Archive for November, 2009
November Birthstone Jewellery, Yellow Topaz or Citrine
Posted by: | CommentsGiving gifts of Jewellery which is associated with a persons Birthday or star sign is a lovely way of showing you care enough to seek out a piece which is special for the lucky receiver. If someone has a Birthday in November they have a choice of birthstones Citrines or Yellow Topaz . Both have a bright sunshine colour. The Topaz is also linked to the star sign of Scorpio ( November 22 to December 21).
In Myth and Ledgend the topaz has been associated with strength, rejuvination and happiness also loyalty and friendship. Citrines are about joy and friendship as well.
Here are a few pieces of Jewellery which would be wonderful gifts for someone born under Scorpio or in November:
I am mentioning this piece first as it is quite unusual to be able to find a piece of genuine antique or vintage Jewellery which is birthstone set and also suitable as a gift for a gent.A lovely simple old Georgian gold fob set with a real citrine which is quite large measuring 3/4 x 1/2 inch. This fob will date from the early 1800s
Approx Size: a little over 0.75 inch long
Approx Weight: 4.3 grams
citrine jewellery
Vintage 1960s daisy flower citrine pendant 9 carat gold
fashionsboho todays. This is made of fully hallmarked 9 carat gold . This stylish piece of vintage jewellery would really suit a retro outfit or CitrinesWonderful for someone who loves fashionable things: A special daisy pendant dating from the 1960s and made of gold set with
wide at the basecms long including bail, 2.3 cms4.3
Vintage brooch silver citrine
- huge. This brooch is in excellent conditioncms measuring about 1.5 x 1 citrine long with the cms Gemstone in a pale lemon colour. This is typical of the arts and crafts bar brooches popular in the early 1900s. The brooch measures about 6 Citrine is huge. This vintage brooch is made of silver and set with a lovely real citrineFor Mum, Aunty or Grandma – this
Vintage gold brooches, a good investment?
Posted by: | CommentsHave you seen the price of gold recently? It seems to be going up every day. You will be amazed at what a vintage gold brooch you purchased a few years ago is worth today. The average price increase for gold over the last five years has been well over 15%. This is particularly favourable to the prices of houses, stocks and shares or the interest you can make on your money in the bank. Now I dont know if this increase will continue or not and I am certainly not qualified to give investment advice. I am just looking at what has happened in the past and posing the question: Are vintage gold brooches a good investment?
We do not buy vintage gold brooches purely as an investment of course, most of the joy of owning vintage jewellery has to do with the craftsmanship, the design and the pure joy of wearing a piece of style or history.
But what, just if, this lovely old brooch you are admiring was to go up in value too? Wouldnt that be wonderful.
So what factors should we look for in a vintage gold brooch?
As with all vintage jewellery these are important ( in no particular order):
1. Condition
2. Style
3. Maker / designer
4. Age
5. Size/ weight
6. Materials
7. Price
I will look at each of these over the next week or so and examine what makes a vintage brooch desirable. For now lets look at a couple of vintage gold brooches which might just be an excellent investment as they are hallmarked gold:
vintage brooch black Opal oval gold 1980s
There is a super oval black opal set into this 9 carat gold brooch. The hallmarks date it to the 1980s. The opal is a doublet. A very collectable piece of vintage jewellery
Approx Size: 2.2 cms long ( conversion note: 1 inch = 2.54 cms)
Approx Weight: 3.2 grams
Country of origin: England
Vintage brooch gold pearl garnet leaf spray
A vintage brooch made of fully hallmarked nine carat gold in the shape of a spray of fern leaves ties up with a bow. This vintage brooch is a lovely piece of jewellery being set with three garnets and three pearls. This brooch measures about 4.2 cms long
Vintage gold brooches, a good investment?
Posted by: | CommentsHave you seen the price of gold recently? It seems to be going up every day. You will be amazed at what a vintage gold brooch you purchased a few years ago is worth today. The average price increase for gold over the last five years has been well over 15%. This is particularly favourable to the prices of houses, stocks and shares or the interest you can make on your money in the bank. Now I dont know if this increase will continue or not and I am certainly not qualified to give investment advice. I am just looking at what has happened in the past and posing the question: Are vintage gold brooches a good investment?
We do not buy vintage gold brooches purely as an investment of course, most of the joy of owning vintage jewellery has to do with the craftsmanship, the design and the pure joy of wearing a piece of style or history.
But what, just if, this lovely old brooch you are admiring was to go up in value too? Wouldnt that be wonderful.
So what factors should we look for in a vintage gold brooch?
