An iconic New Orleans shop since 1899, Keil’s Antiques is truly a treasure trove! My visit to the Big Easy over the weekend was my first time ever and I didn’t realize how much culture, good food and sticky weather I was about to encounter, while eagerly taking it all in! Every storefront in the French Quarter is incredibly unique and equally historic, with Royal Street being my favorite! That’s where Keil’s Antiques is located and they offer some of the most exquisite antique jewelry, 18th & 19th century chandeliers, European furniture and objets d’art. The shop was founded by Hermina Keil, a female trailblazer who opened her own business during a time where it was a rare occurrence for a woman to do so. It has stayed in the family over the last 100+ years and is currently run by granddaughter Andrée Keil Moss and her sons Peter and Keil Moss. I had the pleasure of meeting Peter, as well as Donna & Maggie who both work with the jewelry at Keil’s and are passionate about it!
I was enchanted the moment I walked through the front door, after first longfully gazing into the front windows and at the black wrought iron details. As you can see from the photos above, you know what I mean! The selection of fine antique jewelry is both broad and selective, spanning several artistic time periods and including several price ranges. Keil’s has pieces that have been hand-selected from over in Europe as well as local estate items that have been New Orleans’ heirlooms for several years and are now available in store. You never know what you’re going to find and I love how the shop caters to both serious antique jewelry collectors, offering extremely rare pieces and museum-worthy items, as well as the novice collector, offering staples like intaglios, signet rings, serpent jewelry and cameos.
Every piece I tried on I sort of felt faintish and lost my breath upon putting on–from the Victorian handmade gold chains that wrapped around my neck, to the sparkle fest on my fingers from every beautiful ring, and the dangly drops of antique goodness hanging from my ears. I also noticed how their selection of cuffs and bracelets was by far the most I’ve seen in my travels. So many styles and matching pairs of bracelets, I was loving them all–ranging from the Art Deco diamond encrusted ones to the delicate Victorian tracery bangles. I know there are some readers who love micromosaics, so I made sure to photograph the one I found at Keil’s depicting an Egyptian pharaoh. I love the colors and the intricacies of the brooch. Keil’s offers a few more micromosaics as well. And if you’re in the market for an antique engagement ring, how romantic would it be to take a trip to New Orleans to pick out your forever ring at Keil’s?! I know you will find a ring of your dreams there, the selection is impeccable and there are so many options.
I want to take the time to thank the amazing staff of Keil’s for welcoming me to their store and working with me on this unique kind of “advertising” as it was a first for them in their 100+ years of business. I love shedding light on stores like Keil’s, giving you a glimpse into their world whether you’re a New Orleans local, live 8 hours away or a continent away, I hope that this blog feature provokes you to want to visit. As always, if you see ANYTHING featured in this blog post from Keil’s that you may be interested in and want to know details and pricing, feel free to email keilsantiques@aol.com
325 Royal Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Marissa September 19, 2017 at 2:41 pm:
How awesome is this! I'm from New Orleans. I have gone in some of the antique shops on Royal before, but I don't think I've been to Keil's. I definitely need to stop by soon. 🙂
I don't know if you were able to go, but there is a store close by filled with chandeliers, and it was absolutely beautiful!!
JoAnne September 23, 2017 at 3:31 pm:
I've bought a number of great pieces at Keil's over the last 15 or so years.
I've never been sorry about a piece from this shop.
Any work done to a piece has been well done.
I bought 4 or 5 old-style garnet pieces. I always get lots of longing looks at the jewelry and very positive comments.
One piece was an old garnet crown pin that had a huge oval piece hanging from it.
I was interested in the oval part, not so much in the pin part. They separated the 2 pieces and fixed the few places that were showing their age. I don't wear the pin, but I love wearing the oval pendant. It's really stunning.
Allan sather September 25, 2017 at 2:24 am:
All 3 floors of Keils is full of unique high quality furniture, chandeliers, mirrors, sconces and a uniqueness one can only find in a city as special as NOLA. My wife has been surprised on many occasions from the jewelry counter at Keils. What an adventure!
Mabry Hall April 21, 2018 at 3:12 pm:
I just saw this on your site. I don’t know how I missed it before. I’m so glad you were able to go to Keil’s. I have several items from there, and that’s where I purchased the prettiest of my demantoid pieces. The staff is wonderful; they never make you feel hurried, and never make you feel guilty if you decide not to buy that day! It’s my favorite place in the South for antique jewelry.
Olivia May 28, 2018 at 6:07 am:
All rings design are so beautiful love it
–Olivia–
https://www.gemstonesilverjewelry.us/collections/moonstone-rings
Page Sargisson October 17, 2018 at 4:51 am:
These are some truly beautiful examples of fine antique jewelry. They remind me a lot of the geode triangle druzy studs as well as stone charms for chains available at Page Sargisson, which if you don’t know is a handcrafted fine jewelry store based out of New York. While the products of Keil’s Antiques have an antique but flamboyant look, the products I’ve mentioned above have a contemporary but stylistic look. I would love to know what you think about those! For more info visit at – https://www.pagesargisson.com/