STYLE

I have known Lorraine Wohl for over 20 years and she has always had impeccable taste in antique and vintage jewelry, as well as furniture and decorative items. Over the years, I’ve watched her expand from Georgian through Edwardian jewels into larger statement pieces from the Art Deco period through mid-20th century and carry a few influential modern designers.  Lorraine’s jewelry hunt takes her to Paris, which is her second home and where she has given tours of the antique and vintage markets for years. She knows a rare and collectible jewel when she sees one and often goes with her instincts which has kept her business The Elle W Collection thriving for over 30 years.

Here she lets us in on her holiday 2017 gift ideas:

“There are quite a number of reasons this made my gift list. It’s  a rare example of an early 20th-century snake necklace which is more modern and current with today’s fashions then say the serpent jewelry from the Georgian or Victorian eras.  It has strong yet feminine mythological associations with Eve in the Garden of Eden and with Cleopatra to name a few of the stories with a legendary past. But there are also the meanings of eternal love, rebirth and renewal–meanings which slithered in with the 19th century and Queen Victorian. It is also a soft and subtle snake chain–the type you don’ even feel when wearing.”

 

“This aquamarine beauty, wrapped in diamonds is by H. Stern, c. 1940. It’s  a classic cocktail style ring but with a gemstone so vibrant and vivacious in its glow, it’s the type of ring that is always a “present on your hand.”

“This Tiffany & C0. ‘etoile’ eternity band..an all time favorite of mine. It’s signed and if given to you by a significant other, it twinkles like the midnight sky and speaks of love and endurance with the diamonds and consistency with a band that is continuous.

The gift I would like to receive myself is this diamond sparkler–the star of Antoine Saint Exupery, which shines from above and within. I love the more graphic lines and the asymmetry and how simple yet meaningful it is.”