Tiny & Sweet

Hi All! I'm having a busy day (mostly dentist-teeth cleaning) so a short post is in order. I'm taking the opportunity to honor reader Kelly's request (i just love writing that! 'per reader request...') and post pictures of my wedding set and my other ring from Mr. E. Basically you can get a look at my everyday rings, and i can also plug two outstandingly amazing jewelers. I ain't kidding, people - if you love unique and unusual jewelry as much as i do, these two places need to be on your 'bucket list'. I don't care for that term overmuch ('bucket list'), but in this case it applies.

My wedding/engagement ring was custom made at Aura Jewelers. They had the stone loose (it's yellow, older cushion cut) and they copied the Belcher setting from another ring they had in the store that i really liked. The Belcher setting is pretty old, you see it on Victorian period rings a lot. Here are some other rings with Belcher settings.

Aura Jewelers specializes in antique and vintage jewelry, and Victoria LaFond's eye is incredible. Poke around the website to get a feel for the kind of pieces she carries. Call ahead if you want to visit their Berkeley, California store, as their hours vary. The last time i spoke with Victoria the jeweler the store used for years had moved out of the area, so they were unable to do custom work. But that was the better part of a year ago, so the situation may be different now.

I found the four stone ring in the parking lot at the place i worked around twenty years ago (?). My boss and i had just been discussing if we'd rather have a cruise or a diamond ring. Guess which one i chose?

This is my 'right hand', everyday ring which Mr. E bought for me at a Renaissance Faire years ago. It's from Benitez jewelers. Mr. and Mrs. Benitez are the sweetest couple, and they make gorgeous, outlandish Art Nouveau inspired jewelry with all types of unique stones and those wonderful roses. The Benitez's describe their style as 'Old Style, Art Nouveau with Native American influences'. Most of their pieces are on the bigger side, but they never overwhelm - it's rare to find bigger pieces that are so wearable. They also have nice range of daintier styles, and a lot of their work is much more colorful than this piece. That's a sapphire with a six pointed star, with a white topaz on the side. They mostly sell at art shows, Renaissance and Dicken's Faires, and through their website (where you can find their schedule). Truly beautiful, well made, and uniquely flattering jewelry.

I hope you liked a peak at my everyday rings. I may get the heeby-jeebies about having these pictures up on the web and take this down later, but y'all can get a look for now. Any information about great jewelry you have known, fabulous jewelry stores no one should miss, or any jewels-related babblings whatsoever is always welcome in this house!!

p.s. for baby brother - that macro works pretty great, huh? not too shabby!