Egyptian style jewellery - Continuing to collect

 Collecting vintage jewellery to new pieces 

Each year I choose a different style of costume jewellery to collect. However at the end of that year, I carry on collecting along with the new years style.

So far the collections are:

Witch jewellery/Halloween inspired

Gothic jewellery

Alien jewellery/outer space inspired

Plastic jewellery

Egyptian style jewellery

Nursing badges

Along with a lot of other themes that I can not remember at the moment. Anyhow, below is an Egyptian revival pendant necklace with good old King Tutankhamun on the pendant. A nice solid piece that was probably from the 70s. 

The majority of my collections are brought fairly cheap. It is one of my criteria. Cheap and cheerful. Either new or second hand. At some point will showcase the whole collection but they are presently packed away due to a pending house move. 

Vintage Christmas jewellery display - From past to present

Vintage Christmas jewellery displayed - With past to present pieces.

Showing the Christmas jewellery display I did for this last Christmas. It had vintage jewellery mixed with new jewellery that I had brought recently. I change the display regularly to match the seasons and just because.

With just 13 pieces of jewellery with a Christmas design on. Having lost a lot of other pieces in the fire. I will have to keep a look out this years for more. 

This is a Christmas necklace with cute retro Christmas images on either side. Made to look old but only about 5 years or so old. It is made of paper mache varnished.  

A cameo necklace with Christmas bells on in off white and red. It is just one that I made a few years ago. I haven't painted this one but may do in the future. As the colours are a bit drab and plain. 

A small Christmas tree pin. It doesn't look well made but is stamped Avon on the back. Obtained this one about 10 years ago and then it was pre-owned. 

Avon jewellery signature on the reverse of this Christmas tree pin which is in enamel and decorated with clear diamante.

A teddy bear necklace with a Santa hat on. Another Avon jewellery piece. This was identified by the box it was in. Pave crystal clear diamante with red enamel finish. Pretty Christmas necklace although too young for me to wear. Great for display though. 

This Christmas pudding brooch is unwearable because the pin clasp does not close. But suitable for display. It was in my bag of broken jewellery. So I used it for display. Looks to be a copy of an original which the Chinese jewellery manufacturers love to copy because of the marking on the back. 

Another Christmas brooch but this is a 1950s/1960s vintage wreath brooch with a working bell. The enamel on this was very worn originally. So I painted it up. It is nice and heavy well made and the bell still rings.

The next few pieces of vintage Christmas jewellery are from the late 1970s to early 1980s. I wore them at Christmas on my uniform as a nurse/midwife. It was allowed then and was something I looked foreword to doing. Alongside my hospital and registered general nursing badges. This is a bright enamelled candy cane pin.    

Another one I wore on my nursing uniform was this Father Christmas boot brooch. Again in bright enamel colours with clear diamante accents. 

Lastly this Avon vintage bell brooch. Think this was the first years vintage brooch in around 1979 that I brought new to wear on my uniform. Will have to show my nursing badges at some point that I have somewhere. Signed Avon on the reverse with silver glitter enamel and now slightly faded red enamel.                                                   

This delightful reindeer brooch I brought new about 10 years or more ago from a women's clothing shop. Bright metallic green enamel on a deer head design. Well made and one I wear often. 

This Christmas tree brooch was brought from a car boot sale. I liked the blue bead bauble design. Unsigned but has a 1980s style. 

A recent purchase from a table top sale. From the 1960s/1970s and has a lovely old fashion winter scene - snow with a horse and cart. This type of vintage brooch were made over a long period. Not only by manufacturers but the `back can be removed and you can add your own picture. The "glass" is in fact plastic with a brass frame and clasp. 

 A brand new piece of Christmas jewellery by Anne Stokes. Christmas present surprise dragon pin brooch. This large enamelled brooch has 2 pinch back pin fastenings on the back. Unsigned but came with an identification card and also a soft dragon toy in the same design. 

Still have lots of vintage to new jewellery to display and show this brand new years. So keep a look out for more blog posts. 

