Diamante lion brooch to bring out the animal in you!

 A diamante lion brooch - gives a little wild style.

Another car boot find from a few weeks ago. This petite silver tone diamante lion brooch has small clear diamante decoration and tiny black diamante eyes. Another modern piece of animal jewellery made in the last 10 years estimated. Unsigned with a smooth back and roll over clasp fastening. The diamante are glued in place. 

 Now have a few lion jewellery pieces. They are fun to collect and display. But also great to wear when you are after a wild look or a wild night out!!

Diamante bird brooch - Modern jewellery. But is this a stork or a flamingo?

 Is this a stork or flamingo brooch?

Found this pretty diamante brooch several months ago in a car boot sale. Liked the look and so it ended up in my eclectic collection. This gold tone bird brooch has clear diamante decoration with a larger diamante stone in the middle. I think this is a modern piece of jewellery due to the style of the back and because the pin fastening keeps coming loose. Also does not feel as well made as older brooches.

Not sure what type of bird this is. Could be a stork or a flamingo brooch? Or just the maker's poetic licence used! More pre owned/vintage/antique jewellery that I have found can be seen on this blog.

Diamante - A girl's best friend

A quick jewellery blog about Diamante - A girl's best friend. Diamante stones that are available in a huge range of colours and shapes add so much sparkle or that something extra to jewellery. In glass or acrylic they accent many different pieces. So its no longer diamonds but diamante - the versatile and much cheaper accessory.

Above is a diamante necklace in purple with blue tinted aurora borealis diamante. Just one of the many vintage necklaces that have passed through our hands when we run our website. We closed down last year. But still love to show some of the jewellery and also I can not stop buying more to add to my growing unique collections.

What would you choose diamante or rhinestone jewellery?

What would you choose a diamante brooch or a rhinestone brooch, a diamante necklace or a rhinestone necklace jewellery piece? What is the difference between diamante (also spelt diamonte) and rhinestone? This is something that I have struggled with for years as there is little information around. However I came to the conclusion that it just depends on where you live.

In the UK, most people would call the above stone a diamante. Originally diamante were used to add sparkle to clothing. Flat backed glass crystals or acrylic diamante that could be sewn onto garments. I am not sure when or why the UK started to call them that also in jewellery. If you lived in the US or Canada you will call the above a rhinestone pendant. So the collection of party clip earrings will have either diamante or rhinestone sparkling decoration - just depending on where you originate from.

We have used both terms for covering the UK and US markets. But tend to put the later dated (post 1970s) and less sparkling pieces in the diamante name; and the more opulent and higher quality ones in the rhinestone collections. What do you do and what is your preferred term?     

My Own sparkling Jewellery for a spectacular evening

This weeks COW for the jewelry ring is what would you wear for a spectacular evening. Well this is the sparkling jewellery and not so vintage, that I would choose? As this fantasy evening calls for the full works and opportunity to dress up in everything that sparkles and glitters. This are a few of my favourite few pieces.

For a start it has to be all clear rhinestone and diamante, as this would go with any colour dress. Long ball gown dress and high heels I think - though the last time I tried to wear high heels I had to come down our stairs on my bum!

This is my selection of jewellery that range in age from the 1950s to a couple of years ago.

 In the middle is my rhinestone vintage necklace worn when I was in my twenties with jeans and '70s cheese cloth shirts - just a few years ago now!! It dates to the 1950s and is still fairly bright and clear. In the very middle is my 1960s stretch bracelet of rhinestones from the Empire. It has been owned by me for about 15 years now. The clip earrings are again about 1950s/1960s and I acquired them around 10 years ago.

 Here are two large "Evening Snowflake" brooches with a matching pair of clip on earrings. All from Sarah Coventry dating to the 1960s. One of the brooches belonged to my grandmother and came into my possession about 30 years ago. The other vintage brooch and clip on earrings was a set I brought last year. Really only wanted the earrings, but thought the other brooch could be for my daughter who shares my costume jewellery. The brooches can be worn on a dress either side and the clip earrings can double as shoe clips. Now I could wear one of the brooches in my hair, if I pulled it up high into a glamorous bun, but what would I do with my tiara?

