Chronicles
The entire Adin team is toastingto your good health!
We would like to congratulate you
on having the great taste
to call upon our antique jewellery expertise.
Happy New Year!
Click the picture to see the antique jewellery our team has gathered.
There are Christmas presents and Christmas presents.
The end is approachingat Adin Antique Jewellery!
A sweet and silent, signed parrot
Awwww! Don't forget the dog this Thanksgiving!
Look what happens when a pomegranate explodes in The Garden of Adin.
For the connoisseurs: a jewel for a noble lady, made by Wolfers
This jewel comes in a box where, behind its specially made inlay, we found a little screwdriver and an extra piece to attach to the bottom part of the necklace. This part can be unscrewed from the top part to wear it as a single drop-shaped pendant.
Made by Bourdon & Wolfers, who were suppliers to the court, this is evidenced by the little crown above their name in the box. The company Wolfers was the leading jewellery company in Belgium, cooperating with other high-standard jewellers in other Belgian cities.
On the outside of the box, we see the monogram S.C. with a crown. At the moment, we do not yet know which lady this beautiful jewel belonged to, but we're in the midst of our quest to find this out.
Click here to get to this Belle Epoque diamond necklace by Wolfers for noble family.
200 Years Old And Still Looking Good! The Secret Of Eternal Youth.
This fiery 18K yellow gold Georgian necklace of cannetille work folds around your neck like a gentle swirling summer breeze. Each of these 15 graduating rectangular-cut citrines gleams from its granule-topped setting, fused into a scintillating corona of filigree, entirely composed of tendrils, scrolls, granules, and spirals. Although this delicate necklace looks as ethereal as lace, it is clear that it will never lose its glory and will continue to stand the test of time.
Click here to get to this antique citrine necklace with cannetille filigree.
Famous quotes: Always carry a small snake!
From W.C. Field: "Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite, and furthermore, always carry a small snake."
Click here to get to this French Victorian gold snake bracelet.
Elegance in The Garden of Adin
A Visit to The Garden of Adin makes you want to:Purrrrrrrl Purrrrrrrl Purrrrrrrl
Secure the treasure that has your name on it!
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Jane Taylor, Rhymes for the Nursery (Darton & Harvey, 1806)
Stairway to heaven.
Just wear it!
Jeans and Jewellery
The jeans jacket is a fashion icon for all occasions. It deserves jewellery of the same calibre! What better than vintage, which has managed to turn time to its hand? Spice up your daily wear with this fierce red coral pin and pair of earrings!
Click here to get to the depicted vintage jewellery.
Living a life without colours isn't that bad....
Follow us on Instagram! @AdinAntiqueJewelry
Starry, starry night
Recipes d'Amour: French snails by Dior.... an irresistible delicacy
The Garden of Adin proudly supports: Left Handers Day!
International Left Handers Day is observed annually on August 13 to celebrate the uniqueness and differences of left-handers. It was created to raise awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of being left-handed in a predominantly right-handed world.
At Adin, we fully support these efforts, especially since some of our best friends are left-handers. In fact, we went through our entire inventory and proudly declare that Adin's Antique Jewellery is 100% left-handers proof!
Click here to see all our guaranteed left hand friendly antique jewellery.
And another Classical Beauty
There's a depth to this 18K yellow gold Renaissance ring, as it must have gone to astonishing lengths to make it from the year 1580 to our present time. The identity of the initial owner is fused into four engravings embedded in red enamel on the top of the ring, safely sealed off, presumably by a small slice of rock crystal.
One coat of arms with the Christogram "IHS" and another with a monogram of a flowering stem, both topped by the letters VMK, likely symbolize a brotherhood of great beliefs. We dare say even of great importance, as the ring is made of 18K gold, which elevates it to a higher level of noblesse.
Once, this ring may have been crafted as part of a person's history, but each person it touches here and now actually becomes part of the ring's own chronicle. What an extraordinary experience to be part of something that transcends time.
Rings with a similar amount of allure and heritage are comprehensively described in the book Rings - Jewelry of Power, Love and Loyalty by Diana Scarisbrick, published by Thames & Hudson (ISBN 978-0-500-29112-2).
Another Classical Beauty
Let this 18K yellow gold French Victorian brooch flood your senses with its harmonious neo-Rococo openwork interplay of rocailles and flowers. As two blossoming branches sprout from the top shell, a wave of curly C-shapes and swirly S-shapes ripples into a refined background flower frame arrangement.
At the bottom of the brooch, an angel's head serves as the pillar for the tips of two C-elements across the draping leaves, lifting an old European diamond to the piece's centre. The estuary of this abundant cascade of elegance narrows from the angel's collar into a dangling drop-shaped saltwater pearl.
How can one not adore this eclecticism of the late Victorian period, as it unites the land with the sea and the heavens—flowers with shells and angels—Belle Époque with neo-Rococo and neo-Classicism.
