Archive for July, 2010
Wedgwood Jasper Cameo Compacts
Posted by: | CommentsVintage Compacts are very collectable with some costing several hundred pounds. One type of Vintage Compact which is highly sought after is those set with Wedgwood Jasper Cameo plaques.
Today I came across a particularly rare Wedgwood Jasper Cameo Compact which would be great for any compact collection or to accompany a collection of Cameo Jewellery. This compact was made by both Stratton and Wedgwood and features Paul Revere’s Ride. It is also nice to be able to put a name to the scene on a Wedgwood Jasper plaque.
Wedgwood Compact
According to the accompanying leaflet:
“Paul Revere and William Dawes, trusted couriers of the Patriots, rode on horseback from Charlestown, outside of Boston, into Lexington warning the countryside that the British were coming, under the direction of General Thomas Gage.
Revere and Dawes, with Dr Samyel Prescott, who joined them to help spread the tidings, went to Concord. They were intercepted by mounted British officers, but Prescott was able to make his way into Concord with the alarming news. Revere, who became an American folk hero, was captured but later released.”
Paul Revere's Ride
Have you a Wedgwood Jasper piece ( compact or otherwise) accompanied by Wedgwood’s description of the scene? If so it would be great to hear about it.
Britannia Silver
Posted by: | CommentsI came across a very unusual piece of 1970s jewellery today, it is special because it is made of Britannia Silver. Britannia silver is something not common these days as it is only used for the best pieces of Jewellery.
Britannia Silver Ingot
Britannia Silver was first used in England during the 1690s for coins and became a legal standard for Jewellery silver in the 172os. This special silver is marked with the Britannia symbol of a Lady seated on her throne. Britannia Silver is 95.84 % pure silver which is higher than the commonly seen Sterling Silver which is 92.5% pure.
I wanted to show you this Britannia Silver Ingot Pendant as it has very large hallmarks making it possible for me to photograph the Britannia symbol large enough for you to see it clearly. The gold colour is simply due to a gold plating rather than the main metal content of this piece of vintage jewellery. These vintage pendants are relatively common made from sterling silver.
Britannia Hallmark
There is only one other legal grade of silver currently in the UK which is 80% pure or 800 grade silver. Something to be aware of when looking at metals, do not confuse Britannia Silver with Britannia Metal. Britannia metal is a term you will regularly see on tea services ( teapots, coffee pots, milk jugs and sugar bowls) dating from circa 1920s to 1940s. Britannia Metal looks like pewter but has less lead content and no silver content at all.
Keep a look out for the Britannia Hallmark, I see very little Britannia Vintage silver jewellery and if you do manage to find any it should be quite high quality.
Garnet Jewellery
Posted by: | CommentsThe Garnet was once a very popular gemstone with the deep ref variety being one of the main gemstones used during the Victorian era. Its blood red colour could be worn when a lady was first coming out of a period of deep mourning when black only was worn. The Victorians were not the first people to wear Garnets, it is believes that the Egyptians has Garnet beads.
Garnet Ring
Whilst we normally think of the Garnet as being red, the term actually refers to a whole family of Gemstones which vary in color from Black, through green, purple, yellow, orange to differing shades of red.
The Garnet is the birthstone for January and has also been used to signify Friendship improving personal relationships when worn.
Due to the popularity of the Garnet during the Victorian era imitation Garnets were introduced and many pieces of antique jewellery which appear to be set with red Garnets are actually set with red glass or other man made stones. You will need to take care when buying antique garnet jewellery that you know if you are buying real garnet gemstones or costume jewellery. Ask the Jewellery you are buying from, the can either test the stones for you. A clue for you, are the stones set into real gold? if so they may well be real. Stones set in base metal are more likely to be costume jewellery.
Garnet Earrings
Care of Garnet Jewellery
Garnets are quite resilient and can be cleaned in an ultrasonic machine or in a gentle liquid jewellery cleaner . A word of caution you will need to ensure which other materials the garnets are set with. If its gold then go ahead and clean you garnet jewellery as mentioned here. If other materials are used then you will need to ensure that your cleaning technique is appropriate to those materials too.
Vintage Glass Jewellery
Posted by: | CommentsGlass is one of my favourite materials for vintage costume jewellery, it has a huge variety of shape and colour. Glass jewellery can be moulded, or hand made. Glass can be made into beads, moulded as a cameo or faceted as a gemstone. I have seen glass jewellery of every type: brooches, necklaces, charms, earrings, bracelets and for gents set into cuff links and stick pins.
Glass jewellery is quite durable as long as it is not dropped or knocked onto a hard surface. This durability is one of the great appeals of antique and vintage glass jewellery as , unlike some other vintage costume jewellery materials, its colour does not fade and it does not tarnish naturally. You can also clean glass jewellery so that it is like new depending upon the other materials used in the piece ( see further down this article).
Types of glass in Jewellery
During the Georgiana and Victorian era there was a type of glass known as Paste which was used instead of real gemstones. Paste jewellery can be clear or coloured and is normally set with a closed back which has foil behind the glass to make it sparkle. Paste is often used in brooches and earrings.
By the 1920s paste was largely replaced by Diamante which are a faceted glass ( moulded or polished) which have a foiled back and are often set with a more open back. Many diamante ( known as Rhinestones in the USA) come from Austria and they have a high lead content in the glass which adds to the sparkle.