 Beautiful vintage jewellery - take a look!

We have added some more vintage brooches, vintage bracelets and vintage necklaces to our eBay today.

Gorgeous jewellery that has stood the test of time and worth adding to your jewellery box.

This striking green, orange and yellow rhinestone brooch on a black setting is a winner. Add to a jacket or coat to bring a stunning look to your everyday or evening wear. Signed but we are unable to identify who the manufacturers are. Striking Green Orange Rhinestone Brooch Signed Vintage Costume Jewellery | eBay. Apparently this brooch did not arrive when posted!!!

A pretty Opaline and pink brooch - vintage 1960s. The Opaline shimmers pink and reflects colour. Smaller than average but oh so pretty. Pink Opaline Rhinestone vintage Floral brooch | eBay

A Sarah Coventry vintage brooch circa 1970s. Made in the UK because it is signed GB. Large solid piece that has a striking black and silver design. Sarah Coventry GB Silver Vintage Brooch - Signed Costume Jewellery | eBay

I love Eloxal jewellery. Made in Germany in the 1960s and this vintage bracelet is large links with a design of gold and silver faux marcasite. Worth collecting Eloxal vintage bracelets and other jewellery. They are light weight and do not seem to age or tarnish. 1960s Eloxal Vintage Bracelet in Gold and Silver | eBay

A more modern diamante bracelet with tiny green stones. Probably made in the last 10 years and previously owned. A nice addition to your party wear. Pale Green Diamante Bracelet - Modern Costume Jewellery | eBay

A dainty vintage pendant and chain necklace. Real silver marcasite flower design with a white small pearl centre. Rhodium plated and made in England. Vintage Marcasite Floral Pendant and Chain Necklace English Made 1960s | eBay

These are just a few of the vintage and modern jewellery pieces we have for sale on our eBay site.

Jewels Vintage Geek back to selling

 After a lot of thought we have started to list jewellery and other items back on our business account on eBay.  

We have sold previously on our own website as "Jewels and Finery" but had problems with the website creating too many pages for the same item! Couldn't resolve it with the provider and so shut the website down and then switched to an American provider. But found that we didn't have time due to our new grandson. So have gone back to where we started on eBay and started under Jewels Vintage Geek this time.

However, our beautiful grandson started school a couple of weeks ago and suddenly I have time!! 

We have hundreds of vintage jewellery, pre owned modern and old stock pieces to sell. It had been sent to storage until we could get the time to think of what to do. Most is still in storage and will get it out gradually as time goes by.

As an avid collector, we will also add many of the other items we have collected over the years. So watch this space.

Vintage butterfly by Avon 1990s 

Friendship bracelets by AbraCARDabra - old stock

Pre-owned dragonfly brooch with a sparkling blue diamante

A 1980s vintage Ciro Pearls necklace in it's vintage box

Peach rose ring by Diva - old stock

Lastly two Edelweiss brooches circa 1950s  in plastic and bone.

More to add this week - so watch this space......

 

What does the terms vintage and antique mean in referring to jewellery?

What does the terms vintage, antique, kitsch, retro and second hand mean in referring to jewellery?

The terms meaning with reference to jewellery explained in this blog?

What does the terms or words vintage or antique actually mean when referring to jewellery? - A definition guide explained. The difference between vintage, antique or contemporary or second hand jewellery and what do we mean by retro and kitsch when referring to all sorts of jewellery both fine and costume?

Specifically in using the terms above as I date many of the jewellery items. The guide below gives the age range on when each term can be correctly use and the meaning if applicable.

Vintage jewellery

This term applies to anything that was manufactured between antique and pre owned/second hand. So that's usually over 25 years old and up to about 100 years of age.

In 2021 this is now the years including Art Deco and retro from about the 1920s to around 1996. Now it is very difficult to date many pieces of jewellery to exactly these years - so its easy to say from the 1920s up to the end of the 1990s class as being true vintage and original. 

Above a 1970s green bead collar necklace made in Hong Kong and signed. Can be worn facing the front or back showing the ornate clasp.