Going Cuckoo in The Garden of Adin? Jewels here, Jewels there, Jewellery everywhere!
As lucky as we are to share our Garden of Adin with all customers dearest to our hearts, we've also embraced a delightful madness. With the garden in full bloom and jewellery treasures sprouting here and there, we begin to see transformed gold and gems everywhere!
The sublime sun makes it all the easier for our passion for magnificence to spread from the floral fields into the sunlit sky. Without a doubt, we've just spotted a pair of 18K yellow gold swallows flying high, promising more divine days to come. With their ruby eyes and white diamond tails gleaming in the golden glow, they make a precious old European cut pear-shaped diamond dangle from a vintage yellow gold double necklace.
Can you see them too, or are we the only ones going cuckoo?
Garage Sale in The Garden of Adin. First come, first served!
A ring by His Jewel Highness JAR
This is a rare sight! A JAR jewel being offered in public. Normally, owners of JAR jewellery cherish their pieces and pass them down to their offspring. JAR himself, being extremely selective about who he sells his pieces to, also makes it difficult for the public to obtain his creations.
Here we have one of JAR’s earliest pieces: a wide yellow sapphire band ring in yellow gold made around 1980, echoing Bulgari’s design aesthetic from that period, where JAR used to work before opening his own high jewellery boutique at the famous Place Vendôme in Paris.
JAR, short for Joel Arthur Rosenthal, was born in the Bronx, New York in 1943. The famous Paris-based jewellery designer JAR has been called "the Fabergé of our time" by designer Diane von Furstenberg. Or as David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s Geneva, puts it, "trust the hype, in terms of creativity, JAR is without peers." These insights from experts help explain the extraordinary prices that JAR pieces have fetched at auctions in recent years.
After graduating from Harvard and a brief stint at Bulgari as a salesman, JAR spent most of his life in the French capital. In 1978, he opened his own high jewellery boutique at Place Vendôme, a boutique without a display window and not open at regular hours. With craftsmen in France and Switzerland, JAR produces fewer than 100 jewels a year. Each is one-of-a-kind and executed with Rosenthal's meticulous attention to detail, using the finest-quality gems. And being a true diva, he reserves the right to refuse to sell an item if he doesn't think it would look good on the intended wearer.
Beekeeping in The Garden of Adin. Victorian Queen Bee Found!
Worker bees live only 6 to 8 weeks, but a queen bee can live up to 5 years! Beekeepers, wanting to track the age of their queens, developed an internationally followed code. They mark the back of the queen with a specific colour to indicate the year she was marked. For years ending in:
- 1 or 6: white or gray
- 2 or 7: yellow
- 3 or 8: red
- 4 or 9: green
- 5 or 0: blue
Knowing this, when do you think this Victorian queen bee brooch was made in the 19th century?
Click here to get to this Victorian queen bee brooch.
Worker bees live only 6 to 8 weeks, but a queen bee can live up to 5 years! Beekeepers, wanting to track the age of their queens, developed an internationally followed code. They mark the back of the queen with a specific colour to indicate the year she was marked. For years ending in:
- 1 or 6: white or gray
- 2 or 7: yellow
- 3 or 8: red
- 4 or 9: green
- 5 or 0: blue
Knowing this, when do you think this Victorian queen bee brooch was made in the 19th century?
Click the picture to get to this Victorian queen bee brooch.
The Garden of Adin presents: French chansons. Bleu Blanc Blond
♫ ♫ Bleu, bleu, le ciel de Provence
Blanc, blanc, blanc, le goéland
Le bateau blanc qui danse
Blond, blond, le soleil de plomb
Et dans tes yeux
Mon rêve en bleu - bleu - bleu ♫ ♫
Translation:
Blue, blue, the sky of Provence
White, white, white, the gull
The white boat dancing
Blond, blond, the blazing sun
And in your eyes
My dream in blue - blue - blue
Marcel Amont - 1959
Click here to get to this untreated natural sapphire and diamond platinum ring.
About the healing powers of coral (plus a disclaimer).
To many people, coral symbolizes life and blood force energy, with dark red coral often used for healing and stimulating the bloodstream. While we do not necessarily promote or believe in such claims, we think they make for interesting conversation. We also would like to emphasize that buying a precious stone for any of these reasons is one's own responsibility, and Adin cannot be held accountable if the obtained result is not as desired.
Click here to get to this antique high quality blood coral ear studs.
It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds (but it sure helps).
Some boring information about: European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Obliged by European law, we have to send you the following message. And because it will take you some time to read it, it allows us to use that time to enjoy some garden work in our Garden of Adin.
Being online since 1994 and selling online since December 1998, we have seen a lot of things come (and go). The latest "thing" that has come is a European rule on privacy. This means that any end-user residing in the European Union will gain far greater control over what is done with his/her personal data.
