Category Archives: vintage jewellery

February is AMETHYST month doncha know!

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Good old amethysts; the Ancient Greeks would have us believe amethysts ward off the intoxicating powers of Bacchus.

So if you like a tipple, this is the brooch for you!

This stunning 1940’s pin sparkles and twinkles away, and just one glimpse of it will keep you quick witted and clear headed all day long, another Ancient Greek myth….?

Fabulous condition, superb quality. If your Valentine’s Day didn’t live up to expectations, then now is the time to treat yourself!

Buy this brooch here, in my new ETSY shop, before someone else does!

 http://etsy.me/17ANOhC

 

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Filed under Accessories, Art Deco, costume jewellery, Fashion, Jewellery, Jewelry, vintage jewellery, vintage jewelry

Swarovski Sweetheart Suite

Swarovski Suite

Here is a stunning suite of vintage jewellery.

A rare Swarovski brooch (or pin as they like to say over The Pond), with matching ear clips.

Using green and blue Swarovski Crystals and signed using the Swan Logo.

These gems are the antiques of the future, and a fabulous addition to any costume jewellery collection.

They can be yours by clicking on the photo!

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Filed under 1980's, Accessories, costume jewellery, couture, Earrings, Jewellery, Jewelry, Vintage, Vintage Christmas, vintage jewellery, vintage jewelry

Ravishing Edouard Rambaud Earrings

Ravishing Edouard Rambaud Earrings

Stunning vintage ear clips signed Edouard Rambaud.

French haute couture runway pieces. 80’s Glamour!

Fabulous quality and condition, and you can buy them by clicking on the photograph….

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May 27, 2014 · 7:08 pm

Pearls are Perfect Presents

Pearls are Perfect Presents

Here we have a gorgeous pair of signed Napier faux pearl earrings.

They are lush.
With a luxury luminous lustre.

Pearls are the oldest known gems.
They can be traced back to 520BC; a fragment of jewellery was found in the tomb of a Persian Princess.

Known as the Susa necklace, it is now on display in the Louvre:

 

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To the Ancient Persians, pearls symbolised the moon and its magical powers, alluding to purity and perfection.

 

In December 2011 La Peregrina famously sold for a record price of £7 million at Christies, New York. Once owned by Queen Mary I of England, the pearl was bought in 1969 by Richard Burton, as a Valentine’s Day gift for his wife Elizabeth Taylor.

 

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Here she recounts the story of losing the pearl during a stay at Caesar’s Palace, Nevada:

“At one point I reached down to touch La Peregrina and it wasn’t there! I glanced over at Richard and thank God he wasn’t looking at me, and I went into the bedroom and threw myself on the bed, buried my head into the pillow and screamed. Very slowly and very carefully, I retraced all my steps in the bedroom. I took my slippers off, took my socks off, and got down on my hands and knees, looking everywhere for the pearl. Nothing. I thought, It’s got to be in the living room in front of Richard. What am I going to do. He’ll kill me! Because he loved the piece.

After few minutes of mental anguish, Taylor looked at their puppies. One of them was apparently chewing on a bone, but nobody gave bones to the puppies. She continues:

I just casually opened the puppy’s mouth and inside his mouth was the most perfect pearl in the world. It was—thank God—not scratched.”

That story makes me hyperventilate just thinking about it.

Have you ever done that?

LOST A PIECE OF PRECIOUS JEWELLERY?

I have, frequently.

Returned to the sock drawer, or sugar bowl, or mattress cover, and felt that hot tide flow over me with the horrid, dreadful realisation/paralysis that what was a certainty, what I was so sure about, is no longer.

And then the panic, the anxiety, the STRESS!

Is it behind the boiler? In the freezer? At the bottom of the cotton wool ball bag?

Followed by the relief. It was in my dressing gown pocket. Of course it was. Der.

 

These pearl earrings won’t cost you millions, and I doubt they’ll find their way into the Louvre, but they are very beautiful, and would make a fabulous gift.

Put them in a safe place. One you can remember!

Click on the photo, and they can be yours!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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May 11, 2014 · 10:20 am

Secrets of the Vatican Vintage Visionaries

Secrets of the Vatican Vintage Visionaries

1950’s Italian micro mosaic ear clips. Yellow roses.
Yellow roses for friendship.

Micro mosaic jewellery can trace its roots back to The Vatican.

The recipe for the minute tesserae, or enamel shards used to make this magnificent jewellery is a closely kept secret in the Holy See.

