The Collector's Edit: Five Jewels With a Story
Some jewels capture our attention because of their beauty. Others become more compelling the longer we look.
A signature may lead us to a celebrated designer. An unusual material may reveal the imagination of the jeweler who chose it. A centuries-old object can connect its wearer to an entirely different civilization. And, sometimes a jewel unexpectedly finds its way onto the silver screen.
For this Collector's Edit, we selected five pieces from the Gleim the Jeweler's Estate Collection that offer something beyond beautiful materials. Each has a story worth discovering.
Tiffany & Co. Diamond Starburst Brooch
A Tiffany design with an unexpected connection to the silver screen
With 118 round brilliant-cut diamonds radiating across a platinum radial design, this vintage Tiffany & Co. brooch captures the enduring appeal of the starburst motif.
Its story, however, has an unexpected contemporary chapter.
A closely related Tiffany & Co. diamond starburst brooch appeared in Guillermo del Toro's 2025 film Frankenstein as part of Tiffany & Co.'s collaboration with the production. The jewelry wardrobe incorporated archival and contemporary Tiffany pieces, and were unusually worn in the updo of Mia Goth who played the tragic heroine, Elizabeth Lavenza.
The vintage brooch in the Gleim Estate Collection is a separate jewel and was not the actual piece used in the film. But the connection illustrates something fascinating about great jewelry design: a jewel conceived in another era can feel completely at home in a modern cinematic interpretation of the past.
Crafted in platinum and signed Tiffany & Co., the brooch is set with approximately 2.50 carats of diamonds estimated at F–G color and VVS–VS clarity. Its radiating form gives the jewel brilliance while preserving the delicacy of its lace-like construction.
VIEW THE TIFFANY & CO. STARBURST BROOCH
William Ruser Teddy Bear Brooch
Hollywood, baroque pearls and the imagination of an American jeweler
William Ruser had a remarkable ability to look at the irregular shape of a pearl and see something entirely different.
A bird. A cherub. An animal. A tiny character waiting to be brought to life.
That imagination helped define the work of the Beverly Hills jeweler, whose whimsical figural designs became particularly associated with American jewelry of the mid-20th century.
This teddy bear brooch is a charming example. Crafted in textured 14K yellow gold, the little bear has blue sapphire eyes and appears to float on a cloud made from an American freshwater baroque pearl. Rather than forcing the pearl into a conventional design, Ruser used its naturally irregular form as part of the composition.
Ruser opened his Rodeo Drive salon with his wife Pauline in 1947, and his work attracted a Hollywood clientele that included Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner, Loretta Young and Shirley Temple. His jewelry also made its way onto the screen: Barbara Stanwyck wore her own Ruser gardenia jewelry in the 1948 thriller Sorry, Wrong Number.
Signed Ruser 14K and dating to circa the 1940s–1950s, this teddy bear represents the wit and storytelling that make Ruser's figural jewelry so collectible today.
VIEW THE WILLIAM RUSER TEDDY BEAR
BVLGARI Naturalia Fish Brooch
When fine jewelry doesn't take itself too seriously
Fine jewelry can be important without being solemn.
BVLGARI's Naturalia collection embraced that idea through colorful interpretations of animals, plants and marine life. Introduced in the early 1990s, the collection transformed the natural world through the bold color and unmistakable Italian design language associated with the Roman jewelry house.
This signed Naturalia brooch depicts a trio of fish in 18K yellow gold, brought to life with coral, amethyst, mother-of-pearl and diamonds.
The materials are luxurious, but the mood is playful. Color, texture and movement take precedence over formality, turning three small fish into a miniature sculptural composition.
It is precisely that combination that makes signed jewelry interesting to collect. The maker can be recognizable not simply from a name stamped on the reverse, but from a particular way of seeing the world.
Here, nature becomes unmistakably BVLGARI.
VIEW THE BVLGARI NATURALIA FISH BROOCH
Ancient Roman Bronze Coin Pendant
Nearly two thousand years of history, made wearable
Of the six jewels in this Collector's Edit, this may have traveled the farthest.
At its center is an ancient Roman bronze coin dating approximately from 33–400 AD. Centuries of wear have softened its surface, but a portrait remains visible on one side and a seated figure on the reverse. Today, the coin is surrounded by a simple handcrafted 14K yellow gold bezel.
The idea of transforming ancient coins into jewelry is itself part of a long tradition. Interest in coin jewelry has reappeared repeatedly, including during the Renaissance, the era of the Grand Tour and the Victorian period.
Unlike a jewel created to imitate the past, the object at the center of this pendant actually comes from it. The marks and irregularities aren't decorative effects; they are evidence of age.
That gives the pendant an unusual dual identity. It is jewelry, but it is also an artifact—something made wearable today whose story began many centuries before the person wearing it.
VIEW THE ANCIENT ROMAN COIN PENDANT
Masriera Enamel & Diamond Serpent Ring
An ancient symbol interpreted through the art of enamel
Few motifs have remained in jewelry for as long as the serpent.
Across cultures and centuries, the snake has been associated with ideas including transformation, renewal and eternity. In the hands of Masriera, that ancient form becomes an exuberant expression of color and craftsmanship.
The Barcelona jewelry house is particularly celebrated for its enamel work and Art Nouveau-inspired designs. This signed Masriera ring is crafted in 18K yellow gold, with the serpent's sinuous body covered in luminous yellow and orange enamel and accented by 13 full-cut diamonds.
Look closely and the appeal goes beyond the materials. The curved body, changes in color and small flashes of diamond give the serpent personality and movement.
It is an excellent example of what happens when jewelry crosses into miniature sculpture.
And it brings our six stories full circle. The Roman coin connects us physically to the ancient world; Masriera takes an ancient symbol and continually reimagines it through the language of decorative art.
VIEW THE MASRIERA SERPENT RING
Jewelry Worth Discovering
The pieces in this Collector's Edit span centuries, countries and styles, yet they share one quality: there is more to discover than what is visible at first glance.
A Victorian earring can feel unexpectedly modern. An irregular American pearl can become a teddy bear in the hands of an imaginative jeweler. A Roman coin can survive nearly two millennia before becoming a pendant. And a vintage Tiffany brooch can find an unexpected echo in contemporary film.
That is part of what makes estate jewelry so compelling.
Every jewel has already lived a life before arriving at Gleim the Jeweler. Some come with celebrated signatures and documented histories; others leave more of their past to the imagination. Each offers the possibility of becoming part of another story.