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eBay is an exciting place–the search is riveting, the bidding is intense, and the win in triumphant.  But what about the bidding losers? Or the amazing finds that you miss out on?  It is sad when you find a piece of jewelry that is so perfect and beautiful, only to see a bidding war, followed by a “Bidding has ended on this item” alert.  This is exactly what happened to me with this gorgeous ruby and diamond navette style ring.  My search for the perfect navette ring has been a long one, and when I clicked on this little stunner I felt that it was a sure win.  Final bidding price?  $236.26  Still clearly below any retail or boutique would have marked on a ring like this, but man, just too much for me at the moment.  Oh well…the search continues!

>>Do any of you have a certain piece of jewelry that you have been searching for, but just haven’t found the perfect one?

Alexa Chung looked gorgeous in the prettiest periwinkle minidress at the 2009 Whitney Museum Gala in New York. Fashion bloggers loved her look, but I was more concerned with her jewelry. Her choices were so subtle, and so perfect. I love the skull cameo necklace, with two antique rings worn on the pinkie and ring finger on her right hand. Below are two similar rings along with the exact cameo skull necklace.

The exact skull cameo necklace worn by Alexa Chung at the Whitney Museum Gala can be yours as well! This necklace is done in 18k yellow gold, designed by Iosselliani. It can be purchased at Aloha Rag by clicking here. Price: $992

On Alexa’s ring finger is a dark stone ring–not exactly sure what it is but I think this would be a good choice. It has a similar dark feel, but rather than a skull it is a lady. This ring is vintage Art Deco from Sylvia’s Antiques. It is done in 18k white gold with a black hardstone intaglio. Price: $595

As a contrast to the two “non-sparkly” pieces, a white gold antique diamond ring is perfect. The 1950s style of this ring is so collectible. These little rings from this time period are fun–this one’s done in 14k white gold with 1.2 carats of diamonds. From Beladora2 and priced at $1350. Beladora also has several others!

This necklace is like a gorgeous tangled mess–makes me want to purposefully tangle my extra chains to create a similar look. This one is cool because it is 14k yellow and rose gold. The stones are pink tourmaline and priced at $475

Love the one-sided placement of the stones, but it doesn’t stop there, the stones also go from dark to light tourmaline. This one’s done in 14k gold, features a simple cross and priced at $425

The “Y-necklace” style is evident, but it doesn’t define the entire design. It is very subtle, just the small gold chain hanging in the center. Done in 14k yellow gold with blue and pink colored sapphires. Price: $275

This is a cute everyday staple piece–a delicate three ruby necklace. I like how the chain attaches to the pendant that way. Done in 14k yellow gold, priced at $365. Just think only $1 a day for a year!!

A fun portion of my trip to California was spent antiquing.  We went to two areas–Solana Beach and Ocean Beach, both near San Diego, both totally different. Solana Beach was sort of in an upscale area, while Ocean Beach was right on the ocean and had more of a surfer-dude vibe. It is interesting to compare the two after spending a day antiquing in each. I thought I would be able to find more jewelry in Solana Beach than Ocean Beach–but I was wrong!

Solana Beach has its own “Design District” full of amazing shops and boutiques.  In Solana, we focused mainly on one large antique place since time was limited. It is called the Antique Warehouse, known to have over 101 vendors inside. The amount of items was overwhelming, but in a good way. They have about ten large glass cases full of fine, antique jewelry. At the time, nothing jumped out at me and items that I did sort of like were priced higher than I was willing to spend. I always make sure not to buy for the sake of buying when it comes to jewelry–I have to REALLY like something before I purchase. That is the biggest tip I have when it comes to antiquing.

After looking for a whole solid hour, I went back to this velvet jewelry box from the ’70s that I thought was so amazing. I like the color and especially the golden puma on top. I loved that the bottom had “Made in Italy” in gold written, which sealed the deal for me. My grandparents would be proud.

Antique Warehouse
212 South Cedros Avenue
Solana Beach, CA 92075

The final antique trip was made to Ocean Beach a few hours before my plane was set to leave. At this point I had not purchased any jewelry yet! Newport Avenue is full of antique shops and neat places to grab a bite to eat. We started with several shops, and left disappointed at each one. My departure was quickly approaching, but we were told that Empire Enterprises had “a lot” of estate and antique jewelry.

