If you are a lover of antique and vintage-inspired rings, than you must cotinue reading because I am super excited to share with you about Erstwhile founded by Alisa and her husband Jared.
Erstwhile is a NYC showroom curating exquisite bridal and vintage jewelry. Renowned for antique and vintage engagement rings from the 1880s to the 1940s. In 2015, Erstwhile launched a collection of engagement rings made with estate diamonds and reclaimed metals, called by Erstwhile. More about it below.
How did Erstwhile get started?
Together with my husband, a fifth generation jeweler, we founded Erstwhile in 2010. Read his history “Our Story” on our site. Initially we set out to curate very select signed and unique vintage pieces but destiny had a different plan. Jared had an amazing eye for antique diamonds and vintage engagement rings and over time our company began to be defined by our assortment of bridal jewelry. In 2015 we launched our own line of engagement rings by Erstwhile featuring antique diamonds and reclaimed metals. We have a love and passion for the craft and romance of antique diamond cuts, that’s why we decided to only use these cuts in our own collection.
Black Rose ring – One For You ring
Is there an Erstwhile storefront?
Our showroom is by appointment only and we like it that way. We like to keep it intimate. When our customers come to see us we like them to feel like they’re stepping into a secret world of antique jewelry. We’re located just steps away from the infamous 47th street Diamond District but far enough that we’re creating our own world.
Besides their own line of rings and vintage diamond rings, you can also find incredible antique mourning rings.
Georgian Enamel Mourning ring made in 18k yellow gold. Centered with a crystal encasing a small skull illustration and white enamel that reads James Pitts Jr., 11 Jan 1772 at 31. Circa 1772.
A little extra info:
We recently launched “Stories” on our website. Our customers and fans are always seeking some form of an education on antique jewelry and stones and “Stories” is a vintage jewelry Encyclopedia of sorts. Our favorite tips to write about are mixing new and old pieces. Our customers are always confused about how to pair their vintage ring with a band so we like to play with different combinations of rings from different eras. People sometimes think that because they buy a vintage engagement ring they have to pair it with a vintage band. But.. vintage bands are very difficult to find in perfect condition. They also have to be your exact size, as they can’t be resized. So we love the idea of mixing metals and styles together and write about it in our series, “Make New Friends, but Keep the Old”.
[All images thanks to Erstwhile | Collages by MoJ]