Blue Tourmaline and Mine Cut Diamond Ring, from Lang Antique and Estate Jewelry ($1,450)
In a quest to replace my stolen engagement ring, I spent weeks on a ring hunt, not to mention a ten-year-anniversary band hunt that ran concurrently. After all that, it seemed silly to not round up the best of the rest, or: the rings I really loved but we didn’t buy. For those of you starting to look for rings, I hope this takes you down the rabbit hole of awesome. The rest of you, well, I hope it just takes you down the rabbit hole.
Also, for those of you in the Bay Area who like trying on rings in person, here are my best suggestions of places to shop.
Bay Area Indie Jewelry Stores
Fiat Lux: Indie jewelry store out of your dreams, friend of the blog. Tell them we sent you. They carry designers no one else in town carries. We bought our ten-year ring here.
Steven Alan: Clothing store with an impressive selection of indie designers’ jewelry. They carry most of the designers Fiat Lux doesn’t, so between the two, your bases are more than covered.
Esqueleto: Oakland’s upscale indie jewelry store.
Lang: In the market for a vintage ring? This is the mothership. Not in the market for a vintage ring? Oh well, it’s never a bad day to try on a $60K, hundred-year-old sparkler. That’s what I tell myself most of the time I pop in. This time, though, we bought something a tad more reasonable.
Engagement Rings: 1. Jerry Grant Diamond Cluster Ring, from Steven Alan (in store only, $918) 2. Camille Diamond Vintage Engagement Ring Circa 1950, from Turtle Love Co. ($1,975) 3. Rosecut Pave Diamond Solitaire in Black, from Blanca Monros Gomez ($1,995) 4. Primary No 2 Ring, from Endswell ($295) 5. Diamond Baguette Engagement Ring, from Etsy ($198) 6. Diamond Bar Ring, from Satomi Kawakita Jewelry ($440) 7. Hexagon Brown Diamond Ring, from Satomi Kawakita Jewelry ($960) 8. Antique Diamond and Rose Gold Cluster Ring, from Lang Antique and Estate Jewelry ($1,975) 9. Blue Sapphire Ring, from Stone Fox Bride ($985)
Wedding Bands: 1. Diamond Baguette Ring, from Catbird ($320) 2. Sweet Ten Diamond Band, from Satomi Kawakita Jewelry ($870) 3. Speckled Band with Diamond, by Claire Kinder Studio, from Catbird ($330) 4. Fairy Light Eternity Band with White Diamonds, from Catbird ($1,300) 5. Black Diamond Bateau, exclusively at Fiat Lux ($790) 6. Enamel Curved Band, from Bario Neal ($295) 7. Black and Gold Eternity Ring, from Fiat Lux ($1,120) 8. River of Light Band, by Claire Kinder Studio, from Catbird ($1,840) 9. Eternity No 3 Ring, from Endswell ($595)
