Emerald delights

As I jewelry blogger, I have signed up for multiple jewelry news emails. And there are few headlines that excite me as much as those that include the words, auction and 22.84 carats. No matter what type of stone it is, if it’s that big and being auctioned by Sotheby’s, it’s going to be good. Then I scroll over and notice that the stone in question is an emerald and belonged to the late heiress Brooke Astor. Before I can slam my finger down to click on the link, my heart is racing, because this isn’t going to be good, this is going to be great!

You see, Brooke Astor and Huguette Clark from earlier this week have a lot in common. They both lived to be well over 100, Brooke was 105 when she died… a hundred and five! I mean, let’s just think about that for a second. When Brooke was born, there were no airplanes, the average life expectancy was 47, (she sure blew that one out of the water), there was no such thing as iced tea – the horror, and the west was still a pretty wild place. That’s a lot of change for one lifetime. But back to my comparison, the main thing that she and Huguette had, that the rest of the world didn’t, was money… lots and lots of money. And in a world where the average worker earned 22 cents per hour, she had it made in the shade. I mean, she was so wealthy that she was the type of person to dress in gowns for family portraits with lapdogs like the photo above or family portraits including the one below which welcomed her into the Astor family. Anyways, all of this brings me back to the auction, and my heart palpitations. 

Seriously, I am such a nut over green gemstones that I think seeing such a perfect specimen caused my heart rhythm to change a bit. Isn’t it purdy? 

Photo : Sotheby's

I could gaze at it all day, getting lost in the depths of that lush green color. 22.84 carats of emerald and diamond. I could die happy with this ring on my finger, especially today as I’m wearing a navy dress with crisp white flowers. This ring would be the perfect accessory to my outfit. I’m a little bit in love with green and navy this year, I even have a green cellphone case with my initials in white on a navy medallion. I may in fact have a problem. And the depths of my issues would come when I would read the pricetag, a staggering $150,000. Oh and if you want the matching emerald and diamond necklace I’ll need to cough up another $350,000. Anybody want to revisit that timeshare idea? Yeah, I didn’t think so, but I do have a solution!

And what a solution it is. A 2.15 carat Chatham Emerald flanked by two trillion side stones totaling 1.34 carats; it is, hands down, one of the most beautiful rings I’ve seen. If I had to choose one piece to grab in a fire, this would be it, no questions asked. Although if I had a bit more time I would grab a box and sweep every case into it, including the safe. If I lost my eyebrows in the process it would be totally worth it. Totally. I’d also like to point out that I have, while writing this blog, been wearing the ring in question… and now that the post is winding down, I’m not liking the fact that I need to take it off. It has such a luxurious weight and heft that you get from a solidly built piece of jewelry. When you wear it, you feel like you’ve moved up a tax bracket and that you wouldn’t be at all out of place as a celebrity judge of Project Runway.  Yes, it’s that good. Don’t believe me? Give us a visit, try it on, and I promise you won’t be able to leave without it!