In my last post I wore my Grandma's high school ring from 1943, and it got me thinking about vintage rings. I found Erica Weiner's shop looking for Herkimer Diamond rings, and discovered that she has a bunch of really incredible vintage rings. Vintage rings are far and away my favorite ones, I just love the sense of artistry that jewelers used to have. There are some rings nowadays that will catch my eye, but vintage rings will always be my favorite.
I have a ring almost identical to this first diamond ring. It was my great great aunt/grandmother's (we're not sure who it belonged to), and it's one of my favorite rings. I like that they build up the silver decoratively around the stone. I absolutely loathe the boring solitaire diamond rings that are ubiquitous these days. Like... a blank band with the stone awkwardly sticking out into space? I don't get it. It makes my eyes hurt. Haha. I suppose someone could see these vintage rings as being tacky and gaudy, but hey, I know what I like! Erica Weiner has the most gorgeous collection of these vintage rings, I was thrilled to find her site! (click through the photo to check out the ring at her shop!)
The reason I stumbled across her site in the first place was because I was searching for Herkimer Diamond rings. On my family's cross country RV trip in 2007, we stopped for a night in Herkimer, New York, where Herkimer Diamonds are mined. A Herkimer Diamond is really just a quartz stone, but I love them nonetheless (plus, it's cheaper to have a thing for Herkimer diamonds than the real ones). You can go to Herkimer and mine them yourself at this little place that gives you a hammer and a sack and lets you crack away at rocks in the quarry looking for your own "diamonds." It's one of my favorite memories from that trip.
Erica's shop also has amazing bracelets, necklaces, and earrings which are worth taking a look at. I love how unique the jewelry is. They have a shop in New York City at 173 Elizabeth Street, if any of you are New Yorkers and interested in checking it out!