As you perhaps might know, we have sent out our Weekly Herald since 2000 and it shouldn't be a big surprise that we have built up a large follower base. However, in general, we do not keep the country of residence of the people on our mailing list, so we have no clue who lives in or outside of the European Union. Therefore, we send this mail to all our followers and customers.
Of course, we will not pass your email (or any other data) to any third-party organizations. It will only be used to keep you informed about our latest acquisitions and website updates. If you would like to know what information we have of you, please click here and we'll send you that information. Please allow up to 10 working days for processing.
We also would like to remind you that you can always unsubscribe from our mailings by clicking here. Or, as with every weekly mail, by clicking on the links provided at the top and bottom of each mail.
Again, this service is provided to all our followers and customers, not just members of the European Union.
Click here to get to this thistle brooch.
Spring in The Garden of Adin. Pick your flowers for mother in our Garden.
Heaven on earth: The universe within your reach!
This Belle Époque 18K bi-coloured gold ring exerts a force of attraction as strong as that of a black hole in space but with much more brilliance and shimmer. Two natural fancy yellow old brilliant cut diamonds, weighing a total of 1.20 ct, fuse together at the centre of a constellation of 15 rose cut diamonds. With eight old brilliant cut diamonds alternating with additional rose cut diamonds, it seems as if the boundary of this unique diamond universe keeps expanding all the way into the ring shank.
When zooming in on the backside dimension with our telescope, we spot energetic sun swirls in yellow gold. It's hard to believe that this treasure is man-made, as it combines all these wonders of nature in one exquisite piece of jewellery.
Heaven on earth: Cupido settling down in The Garden of Adin
This adorable French yellow gold ring from around 1840 is a true testimony of how jewellery and declarations of love go hand in hand. Cupid, the Roman god of love, is enshrined as a putto in an infinite halo of filigree lemniscates. On both sides of this marquise-shaped top, four hearts come together to form a universe where one plus one is one, assembling into a four-leaf clover.
Between the shank's edges, filigree frills flutter like butterflies in a stomach. Clearly, this symbolic ring seals the marriage of love, luck, and eternity. An important detail is that this piece was made to shout out loud this message of affection, as the large ring size implies it was worn over gloves for everyone to see.
Nowadays, love doesn't always seem this simple, so our advice is: if they don't make them like they used to, you just buy antiques.
Beachcombing in the Garden of Adin: Look what washed ashore!
Look at what washed ashore in the Garden of Adin: this charming Victorian 18K gold ring with a diamond cluster of 12 old brilliants surrounding a natural untreated Burma sapphire as deep blue as the seven seas combined. No matter how strong the tidal waves of fashion, no matter how rough the waters of style, the value and allure of antique jewellery will never hit the reef. Neither the earthly elements nor the ravages of time can steer an archetype like this classic ring to the abyss. If you want something lasting forever...
Click here to get to this Victorian diamond ring with untreated Burma sapphire.
Art Nouveau brooch with Ginkgo biloba leaves.
This precious French Art Nouveau brooch from around 1900 seems to be plucked straight out of one of the Elysian fields in the Garden of Adin. An 18K yellow gold ginkgo branch sprouts upwards in so many layers that it almost breaks through its platinum framework adorned with 54 rose cut diamonds. This vivid ambience is further intensified with a hint of green atop the warm yellow leaves. What better way to celebrate life than with this symbol of longevity and endurance.
Art Nouveau brooch depicting lady love?
As the established craftsman Vernon was, he must have constructed the idyllic scenery of this 18K yellow gold French Art Nouveau brooch fully out of symbols. In the background, we notice cypresses, a symbol of mourning. In the foreground, we recognize a bush of edelweiss, symbolizing nobility, devotion, and deep love. The window to this view is surrounded by chrysanthemum, representing life, joy, and optimism.
Alternatively, this piece of jewellery could simply depict two women enjoying each other's company while reading a book and admiring the sensational view—a view that includes, on the left, a majestic building behind an intimate garden spot, and on the right, cypresses leading up to a mountain.
But, if we connect this bare description with the flower connotations, we suddenly find ourselves in a story of memories from a lighthearted time, of everlasting friendship, and of hope for a reunion. Whether it embodies the true symbolism of an artist or is just the imagination of a jewellery aficionado, this jewel is what it is: a vessel of emotion.
Click here to get to this "Vernon" signed Art Nouveau brooch.
One style, different forgings.
What makes a piece of jewellery a "good" piece? As a jewellery dealer, you're always looking for clues about whether the jewel in front of you is a genuine representative of a significant style from a certain era, or whether it merely imitates that style. Here at Adin, we're specialized in reading the visual languages of the past.
