoise, and coral look peeping out of the clean lines of Meryl Streep’s Vogue editor persona’s chic tailored shirt…
Cottone Auctions, Geneseo, NY, held a superb sale on September 20, 2024 entitled The Important Collection of Dr. Martin May, Plantation, Florida. The second day’s sale was from a variety of consignors. The two-day sale grossed an impressive $3.7 million. Dr. May was an avid and discriminating collector of the best and rarest examples of Duffner & Kimberly, Tiffany Studios, Handel and other lamp makers. He died on November 16, 2019 in Florida at age 72. Surprisingly, I never met him nor did any business with him over my long career. Very rare Duffner & Kimberley Dragon table lamp, Cottone…
You might wonder, darlings, why we’re talking about the 2023 AGTA Spectrum Awards in summer of 2024? It’s a reasonable question, and I promise I have an answer. The American Gemstone Trade Association (AGTA) Spectrum Awards are a prestigious jewelry industry competition that gathers submissions from the finest lapidary artists, jewelers, and gem dealers in the country. I’ve had the pleasure of covering it a number of times, as you can see in my AGTA archive. I intended to come straight home from the 2023 AGTA Spectrum Awards preview and publish this blog post full of photos for you to…
We’re going to look at the abolitionist jewelry of the anti-slavery movement, a fascinating jewelry category that is as important as it is rare. Tomorrow is Juneteenth: a day honoring June 19, 1865; the long-overdue day when the enslaved people of the United States were finally free. This feels like the perfect time to explore the fascinating history of abolitionist jewelry and its role in the 18th and 19th century anti-slavery movement. Much like the social justice warriors of the Suffragette movement, the majority of serious abolitionists did not dedicate much of their time, money, or energy into jewelry that…
I will be writing blogs again, but only occasionally. If you’ve been following the Tiffany Studios lamp market, you might have noticed that the market is doing quite well. Following are a few examples from the last few months to illustrate my point. On March 21, 2024, Rago Auctions of Lambertvile, NJ, sold a very unusual 16″ diameter Daffodil table lamp, with pink glass, for $113,400, including buyer’s premium, approximately double the estimate of $40,000 – $60,000. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen pink glass in the background of a Tiffany lamp, so you know this one was rare.…
Hello darlings, Happy spring!! (Feels a little late to say that, I know, but I checked and summer doesn’t start until June 20th – so I think I’m in the clear.) I’ve been sneezy but happy, enjoying the endless discovery process that is living in a new house during a new season. We’ve been very lucky with how much gardening the previous owners of our house did over the 30 years they lived here. Mr DitL and I have no idea what we’re doing when it comes to maintaining that garden, but we’re going to do our absolute best to…
I am so excited to show you the Kimberly Doyle Jewelry Gemagotchi today, my darlings. This clever little charm has taken social media by storm and for good reason – it’s absolutely irresistible. If you’re close to me in age, you do not need this reference explained – but the Kimberly Doyle Jewelry Gemagotchi charm is an homage to the 1990’s Tamagotchi craze. Released in the US on May 1, 1997, a Tamagotchi is a small, egg-shaped digital pet that required constant attention to keep it from dying. If you had the pleasure of going to school with young me…
I have two fantastic pieces of news for you today, darlings: first, I had the BEST time at the inaugural New York City Jewelry and Object Show, and second, the event is happening again just a few weeks!! So don’t despair if you missed these treasures in November, because you’re about to get another chance in April! How was the November New York City Jewelry and Object Show, you may ask? Don’t worry, I’m going to show you. Why is the New York City Jewelry and Object Show (NYCJAOS) unique and exciting? Unlike most big jewelry shows today, the NYCJAOS…
I lived an Influencer’s nightmare: Instagram permanently suspended my account for false reasons and I thought @DiamondsintheLibrary was gone forever. 95,300 followers, 4,304 posts, 11 years of work, all lost in an instant. I got very lucky and was able to restore my suspended Instagram in just three days, instead of the months it usually takes. Now, after weeks of trying, I finally managed to get on a phone call with Instagram and get some solid answers about what happened – and some advice about what to do if it happens again. I’m going to share all the info at…