This is a fairly new tiara at about 11 years old, brought by my husband for a New Years Eve party - for me not for him to wear I hasten to add, though I think he tried it on. Just a simple inexpensive tiara of mock pearls and diamante, but priceless to me.  My daughter has one also which she has kept. (Must run in the family)

Found the tiara difficult to photograph as kept getting a blurred photo and didn't have a model handy.
Last but not least my newest accessory for the evening - a beaded evening bag in a gun metal silver brought new a couple of years ago.

  
   So when I get that ball invite (hint hint) I am readyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

We do have some similar jewels available on Jewels and Finery. Check diamante jewellery and rhinestone jewellery collections. 

A bit of BLING vintage style

As the party season hots up. Change the look of your evening gown by adding a sparkling piece of vintage jewellery.
A bling vintage brooch pinned to the lapel side of your dress as a corsage or used as an accent on the plunge of your bust-line. Just the one brooch, necklace or bracelet will add that something special to any clothing and transform you into a glamorous individual.
 
Pin a brooch to a silver material hair band for a total unique hair accessory. Or add a twinkling brooch to a plain clutch bag. Two brooches on a pair of heels, a belt or even on the plunge at the back of a dress. Just a sprinkle of imagination can transform a sober jacket into an couture outfit suitable for a glitz Hollywood party.  

With a truly vintage piece of jewellery your look will be unique and no one else in the room will have the same copy.

Diamante is fabulous under party lights and rhinestones even better. Add bling in the form of a vintage necklace, dress clip or bracelet if brooches are not your thing.

Swag rhinestone necklace. Pre owned jewellery from recent years. Just covered in bling.

Liven up denim with this sparkling denim clip brooch. Push onto denim buttons available in several different colours and styles.

  Beautiful vintage brooch with deep sparkling rhinestones. So versatile and easy to wear.

Brooches pinned to the clothing can be found in Jewels and Finery's white vintage brooches category.   

Vintage Wedding Jewellery in clear and white

Today its is very fashionable to wear vintage jewellery on your wedding day. But this is not a new idea. Many moons ago when I married this saying was a popular tradition to follow "Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue"
So vintage wedding jewellery was an easy option to choose for the "something old".

Now days, beautiful vintage style wedding hair pieces can be created out of brooches and necklaces. This replaces the tiaras of Victorian and Edwardian times that were made to break down into smaller pieces of a brooch and a necklace - to wear after the wedding. So you no longer have to have bucket loads of money to add that something special to your wedding.

Another growing idea is to adore your wedding bouquet with brooches and other finery to make it extra special. I love this idea as you can be so creative. It can also be something for the bridesmaids to keep afterwards. Some brides often collect vintage brooches to give as wedding favors to their family and friends. Though I would not recommend buying brooches with missing rhinestones, as its not that easy to replace them. In fact it is something of an art and from memory there just isn't enough time in the day to prepare as it is.

White weddings became popular in Victorian and Edwardian times (due to Queen Victoria herself) and have remained so to today. But many other cultures use more vibrant decoration on their wedding day such as in this blog on Indian wedding jewellery wrote last year.

Not forgetting the groom:)

This is just a small sample of the vintage jewellery available on Jewels and Finery.

Hollywood jewellery - Are All signed?

Following on from my last blog about vintage jewellery. In particular Hollwood jewellery from the Bloxidge Brothers in Birmingham.
Not all of their jewellery was signed. Here is a pink rhinestone jewellery set from my own collection.