Just as every book is composed of several chapters, each era is composed of various artistic styles. Each style derives from its predecessor, reacting to past elements and introducing new ones to complete the story of its time. Every good jewel portrays a character playing an important role in a specific chapter of history. To our joy, we're the ones ensuring their history is never forgotten.
The metaphor of tales and styles can be applied to all "good" objects and artifacts, as all authentic pieces from a certain style share the same characteristics. This picture is a perfect example. The goldsmith of this mesmerizing French Victorian hair comb in 18K gold and horn spoke the same visual language of frills and openwork as the metal smith who crafted the ornamental balustrade in the background of the photo.
We can't wait to see which character this exquisite jewel will play in your memoirs.
Click here to get to this gold antique hair comb.
Becoming Zen in The Garden of Adin: Om mani padme hummmmmm
This harmonious photo of a top-quality natural jadeite antique bangle, weighing 194.73 ct, literally depicts the Buddhist mantra "Om mani padme hum," which translates to "The jewel in the flower." The "jewel" refers to enlightenment and wisdom, enabling one to love unconditionally. This invocation honours the Buddhist symbol of compassion without prejudice.
In many ancient and modern cultures, jade has been and always will be "Yu," the "Gem Supreme" and the "Jewel of Heaven," the "Stone of the Heart." Jade could very much be the embodiment of "Om mani padme hum." Another analogy with this incantation is jade's unique attribute of melodic resonance. Artisans have created musical instruments from jade to produce "heavenly" tones for ritual practices. Chinese poets have compared jade's melodious sound to the voice of a loved one. Not surprisingly, jade is a universal symbol of "the concentrated essence of love," harmony, virtue, and eternity.
While wearing this illustrious bracelet, you can feel your mind being elevated and your heart filled with unconditional love to be sent out into the world.
Another class act in Adin's Circus!
Ladeeeeeeeeeez and G-E-N-T-L-E-M-E-N!!!
Welcome to the Antwerp Adin Antique Jewellery Circus! Tonight, right before your very eyes, we bring you the one-and-only, widely appreciated, world-famous Adin Art Deco Ring and Bear Act! An act specially assembled for your delight and delectation!
Fasten your seat belts! Behold, be amazed, and enjoy!
(Disclaimer: No animals were harmed in the making of this picture.)
Click here to get to this Magnificent diamond & emerald Art Deco ring.
Back from way back when...
Truly magnificent, this pair of Georgian earrings from around 1820 emits an angelic white luster through two grand pear-shaped rose cut diamonds and 20 smaller ones. Three diamond buds, each with two petals, dangle gracefully from the stud to the pear, with the foil-setting of each rose diamond intensifying the jewel's glistening with every movement.
These earrings are not meant to sit quietly; they are designed to swing and shake, inviting you to enjoy and shine.
Click here to get to this fine Georgian large diamond earrings.
Back into the future!
This vintage cameo, set in a yellow gold mounting with a halo of 24 alternating pearls and granules, stands out as very distinguished from its kind. The contours and features of the portrayed upper-class lady, inspired by the 18th century, are meticulously carved out of a shell to the highest quality standards.
The value of a cameo lies in the detail of its visage. Considering that nowadays only a few artisans know how to keep the craft of engraving shell and hardstone alive, it is truly remarkable to find a cameo from the Fifties finished with such a high level of skill.
While details such as the extensively curled coiffure and the abundance of ruffles are often used to distract from mediocre carvings, here they only enhance the overall superb condition of the cameo. One can easily appreciate the femininity and three-dimensionality with which this woman is rendered.
Doesn't it seem as if this damsel is almost a tangible representation of ourselves in another time, ladies?
Just for the pleasure of a pretty picture
More trouvailles in The Garden of Adin: Victorian gold necklace
As this Victorian 18K yellow gold necklace from around 1850 folds perfectly around your neck, its flowered links form an enchanting garden pavement on your skin. Never before have we seen such an exceptional chain, so allow us to make you wonder as we do. Each main link is framed by a rounded rectangular sequence of small links topped by an openwork flower pattern.
Although it may seem obvious in our trade, let's not take for granted that every single piece of this treasure is handmade. While this stunning necklace emits an allure of extravagance, its ideal length and lightweight lacelike assemblage make it suitable for every woman.
Adin Ancient Jewellery: 1700 years old earring
Crafted between fourteen and seventeen centuries ago, this ear pendant in a high gold alloy embodies the very essence of what a jewel should be: the adornment of a lady. While wearing this precious piece, it doesn't take long before you drift off to dreams about its journey through time into the 21st century.
From an ancient goldsmith's design, it was transformed into a tangible gold form, constructed with a repetition of the strong triangle shape and intricate granulation patterns in the ancient Caucasian style. Specially crafted to be worn by the greatest of its era and long after.
Now, envision where this remarkable jewel—worthy of a showroom in a museum—could lead you when you let it adorn you.
Click the here to get to this Ancient yellow gold granulated ear-ring.