As with all vintage jewellery these are important ( in no particular order):
1. Condition
2. Style
3. Maker / designer
4. Age
5. Size/ weight
6. Materials
7. Price
I will look at each of these over the next week or so and examine what makes a vintage brooch desirable. For now lets look at a couple of vintage gold brooches which might just be an excellent investment as they are hallmarked gold:
vintage brooch black Opal oval gold 1980s
There is a super oval black opal set into this 9 carat gold brooch. The hallmarks date it to the 1980s. The opal is a doublet. A very collectable piece of vintage jewellery
Approx Size: 2.2 cms long ( conversion note: 1 inch = 2.54 cms)
Approx Weight: 3.2 grams
Country of origin: England
Vintage brooch gold pearl garnet leaf spray
A vintage brooch made of fully hallmarked nine carat gold in the shape of a spray of fern leaves ties up with a bow. This vintage brooch is a lovely piece of jewellery being set with three garnets and three pearls. This brooch measures about 4.2 cms long
Selling your gold Jewellery
Posted by: | CommentsWant to sell you old gold Jewellery?
Have you been tempted by one of the many adverts offering to buy your gold jewellery? These companies are all over the place: on TV, in your local shopping center, advertising in magazine and through websites on the internet. They will buy your old gold jewellery for cash, it does not matter what condition the jewellery is in or how old . So you gather up all your old broken gold chains, the rings that have worn thin or the brooch that has gone out of fashion and approach one of these companies. You are astounded at how much money you are offered and accept readily and are quite pleased with the deal.
There is a problem with all this however, these companies are not quite as generous as they initially seem. Do you know how much money they should have offered you and if you really got a good price? Here is how they value your gold and a quick guide to working out how much they should have offered you. All your jewellery is valued as scrap even though much of it can be sold as antique or vintage jewellery at a higher price.
vintage gold jewellery
How scrap gold jewellery is valued:
These gold buying companies weigh you gold and offer you a price per gram depending on what carat purity your gold is. Gold has gone up in price so much recently that we are all surprised at what they offer us. Gold price varies from day to day, its a bit like the stock market going up and down all the time but whilst stocks have fallen recently gold prices have rocketed.
Looking around the websites of the companies buying gold today I see some are offering to buy nine carat gold for about £7.65 per gram and eighteen carat for twice that price. At least these companies are honest and telling you up front what they will pay. Many more of these websites will not give you a figure up front. You just send them the gold and wait and see how much turns up. Hmmm- not enough I suspect.
A little experiment
I tried a little experiament and approached one of the companies sitting in a shopping center waiting to buy gold. What would they offer me for my broken gold chain? I was astounded at how little they were paying – about £5 a gram for hallmarked nine carat – I should think not!
Getting a fair price
We all appreciate that the gold buying companies are entitled to a fair profit – they do provide a way for folks with a small amount of gold to turn it into cash and therefore should not be paying the full scrap gold price . Now you know how scrap gold is priced you can shop around and make sure that you get a fair price for your old gold jewellery.
A word of caution
Gold prices are changing regularly. Please do not rely on any values quoted in this article for the actual value of gold today – you will need to research that close to the time you wish to sell your jewellery. And no I do not buy scrap jewellery so please dont offer it to me.
Vintage Silver brooches
Posted by: | CommentsAntiquesAvenue.co.uk is featuring Vintage Silver Jewellery at the moment and so I thought I would show you some of the Vintage silver brooches available.
silver turquoise bird and flower brooch
A very pretty piece of antique jewellery. This brooch is made of silver ( stamped 900) and set with tiny turquoise cabachons . There is a seed pearl at the center of each floewr and the bird has tiny red glass eyes. What a wonderful vintage brooch to wear or to collect.
This measures about 4.5 cms long and fastens with a simple C catch. It dates from the Edwardian era and is a very exceptional piece of vitnage jewellery
Castlecliff – huge 1940s cocktail era flower brooch silver
A stunning Castlecliff brooch dating from I believe the 1940s. This is made of silver ( sterling is impressed on the reverse). It is huge measuring about 9.5 cms long and 5.5 cms wide. This is in excellent wearable condition.
Castlecliff were an American Jewellery company. Here is what I have been able to find out about them:
Founded By Clifford Furst And Joseph Bobley In New York City, Castlecliff Was A Highly Respected Name In The Jewelry Industry, And Its Beauty Was Just As Highly Prized By Women Then As It Is By Those Lucky Enough To Find A Piece Now.
Sold In Only The Finest Departments Stores, Castlecliff Was Impeccably Produced In Bold Yet Startlingly Intricate Designs
vintage brooch silver enamel rose
This Vintage brooch is really wonderful. The leaves, stem and buds are made of silver enameled and with inset marcasites. The rose flower is actually made of a hand carved early plastic. The silver is fully hallmarked and can be dated to 1963. There are a few minor signs of age to this brooch but still a very attractive piece of vintage jewellery.
