Vintage & pre-loved jewellery I have listed on my eBay account for sale

 Vintage & pre-loved jewellery I have listed on my eBay account for sale recently.

I still sell some pieces of jewellery that I have on my eBay account Cool Vintage & Beyond. Here is a few of them that I have had on recently.

Pretty marcasite and faux pearl necklace. Vintage 1950s/1960s.

Superb pair of Iris or rainbow glass clip on earrings. Vintage 1930s. Sorry now sold

A modern pair of bee diamante earrings. Big and bold from the last 10 years. For pierced ears.

Napier dangling earrings in a silver and gold tone metal. On their original card and also with the back of the earrings stamped "Napier" For pierced ears.

The bee earrings are by Jon Richard and came on their original card. Unsigned though on the reverse. 

Not for sale jewellery - added to my own collections below.

Just a few pieces that have caught my eye when out and about. Many I now keep in my own collections. Just like these:

Found this large skull cuff bracelet. Of course, I kept it. That is me below. Cuff not for sale.

A pretty fairy brooch by JJ, Jonette Jewelry. Now in my fantasy jewellery collection. Not for sale

An Art Deco style brooch circa 1970s/1980s. Asian origin. Not for sale.

A marcasite swallow brooch. Vintage 1950s/1960s. In perfect condition with a Rhodium plated setting. Not for sale

 A pretty Rainbow or Iris glass vintage brooch from the 1930s - 1950s. Not for sale

Back of the rainbow brooch above. Note the under-style pin and construction. 

Lastly an enamel Cloisonne brooch with a unicorn on it. Added to my fantasy jewellery collection. Circa 1980s and unsigned. Not for sale

 Loss of costume jewellery in a fire - Absolutely gutted.

A couple of months ago, we had a major fire in the storage unit that we had stored lots of our stuff in anticipation of moving in a few years time. The whole unit burnt to the ground. There is an investigation ongoing that it was arson. I am convinced it was as the whole building burnt so fierce and there was suppose to have been a sprinkler system! 

Anyhow we lost so much, yes we were insured but very much under insured. Gone now is the collection of vintage costume jewellery that I had built up over the last 20 years. My whole inventory of jewellery books that I used for identification and reference - along with many other things that meant a lot to me and hubby. 

Can I go on collecting and researching costume jewellery?

I now find it very difficult to actually look at any jewellery. In the last few months I have brought just a few pieces to add to my own personal collection. The jewellery that I have on eBay was the boxes that I still had at home. I don't think I will every buy anymore jewellery just for resale again. 

Brought this pretty Cloisonne unicorn brooch to add to my Gothic/fantasy collection. Circa 1980s of age. Wiggle to the pin at the back.

Art Deco style brooch from the 1980s. In green and gold colours. Copy of the Pierre Bex brooches but this one was made in China/Asia

Silver marcasite swallow bird brooch circa 1960s with a rhodium plated back.  

 Floral Iris or rainbow glass vintage brooch circa 1960s. The rhinestone are in shades of blue, pink and clear. 

Unsigned beauties found jewellery

Why are unsigned jewellery beauties important?

Unsigned beauties in jewellery, I come across quite often. Many are well-made and are high quality jewellery that have a really fantastic style and are very beautiful to wear. But appear to be unsigned and I do not have any idea who made it.

I spend some time analysing the piece, to see if I can attribute the way it is made to a specific company or jewellery designer. Certain construction in the parts can pinpoint to a company. For example D & G have puddling at the back of some jewellery. Or maybe I spend time with a lens looking at the back or sides and all in the hope I will find that elusive hidden mark - that I might have missed the first time I took a look. So that it may pinpoint who made it. But it may still it remains a mysterious unsigned beauty after all my endeavour
.
As a seller of vintage it makes a different in the price I sell it at. If I can attribute a piece of jewellery to a specific designer. It may be an unsigned Selro bracelet, an early Trifari piece. Maybe a Miriam Haskell brooch or a D & E earrings beauty? All command a higher price over something that is unsigned and a mystery. It also makes it so much easier to list and research its actual age. Sometimes it is even possible to find the piece’s name.

But many pieces remain just unsigned beauties. They could have been produced by the many companies that made designer. But have been made under their own name and unbranded. Then sold to a store or smaller shop for re-sale. Delightful but always to remain in the shadows but treasured for what it is. Below is an unsigned Art Deco bracelet and necklace. 

 

 look as I may. Many items of jewellery I come across will always remain elusive. Their provenance lost in time and memory. But I never give up hope. Storing the image and information to memory in the hope that one day the puzzle will be solved.