Centuries ago, in order to preserve the magnificent frescoes, which were sadly deteriorating due to the pervading damp, mosaic techniques were investigated in order to replace the artworks.

28,000 tesserae colours were developed to accurately replicate most of the Basilica paintings. By 1770, nearly all of them had been successfully copied in mosaic.

Even now, tourists visiting St. Peter’s are often oblivious that the artworks they’re viewing are mosaic and not painted.

Decades later, these skills were transferred to those making souvenirs for the noble elite on the Grand Tour. The vignettes were usually of classical subjects, temples, and doves being most popular.

Fast forward to the middle of the last century and micro mosaic jewellery was being produced as gifts for tourists.

You can buy these gorgeous Holy earrings here.

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April 11, 2014 · 6:24 pm

What rhymes with amethyst?

What rhymes with amethyst?

Not a lot apparently.
Only rather alarming looking words ending in …cyst.
So it’s hardly surprising that there is little in the literary canon about the good old amethyst.
It just isn’t poetic enough.
Let’s try another approach. Take a look at the etymology.
Oh dear.
From the Greek ‘amethustos’ meaning ‘sober’, the amethyst will guard against drunkenness.
Here then, is a beautiful amethyst necklace for the lush in your life, a lush not fond of poetry.

Oh, and the Lady at The Telegraph, loves all things purple, especially the amethyst. It is the gem to buy in 2014.

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April 8, 2014 · 8:43 pm

Feeling Blue?

Feeling Blue?

These are lush.
And very bright.
Bright turquoise glass beads knotted as a necklace.

Maybe they’re more ‘Celeste’ – a bright sky blue. Or possibly ‘Pearl Mystique’ with a hint of teal.

Actually, I’m going for ‘Cerulean’.

Cerulean blue, first mentioned as a colour in 1590, derived from the Latin word ‘caelum’ meaning heaven or sky.

What do you think?

Anyway, this heavenly necklace doesn’t go back to 1590, but it is vintage.
And it can be yours, right here.

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April 6, 2014 · 10:28 am

A Tad Mad Men – Cocktails and Curves

A Tad Mad Men - Cocktails and Curves

Vintage clip on earrings. About 60 years old. From the 1950’s – 1960’s.

The good old days.

Beautifully made with cream and crystal clear glass bugle beads.

So if you’re a would-be Betty Draper, or maybe you just enjoy the nostalgia of vintage, and hanker after a time when drinking, smoking, misogynist bigots roamed the streets, these lovely earrings are for you.

“In May 2010, Miss Hendricks was voted “The Sexiest Woman Alive” by female readers of Esquire magazine. Two months later the size-14 actress, who plays the feisty secretary Joan Harris in Mad Men, was declared a role model by Lynne Featherstone, the UK Equalities Minister.
Criticising the “overexposure” of skinny models, which she said was causing a crisis in “body confidence” among young women, the Liberal Democrat minister declared: “Christina Hendricks is absolutely fabulous.
“We need more of these role models. There is such a sensation when there is a curvy role model. It shouldn’t be so unusual.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8290407/Mad-Men-star-Christina-Hendricks-sparks-rush-for-breast-implants.html

Cocktails and curves, and you can buy them by clicking on them!

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April 4, 2014 · 5:36 pm

Pearls of Wisdom

Pearls of Wisdom

“Happiness is a by-product of an effort to make someone else happy.”

I am going to make you very happy with these gorgeous vintage daisy clip-on earrings.

Some people clean their pearls in salt water.
I like to swipe mine with a clean cloth lightly dipped in olive oil.

Occasionally, I roll my pearls over my forehead.
My make-up free forehead. Sounds bizarre. Works a treat.

The natural oils in skin bring out the lustre of the pearls.
Which is why pearls should be worn. They improve each time you wear them.

Pearl earrings widen your smile, and actually make your teeth look whiter.

What’s not to like?
Happy days.

Buy them here.

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April 3, 2014 · 7:21 pm

Monet Monet Monet

Monet Monet Monet

We’re talking Michael Monet here, not Claude.

Although there is something quite impressionistic about the finish and texture of these lovely earrings:

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cmon/hd_cmon.htm

Around the time that Claude Monet was putting the finishing touches to his water lillies at Giverny, Michael Monet was launching his costume jewellery business with just $4 to his name.

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/costume-jewelry/monet

You can be part of the Monet narrative with these fab drop earrings. They are wonderful quality, and in excellent condition, signed, and perfect for the costume jewellery collector.

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April 2, 2014 · 10:44 pm