Endless talk of all things sparkly.

My Jewel Box: Jelly Opals & Forget-me-nots

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Hope everyone had a lovely Mother’s Day yesterday!  Two very special rings recently were added to my personal collection, both from favorite sellers of mine that I had been longing to purchase something from, so I’m excited to finally have pieces from each.  It is crazy how much the world wide wide and even Instagram has been changing the way antique jewelry lovers collect.  As much as I travel and search out jewelry stores while doing so, there’s still so many deals and finds readily available for collectors from all over the world in one place! I am thankful for technology, for it has brought me these two latest finds!

Forget-me-nots are a favorite antique jewelry motif for me.  I think it all started with a simple forget-me-not baby ring that Matt surprised me with which he found on eBay and gave it to me as a gift before heading on a trip.  Since then, they have always caught my eye.  Reliquary is a shop of curiosities and wonderfully curated jewelry, located in San Francisco.  I have been a fan of Reliquary for awhile now and keeping up-to-date with store owner Leah Bershad‘s finds through Instagram have made “virtual treasure hunting” a real thing. Although I’ve been to San Francisco before and long to go back, keeping in tune with my favorite stores online is a real life saver.  That’s how this double-cluster turquoise forget-me-not ring came to be in my possession–a fun marketing ploy called a “secret 4/20 sale” where certain pieces went up for sale online at midnight of April 20th, and were hidden from view (you had to search 420 in the search box for it to display the secret sale items).  I thought this was such a cool idea on Reliquary’s part!  I’m happy to have this ring a part of my collection and hope to get to visit Reliquary sometime in the future!

Jelly opals are fascinating gemstones, ever since my studies at the Gemological Institute of America, I’ve been wanting a jelly opal ring for my collection. Water opals, another name for jelly opals, are different from a regular opal because their background color is transparent or translucent, with typically a faint play-of-color being displayed.  I found this ring while browsing my Instagram feed–a newer antique jewelry seller called December Anchor had it pictured in all its glory and I was instantly in love. The jelly opals caught my eye, but it was also the bold cluster that got me too! Being located in Michigan, it is so cool to follow antique jewelry sellers located all across the United States, that way you almost have the whole country mapped out for the best finds of each locality!  Thanks Amanda of December Anchor for providing such a cool ring, I’m so happy with my purchase.