How to Shop for Men's Jewelry
Find a meaningful connection to your piece—consider the tradition behind the piece as well as the ethos behind the brand creating it
Best Places to Buy Ancient Coin Jewelry Online
Are you a fan of treasure but not keen on going hunting for it yourself? Do you love ancient coins but don’t believe they should be hidden away only to be viewed once in a blue moon? Jewelry made from ancient coins presents a way to indulge your love for history, treasure, and the exotic—and the best part is that you can select pieces from several independent vendors who do the jewelry making for you. The following are just a few online retailers specializing in ancient coin jewelry.
Lost Galleon Authentic Treasure Coin Jewelry
Lost Galleon El Cazador Shipwreck
For over 20 years, Lost Galleon has specialized in rare, high-grade pieces from Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Authentic coins are custom framed and crafted into a variety of pieces—from money clips to rings to necklaces. You can also shop by country of origin or shipwrecks (like Spanish shipwrecks). The cool thing about Lost Galleon is that the company actually dives for the coins themselves!
Ancient Creations Portrait of Christ Pendant (Byzantine)
Ancient Creations sources rare coins from auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christies, but all custom designs and mounting are done in-house. Ancient Creations’ jewelry features coins from ancient Greek, Roman, Spanish, Portuguese, Persian, European/Medieval, Asian, and Byzantine collections. The site also provides a detailed historical account of the development and usage of coins across ancient nation-states. History buffs, don’t miss Ancient Creations’ glossary of terms!
Erez Ancient Coin Jewelry Silver Drachma Bracelet (Greek)
Erez Ancient Coin Jewelry sources coins for jewelry mostly from Israel and the Middle East. Each product description includes brief historical context for the coin featured in the jewelry piece. If you have your own coin that you’d like set in a piece of jewelry, Erez welcomes custom orders. All pieces and designs are handmade in the United States.
Ferbers Unique Fine Jewelry “A Perfect Sixpence” (England, 1916)
Among Ferbers’ collection of luxury pieces, the vendor features jewelry made from ancient and vintage coins. The family-owned jewelry store is a member of Jewelers of America and has the highest rating for creditworthiness granted to any jewelry store in its trade area by the Jeweler’s Board of Trade. In addition to ancient coin jewelry, they also create pieces with ancient Roman glass and pieces of meteorite.
Ancient Resource Ephesus Bezel
Specializing in ancient artifacts from Greece, Rome, and Egypt, Ancient Resource works with museums, universities, institutions, auction houses, galleries, and collectors in 40 different countries across the globe to procure its impressive collection of ancient goods—including jewelry featuring ancient coins. Each piece is all authenticated and legally acquired.
Photos: Lost Galleon, Ancient Creations, Erez Ancient Coin Jewelry, Ferbers Unique Fine Jewelry, Ancient Resource
How to Begin Your Own Antique Jewelry Collection
The ladies of Downton Abbey surely have the best jewelry on television!
Antique jewelry draws us in for many reasons. Often, there’s an interesting story accompanying an older piece (and it’s not very difficult to imagine a fascinating back story, either!). Moreover, some antique jewelry may be of better value and quality than similar jewelry made or reproduced in the current retail market. And then there are those of us who simply like the look of older pieces (especially after a few episodes of Downton Abbey). From wherever your love of antique jewelry comes, with the right resources, you can start your own special collection.
Shopping for and collecting antique jewelry can be more complicated than it may initially seem. Peter Shemonksy, an appraiser for Antiques Roadshow recommends jewelry collection amateurs begin with “a passion for learning, an inquisitive mind, knowing how to ask the right questions, a good visual memory, patience, and some money.” If you’ve got that thirst for knowledge, the first step is to consult the best resources.
Know Your Stuff
Shemonsky recommends familiarizing yourself with Understanding Jewelry by David Bennett and Danielle Mascetti and Warman’s Jewelry: Identification and Price Guide by Christie Romero. Full of beautiful illustrations, both books will help you learn about important style eras and jewelry designers. Warman’s Jewelry includes a price guide, which likely will not perfectly match current market prices, but it may give you a general pricing guideline. After learning about trends in jewelry, you may find that there’s a particular time period you’d like to focus on in your jewelry collection.
Understanding Jewelry
Warman’s Jewelry
The next thing to look for is a professional-quality 10x triplet magnifying loupe. This small tool that fits in your pocket will help you see detail like you’ve never seen it before. A magnifying loupe can help you decipher tiny engraved text and possibly even distinguish a counterfeit from the real thing.
Triplet Magnifying Loupe
Get Social
Once you’re ready to put your knowledge to use, get some hands-on experience with actual jewelry. Shemonsky recommends “getting friendly with one of the jewelry specialists and inquir[ing] about the pieces you are interested in, even if you may not be at the point where you’re ready to buy.” Both jewelry specialists and antique vendors are seeking to build relationships with possible clients, he explains. If anyone doesn’t seem interested in answering your questions (within reason, of course!), move on to a vendor who’s eager to talk about their offerings. Local jewelers, especially those who specialize in antiques or estate items, are another good resource. If you do find a piece that you’d like to purchase, Shemonsky advises to always ask this question: “Is it authentic and is it in original condition?”