This lovely piece of vintage jewellery measures about 8 cms long.
Vintage Silver brooches
Posted by: | CommentsAntiquesAvenue.co.uk is featuring Vintage Silver Jewellery at the moment and so I thought I would show you some of the Vintage silver brooches available.
silver turquoise bird and flower brooch
A very pretty piece of antique jewellery. This brooch is made of silver ( stamped 900) and set with tiny turquoise cabachons . There is a seed pearl at the center of each floewr and the bird has tiny red glass eyes. What a wonderful vintage brooch to wear or to collect.
This measures about 4.5 cms long and fastens with a simple C catch. It dates from the Edwardian era and is a very exceptional piece of vitnage jewellery
Castlecliff – huge 1940s cocktail era flower brooch silver
A stunning Castlecliff brooch dating from I believe the 1940s. This is made of silver ( sterling is impressed on the reverse). It is huge measuring about 9.5 cms long and 5.5 cms wide. This is in excellent wearable condition.
Castlecliff were an American Jewellery company. Here is what I have been able to find out about them:
Founded By Clifford Furst And Joseph Bobley In New York City, Castlecliff Was A Highly Respected Name In The Jewelry Industry, And Its Beauty Was Just As Highly Prized By Women Then As It Is By Those Lucky Enough To Find A Piece Now.
Sold In Only The Finest Departments Stores, Castlecliff Was Impeccably Produced In Bold Yet Startlingly Intricate Designs
vintage brooch silver enamel rose
This Vintage brooch is really wonderful. The leaves, stem and buds are made of silver enameled and with inset marcasites. The rose flower is actually made of a hand carved early plastic. The silver is fully hallmarked and can be dated to 1963. There are a few minor signs of age to this brooch but still a very attractive piece of vintage jewellery.
This lovely piece of vintage jewellery measures about 8 cms long.
Vintage Jewellery News
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s the Vintage Jewellery news from AntiquesAvenue for the 1st week in November.
I’ve been featuring Vintage Silver Jewellery on AntiquesAvenue for the last couple of weeks, please do take a look before its all change again. Especially there are some lovely antique Silver fobs and Silver albert watch chains for the gents and some nice Scandinavian silver jewellery for the ladies.
Most of the fresh stock added last week is in the charms section especially vintage gold charms – here are a couple of unusual ones;
Are these for the special criminal or Law enforcement officer in your life? This gold charm is and original vintage gold charm is fully hallmarked as nine carat gold and dates from circa 1960s / 1970s. This gold charm is suitable for any vintage gold charm bracelet or for hanging on a fine chain as a pendant This vintage gold charm is in the shape of a pair of handcuffs. This charm measures about 2.1 cms long including the fixed bail. You will find that this charm is more substantial than many of the modern ones being sold new today.
This gold charm is and original vintage gold charm from circa 1960s / 1970s . This gold charm is suitable for any vintage gold charm bracelet or for hanging on a fine chain as a pendant This vintage gold charm is in the shape of a pair of a vintage tractor both sets of wheels move. This charm measures about 1.6 cms long You will find that this charm is more substantial than many of the modern ones being sold new today.
New Shop Design
Have you seen the new shop design? AntiquesAvenue vintage jewellery shop has had a makeover – and there is a makeover coming soon to this blog. Just a little more work to do before it is all revealed.
Live Chat
Have you tried the live chat button on the shop yet? Just a click when it reads ” on -line” and you can ask any questions about my jewels or services through the keyboard – this is free of charge.
Coming Soon:
Hat pins, I have managed to acquire quite a collection of genuine Victorian and Edwardian hatpins which will be added to the shop by Mid November so do keep checking back . Also coming in the next couple of weeks are an excellent selection of vintage necklaces which will make excellent gifts this coming Christmas. Glass necklaces, silver necklaces and some nice pearl necklaces too.
More website changes:
As my range of vintage jewellery and dress accessories changes I am developing the shop too. Are you shopping from outside of the UK? you can select to see prices and pay in US dollars or Euros by clicking on your flag on each items page. During November I am hoping to add an optional Customer account facility so that you do not need to enter all your details every time you shop.
Shop Securely:
Mastercard Secure and Verified by Visa: there are two new logos beneath the credit card logos. These are for the new verified services provided by MasterCard and Visa to provide you with extra confidence that when you are shopping on AntiquesAvenue your credit card details are safe.
Look out for vintage bracelet week next and I’ll keep you updated here when I have more vintage jewellery news from AntiquesAvenue.co.uk