Antique jewellery

This term applies to pre Victorian and items that are over 100 years of age. Anything prior to 1921 can be classed as antique. It will include the periods Georgian, Victorian, Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau and Edwardian up to about 1921 (Art Deco period).

Second Hand, Pre Owned, Pre loved or Contemporary jewellery

This terms I tend use for any piece of jewellery that is up to 25 years old. Exact would be 1996 onwards - but its is very difficult to be that precise - so I have used the age span from the 2000s to yesterday. This means that items are modern, pre owned or pre loved and so not new.
 
Second hand is called contemporary in the USA. A different meaning to that which the UK uses. Contemporary jewellery in the UK is usually high class handmade jewellery that is new. 

Be also aware that the term second hand is also widely used for any item that has been previously owned, what ever it's age, by many others outside of this website blog.

Modern-Vintage or Vintage-Modern jewellery

Another way of saying pre owned/second hand jewellery that is not quite of real vintage age. But estimated to have been made in the last 20 years. 

Vintage Inspired, Vintage Style or Antique style jewellery

In the style of vintage, antique or retro style - you may have seen these terms used. The jewellery is usually brand new but will have some aspect that looks as though it has a designed of many years ago. It has been inspired in the style of a certain defined period. Be aware that many companies that use the term vintage only - actually mean new and in the style of - even though it may be nothing like vintage. They are just jumping on the vintage bandwagon!

Retro jewellery

The term retro means "old fashioned" or associated with the past/revived from the past. Technically it should be applied to jewellery from the 1940s and 1950s that has a distinct old fashion - quaint look. But nowadays retro can be a term referred to something that has a "days gone by look" especially if it is from the 50s and 60s.

Kitsch jewellery

This applies to something that looks fun and quirky and that was once popular and has a sentimental appeal. Now the term refers to items with mass appeal that have become highly collectible. Its can be a stroll down memory lane and can include - kitsch pop it bead necklaces, love beads, macramé and dried flowers embedded in resin (to name just a few items classed as kitsch).

Kawaii Jewellery

This term is applied to jewellery that is cute and pretty. Very girly often in pretty pastel colours and a novelty to wear. Can be made from plastic, enamel, clay or wood. Designs often include cupcakes, stars, food, flowers, cats, birds, other animals and dolls to name just a few. Kawaii jewellery can be handmade and quite original. Fun to collect and also to wear.

Junk jewellery.

This is now used in reference to broken jewellery that is ideal to upcycle. It is also a term used by some to refer to costume jewellery. 

Updated July 2021 Copyright. 

Charming charms just added to Jewels and Finery

We have just started to sell more charming charms on Jewels and Finery. This piece of vintage jewellery is fun to add to charm bracelets and collect. They can also be attached to necklaces and key rings or chains.
Here are just a few that we have at present.

A silver sea horse vintage charm. This little sea creature is very detailed.

St Christopher vintage charm or pendant. We have a few styles available. In small charms and larger that could also be used as a pendant. St Christopher was the allocated saint of travel. Wearing a St Christopher is said to give protection on the road traveling. These religious vintage charms have several different messages on the back.

   
A little good luck vintage charm. Ideal to give as a present, especially for a wedding. Or can wear yourself for a job interview or for extra good luck.

Just 3 vintage charms shown today but many more to add over the next few weeks.

Changes To Jewels and Finery's Jewellery Categories

For the whole of May we have been busy changing around the categories for our vintage jewellery. This is so we can double the number of items available.

 Black, brown and amber vintage necklaces

This necklace will be added shortly.

So far vintage brooches are arranged by colour. The following brooch is under the white, cream and clear vintage brooches and pins.

 Rhinestone pearl ribbon vintage bridal brooch

Vintage necklaces are now arranged by length and then colour. Short (16 inch and under) and long (over 17 inches)

 Blue vintage pop it necklace

 Iona marble silver vintage brooch

Well all the Bank holidays are over for a while. Summer is here at last - so enjoy the sunshine and top up your vitamin D levels.