Inspect Pieces Carefully
Before buying, handle a piece yourself and closely inspect the back (magnifying glass in hand!). Is there a jeweler’s signature? A stamp indicating the karat of metal? Pay special attention to the craftsmanship or any repair work. Does the quality of work on the back match the quality of that on the front? Shemonsky explains that there are several lower-quality reproductions of antiques on the market, so be wary: “it is easy to copy style, but copying craftsmanship is very expensive and not cost-effective in today’s market. So think with your eyes and compare with your brain.”
Antique Pearl Bracelet, Dated 1862, Natural Saltwater Pearl
Stay True to the Reason You Started the Collection
In any artistic realm (music, visual art, fashion, jewelry), there is an endless amount of pieces in the world coupled with all of the information about those pieces. It’s enough to overwhelm anyone. Collecting antique jewelry will remain a fun hobby, however, if you keep your original goals in mind. Along the way, a vendor may attempt to persuade you to purchase something that simply doesn’t suit your aesthetic, or a blog may put down your favorite era of jewelry—but just remember that this is your collection, and your taste reigns supreme.
You may also be interested in:
How Birthstones Were Selected for Each Month
Trend Watch: The Choker Today and Yesterday
Photos: Downton Abbey, Perfect Jewels via Flickr, Amazon, Justin Celticfinds via Flickr
Trend Watch: Colorful Gemstone Necklaces
It seems that the fashion world has deepened its obsession with colorful gems. If the prevalence of engagement rings with colored stones isn’t proof enough, take a look at one of the season’s most glamorous trends: colorful gemstone necklaces
The Golden Ratio in Art and Design
Leonardo DaVinci was known to use the Golden Ratio in his paintings including The Last Supper.
The Golden Ratio (a.k.a. “Golden Mean” or “Divine Proportion”), a number that’s found in the proportions of starfish, human faces, and hurricanes, isn’t just an uncanny natural phenomenon. Because it is believed to play an important role in the way we interpret beauty (both natural and manmade), the Golden Ratio can be spotted in various arts from photography to architecture. While some artists and designers purposely employ the ratio, it's reasonable to wonder if some of them find it more organically simply because they have a "good eye." In many cases, we may never know the answer!
Examples of The Golden Ratio in Art and Design
Georges Pierre Seurat is another painter noted for his use of the Golden Ratio to compose the landscapes of his pieces.
This clever necklace represents a more literal approach to using the Golden Ratio in art and design!
Is the Apple logo a perfect design?
The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Japanese artist Hoksai is a well-recognized and beloved painting. Does it owe its aesthetic appeal, in part, to the Golden Ratio? Was this a purposeful choice on the part of the artist?
Tara Mastroeni explains that architects take advantage of the golden ratio in their building designs because it allows them to create aesthetically pleasing designs with room for a great deal of variation. Here are just a few examples of homes that both follow the Golden Ratio while still looking quite different from each other.
Now it's your turn!
Want to experiment with the Golden Ratio in your own designs? Follow this guide to drawing a Golden Rectangle, which follows the Golden Ratio, creating one of the most visually satisfying geometric forms. You can also try various programs to help with calculations. A few options include goldenRatio, a program to helps designers plan a general layout; Atrise Golden Section, which, among other functions, may be used in Adobe Photoshop to help you crop visually pleasing images; and Golden Ratio Typography Calculator, a simple tool that helps you determine the most visually pleasing typography for your website.
Is the Golden Ratio really so golden?
There is certainly some debate about whether or not the Golden Ratio really does, in fact, play a role in the way we’re visually attracted to objects and people. After all, as individuals, we have distinct tastes and don’t always find the same subjects beautiful. The Hass School of Business published results of a study that found that participants, on average, preferred rectangles that are in the range of 1.414 and 1.732. This range includes the Golden Rectangle (1.618) but indicates that it’s not everyone’s first pick.
Moreover, there is some speculation that the Golden Ratio doesn’t have a lot of practical application in the real world of design. As John Brownlee explains, many contemporary designers find that they don’t rely on the Golden Ratio, some eschewing it altogether.
What’s more, actually implementing the Golden Ratio in a design is mathematically impossible because the number goes on forever. We’re only able to produce approximations. Others argue, however, that approximations are enough since the Golden Ratio is more about the larger picture, so to speak, and a general aesthetic impression.
A final critique of the Golden Ratio--or rather the obsession with it--is that it's just one more manifestation of humans seeking patterns and logic where patterns and logic don't necessarily exist.
Nonetheless, the Golden Ratio is still revered as a majestic theory and may inspire, if not exactly dictate, the proportions of beautiful designs.
What's your take on the Golden Ratio?
You may also be interested in:
A Brief History of Navajo Turquoise and Silver Jewelry
What Are Cameos and How Are They Made?
Photos: Golden Number, Bonny Rabbit Boutique via Etsy, Notey, Image Kind
5 Beautiful Ways to Repurpose Vintage Brooches
Once a relic of the past, brooches now seem ubiquitous. From creative DIY project to haute couture runways, these sparkly pins are jazzing up clothing, jewelry, and even wedding ’dos.
Eco Summer Style Picks for 2016
Increasingly, eco-conscious designers are showing fashion and beauty lovers that earth-friendly can be incredibly glamorous. This summer, take a little style inspiration from the following conscious brands.