And wow, did we hit the motherload! I was in heaven and it was nice to find out that this place had been owned for over 30 years by the same people who enjoy buying and selling items people don’t want anymore. The neatest thing was something I spotted and had to ask about. It was a large treasure chest full of rings–just piles of them, about 200 I’m guessing. If a customer would like, they can go to town looking through the entire treasure chest and “treasure hunt” themselves. Each item in the chest was priced incredibly well. It took me about 15 minutes to go through all 200 rings, but I came out with three that I love.

[10k white gold onyx ring
14k yellow gold, filigree rhodolite garnet solitaire ring
18k yellow gold curved diamond band]

Empire Enterprises Antiques
4926 Newport Avenue
San Diego, CA 92107

Gorgeous sparkler from the 1920s, featured at Erie Basin. This is such a unique style which is done in 18k & platinum, with 1.5 carats total of diamonds. Price$3350, look for it later this week online.

I am really loving the garnet and onyx rings. The garnet has some beautiful filigree work going on, it is from the 1900s (unfortunately it is already sold). The onyx is from the 1900s and has a very pretty diamond, in white gold. Funny how I picked up two rings on my trip to California that are incredibly similar–look for a photo of them in tomorrow’s post!

Jennifer Fisher’s jewelry line is described by the designer as having a “casual edge.”  I say it is gorgeous, but what I am most fond of is how her collection of necklace charms is the coolest I’ve seen.  Each charm is one that I would wear–and it is a neat concept to start with one charm, and then continually add more.  This idea will create your very own customized necklace story.  Jennifer Fisher designs each piece so it can be worn alone or layered, so whether you wear a necklace with one charm or several, it will look great.

Besides charms, Jennifer Fisher has some other amazing jewelry pieces such as two-finger rings encrusted in black diamonds, studded cuffs and rings, gothic letter necklaces, and insect earrings. Check them out for yourself here. You can also find her jewels at Broken English.

Flower key $660
Malabar crest $750
Quill with diamonds $2500

Green Tahitian Pearl $1000
Gray Tahitian Pearl $1000
Spider with Sapphire & Ruby $1560
Wishbone branch $800
18k feather $800
Medium circle, black diamonds $2500

Antler $400
Ivy crest $715
Star with diamonds $720

Jennifer Fisher Jewelry ♦  270 Lafayette Street Suite #1206  New York, NY 10012  ♦  212.625.2380

After my trip to California, I arrived home with a lot of new, little goodies.  The sad part is almost always when I purchase a ring, it needs to be sized before I can wear it–that means I have to part with the new jewels for a week.  Just when I was about to get excited to wear them!  More about those soon.

Luckily one of the rings that I picked up was actually my size.  It is the bottom band in the stack–the 5 diamond, slightly curved band ring. These types of rings often get overlooked or stereotyped as “anniversary bands” or “wedding bands.”  I hardly see them as so.  They are great for stacking, like seen how I did in the photo.  I was only playing around with different ring combinations, and when came up with this it became my new favorite.  Do you like it?

[14k yellow gold
chocolate & white diamond
swirl ring from
Ross-Simons
purchased in 2004]

[18k yellow gold
slightly curved diamond
band ring from
Empire Antiques, San Diego]

[14k white gold
sapphire eternity band
from DoverJewelry]

[14k yellow gold
textured band
from QVC]

Do you have a favorite movie which stars Charlize Theron? Not really sure what mine is, but I do have a few favorite jewelry looks of hers.  I’ve noticed she wears the best earrings.  Check them out below, along with similar earrings so you can get her red carpet looks.

This look is elegant and formal–the earrings are dripping in diamonds that are very Art Deco in a drop style. These are very similar, done in platinum from the 1920s with 76 diamonds total. From John Salibello Jewelry, featured at 1stdibs and priced at $6800.

Here Charlize Theron is dressed down with some fun gold stud earrings. These are 14k yellow gold by Lena Wald, found at Aloha Rag. They come in three different sizes, the medium is priced at $175 for one.

Black onyx drop earrings are always so chic. The similar pair is from Beladora and are done in 18k white gold with diamonds and onyx. These are characterized with so much detail and are priced at $995.

Charlize Theron looks great with this style of earrings–it consists of a large cushion cut gemstone with surrounded by diamonds. I like the chunkiness of the look, with our choice being more radiant with a dark plum garnet. These earrings are 18k yellow gold designed by Dov Padeh and can be found at Delamina, price: $2200