The brooch, necklace and clip on earrings are all unsigned. The box is of celluloid. Only the clip earrings and necklace fit the box - the brooch would have been brought separate.
The indents in the boxes pad are an exact fit. So believe this to be the original jewellery in this box. Something you have to look at very carefully. Its not unknown for people to re-use or change the boxes with their jewellery in and identification by this method has to be undertaken methodically.

Have a good Sunday, back soon.

Snowing in Solihull England

Well with 25 days to go until Christmas, it is still very cold and snowing in most of the UK.
After the second heavy snow fall last night. Most has now cleared but the cold weather has now turned the melting snow to ice. So take care when out.

diamante star brooch

Here are some pieces of snow inspired jewellery to reflect the weather and time of year.

Frosted Christmas brooch by Hollywood

Penguin brooch

Penguin brooch in enamel

Pale blue diamante brooch

1960s spiky space vintage clip earrings 

Green 1960s star brooch

1960svintage star brooch

1960s green diamante star brooch

Penguins, snowflakes (of all sorts from traditional white to green with a touch of aurora borealis). White jewellery and ice blue jewellery. Just a small number of brooches to wear on a warm coat...............with boots or wellies, scarf, gloves, hat and of course thermals!!

New Autumn Review of jewellery on Jewels and Finery

As the summer fades and autumn approaches, Jewels and Finery have been very busy with organizing our website for the party and Christmas season.
Having read another blog by a competitor (who also sells vintage jewellery), we are also looking back over the last year and some of the vintage jewellery trends that we have seen.



Sparkling Victorian scatter pin

Last September Jewels and Finery had been online for about 4 months. Through out last year we expanded to sell vintage buttons and craft books. Lastly earlier this year we started our line in vintage patterns.

Every month we have been delighted to say that our visitors to our site and sales have increase. Antique and vintage jewellery, beads and buttons are selling well. With a slower selling trend on vintage books and patterns as expected.
Even in the quieter recession hit months of May, June and July of this year our sales grew. This August far from being a quiet month has been brilliant and we are looking foreward to September and onwards.


Vintage jewellery trends have seen a surge in vintage brooches and clip earrings.

Especially the filigree and brightly coloured glass brooches from the twenties and thirties. Scottish themed jewellery has also seen a revival, along with mock jade or real jade jewellery from the seventies. Sparkling vintage diamante brooches, necklaces and earrings have always been a favourite; and we have now sold out of vintage St Christopher pendants, that have been popular over the spring and summer. The vintage shoe clips and new shoe clips have also been very popular. Now we have only a few Gothic shoe/boot clips left. Vintage cameo jewellery of brooches, earrings and necklaces continue to retain their popularity.

Vintage cameo choker necklace

This autumn there seems to be a trend towards vintage dress clips and scarf clips. Also multi strand and long beaded necklaces.

Making jewellery and embellishment has meant a growth in the vintage beads, charms and findings that we sell. Vintage buttons now closely follow with more people turning to making their own clothes or re-fashioning vintage clothes. In fact we find it difficult to keep a high stock on Jewels and Finery as many of our packs sell out very quickly.

Vintage and second hand craft books had two areas of growing interest - soft furnishings and toy making. The recession has meant more people have not moved but redecorated their homes. Choosing to make many of the soft furnishings, because with the closure of many shops and stores, it has made it difficult to find furnishings suitable. Plus it is often cheaper and certainly more rewarding to make your own.

In vintage pattern section, jumpers, skirts, jackets and cardigans in Fair isle and Shetland styles are set to be big this autumn. Australia must also be having a cold spell as we have noticed thick jumper and jacket patterns are being most requested from there.

This autumn we are excited to be mentioned in an article on upcycling vintage jewellery and beads in a bead magazine. We will be posting this on our blog when published

Also launched last month a customer loyalty discount and a two monthly prize draw. The first winner will be announced next week in this blog and we are looking foreward to announcing many more special offers.

Rare vintage brooch by Miracle - Welsh dragon

Vintage craft book - spray and stitch soft furnishings