Our Vintage & Antique Jewelry Blog

Halloween makes us want to pull out the blackest, most macabre jewelry in our collection – memento mori, or mourning jewelry. It can be difficult for us in the 21st century to understand why people wore jewelry that was a constant reminder of death. It feels a little creepy at first, but like all jewelry, mourning pieces were made from love and worn with love. This is antique jewelry at its most bittersweet and sentimental. 

We’re packing up our treasure chest of jewels! If you’ve been following along with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, you may have seen our big news – Doyle & Doyle is moving to THE MEATPACKING DISTRICT!!  We’ll share more details on the new location and a special announcement tomorrow – watch this space!

Thinking about our new home in the chic Meatpacking District, we realize that the streets of New York are like so many Fashion Week catwalks. Stroll through any neighborhood and you’ll see an endless parade of different looks. Fashion magazines and blogs have caught on and they love to showcase New York’s unique brand of street style. 

October’s birthstones are two of the most versatile gemstones. Prized for their range of colors, opal and tourmaline have inspired jewelers, poets, and artists. Shakespeare called opal “the queen of gems” and Pliny the Elder wrote that within its depths, you could see “the living fire of the ruby, the glorious purple of the amethyst, the sea green of the emerald, all glittering together in an incredible mixture of light.” Opal’s unique play of color is caused by the way silica combines with water in the cavities of ancient rock formations.