A double stranded vintage bead necklace in a pretty coral pink colour. Unsigned and definitely a vintage beauty.

Pretty and unmarked vintage yellow bead necklace. The beads are in early plastic and graduate in size. Rich colours despite its age.

What is a brooch that is said to be vintage?

This is a quick coffee break guide to what is a brooch that is vintage?
So to be an original and genuine vintage is to do with its age rather than its good looks. It can either have been produced between the 1920s to the 1990s, or be at least 20 to 25 years old. Not an easy thing to distinguish as there are many brooches on the market, with many of them not being vintage at all but new ones in the style of a vintage brooch and pin. Any piece of jewellery that was made between the Art Deco years of the 1920s and 1930s right up to the last decade of the twenty first century. Is said to be true and real vintage. It is actually easier to look at decades rather than splitting it up into years. Because dating can be difficult - unless you have an advert dated or a brochure or company catalogue.   

We have many original vintage brooches available on Jewels and Finery. Here are just a few:

There are many different styles of brooches and the above are just a small selection that we have. Along with antique, modern and small brooch pins available.
 

Changes to our website brooches

Over the last few weeks, we have been planning and making a few changes to our new look website. Starting with the vintage brooches collection. We now have this great new look. Instead of having the sub categories below, we have them at the side bar only. This frees up the products to be shown straight away. We at Jewels & Finery UK, just think it makes it a little clearer. Now having freed up the sub categories it has enabled us to divided the true vintage jewellery from pre owned and new. So a new modern brooches collection has been formed that has previously owned brooch and new in only.  We have done this because of the growing number of products in this category of now over 360 different ones available.

Here are just some of the lovely vintage brooches we have available right now.

Cute rainbow fish vintage brooch
Brilliant enamel colours to this cute tropical fish with a twinkling diamante eye.

Glitter vintage butterfly brooch
This one just glitters with colour and the neat thing is that the glitter is sealed under clear enamel - so it doesn't get every where like some costume jewellery does. 

Yellow Art Deco style vintage brooch
In the fabulous style of Art Deco this yellow vintage brooch is of a later Art Deco style jewellery. It is vintage and dates to around the 1970s/1980s.

Red rhinestone garland vintage brooch
This one is gorgeous with faceted red rhinestones and a glorious colour to the gold metal. Well made and of good quality.

The above vintage brooch is my personal favourite at the moment. We have planned many other changes and introduction of some new lines. So watch this space for more news.

Art Deco Jewellery

Art Deco jewellery is very popular, it is one of those styles that is sought after by collectors and fashionables alike.
Original Art Deco vintage jewellery dates from the 1920s to the 1930s, it is modern, luxurious, exotic and graphic. Short hair of the times needed long earrings to create femininity. Layers of bangles and beads to go with the flapper dresses.
The style became more abstract, angular and linear in shape, created to echo the new machine age of the twenties.
Below is a real Art Deco fish brooch and below that is a vintage style Art Deco brooch circa 1970s..

Not to get confused with other vintage jewellery made in the 1920s and 1930s which have a more rounder and curved style and less angular and machine edged to it. Unfortunately many people are calling this "Art Deco" and they are wrong.

Dress Clips and Scarf Clips

I really like dress clips. they came into fashion around the 1920s up to about the 1950s when their popularity waned and changed to scarf clips.

The Art Deco clips in the 1920s are easy to find with their typical look.

Thirties clips are filigree with often beautiful colourful bohemia rhinestones. Imported from Czechoslovakia and other Bohemian countries.

Ideal for clipping to square or sweat heart necklines. Dress clips were often sold in pairs. But one can brighten up a round or lower/plunging neckline. Now most are found as one clip, fun to collect and see if you can find a partner or use on its own

This is the back of a dress clip, not to be confused with a fur clip that has two prongs.

When the fashion changed into scarf clips in the sixties and more so in the seventies, manufacturers used part of the dress clip plate (no waste then!) and added the circular clip. Which makes dating a bit easier for the scarf clips.

The scarf clip on the right in gold tone is an early clip 1960s/1970s as it has the part dress clip mechanism.
The one on the left is later at 1970s/1980s with a "made for" scarf clip mechanism.

 
Underrated vintage jewellery that can still be used today. Dress clips can be used on a hair band or as a necklace (see other blog post) Scarves are back in this year and there are so many ways to tie a scarf. If you can find it, there is a great book, now out of print called Living With Scarves by Lorraine Hammett.