Glass beads can be moulded or hand made . To my mind the very best glass beads come from Murano in Italy. Look for wedding cake beads. These special beads have been hand made and have lamp work decoration which looks like icing hence the name “wedding cake ” beads. Many murano beads are set with a metabolic foil and the come in a huge variety of colour.
Vintage glass necklaces
What an amazing range of vintage glass necklaces there is available today. You can find glass necklaces from the Victorian era in the form of French Jet or a sparkling black glass. There was a huge popularity for glass necklaces during the 1920s and 1930s and so there is a great selection available today. With many of these they have been re-strung and so as wearable today as they were 90 years ago.
From the 1950s we find what are now called prom necklaces which are made from diamante set into silver tone metal. These prom necklaces are ideal for a sparkling occasion today , they made great party or wedding jewellery . I believe that these prom necklaces are a real bargain at the moment, with prices from about £20 they could well be a great investment for the future.
Diamante brooch
Value of Antique and Vintage glass jewellery
You can buy a nice piece of vintage glass jewellery in good condition from about £20 upwards. At the other end of the cost scale, Rennie Lalique made some wonderful pieces of glass jewellery in the art nouveau era and a piece of this jewellery could set you back Thousands of pounds. In fact even a new piece of lalique glass and silver Jewellery can cost upwards of a Thousand pounds.
For most vintage glass jewellery you are looking between £20 and about £150 depending upon the style, condition, detail and maker if known.
Care of Vintage Glass Jewellery
When looking after vintage glass jewellery one of the main things is to look at the other materials the piece is made of. The glass its self can usually be washed but you would never put closed back paste or diamante jewellery into water. Also check the finish applied to the glass, a pearl finish can flake easily so you shouldn’t get it wet Glass set into costume jewellery metals should also not be immersed in water.
If you cant wash your glass jewellery how can you clean it? I recommend a soft tooth brush dipped into a clear liquid jewellery cleaner. Remove most of the liquid from the brush by dabbing it with a cloth. Then care full clean the jewllery with the brush. You can then dip the brush into clean water, dry the brush again and clean over your jewellery to remove any trace of the jewellery cleaner. Give your jewellery a gentle rub with a soft cloth ( take care with prong set diamante) . Leave your jewellery in a warm room for a few hours to ensure that all moisture is removed.
As with all jewellery pieces should not be thrown into a jewellery box but stored carefully with space between one piece and the next. you can wrap pieces individually in acid free tissue paper.
Glass Earrings
Where to buy Vintage Glass Jewellery
There is always an excellent selection of glass jewllery over at antiquesavenue.co.uk with a special section devoted to glass necklaces. Also take a look at the costume jewellery brooches and wedding jewellery where most of the pieces are made of glass.
Learning about Antique Style
Posted by: | CommentsWhen looking at antique jewellery and vintage jewellery one of the things which help me to date a piece and place it in its original time frame is its style. This is a technique which helps with most other vintage and antique items as well. Before specialising in Jewellery I spent many years as antique dealer handling ceramics and glass from the last 200 years and the style of these antiques was just as important as it is with Jewellery. Learning to identify different styles is one of the key skills for any antique or vintage dealer or collector.
There are several ways you can learn about style, I spent many years doing courses about antiques and Jewellery, reading books and talking to antiques dealers. One great way to learn about style is to visit a real life auction house when there are having a catalogued sale devoted to one particular style. For example Art Deco and Art Nouveau are styles that often have specialist sales.
Victorian Style
Which styles to learn
For anyone buying antique and vintage today there are several key styles which are essential to know and to learn how to differentiate the original from modern copies. There are several more styles, I would suggest you start with these:
Georgian,Victorian, Victorian Aesthetic, Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Art Deco 1950s, 1960s and 1970s
What do you need to know about style?
When it first became popular and when it had revivals
The colours and materials and manufacturing techniques used
The main influences
The important designers and artists
Art Nouveau
Some good books on Style
This list of books are one on my bookshelf which I have found useful:
The elements of Design Ed: N. Riley Pub: Mitchell Beazley
Arts & Crafts Style Ed: I. Anscombe Pub: Phaidon
A century of Design Ed: P Sparke Pub: Mitchell Beazley
The new Look Design in th Fifties L Jackson Pub Thames and Hudson
The Look of the century M. Tamblin Pub: Dorling Kindersley
Some of these may be out of print but I am sure you are resourceful enough to track down a copy on the Internet
A note of caution
When dating an antique style is not everything it is just one of several factors which help us. Once a style has first flourished it can be copied for many years later. There will be differences between the original style and the copies and copies do not have the same desirability as originals.
1950s style
Dog Charms
Posted by: | CommentsDog jewellery of all kinds is popular. You can find dogs as brooches, pendants and earrings. Today I am looking as Dogs as Charms.
Vintage charms shaped as dogs can be found from the Victorian era right through to today. Look hard enough and you will find dog charms made of silver, gold glass, plastic and base metals. You can find comic dog charms and also realistic dog charms made in the shape of specific breeds.
Here is just a selection of genuine vintage dog charms I have found:
Pluto Charm
A cute articulated vintage silver charm . Here is Pluto who’s head and tail move separately from body and legs. This vintage charm dates from circa 1960s or 1970s and it measures about 17 mm long and is suitable for hanging from your silver charm bracelet
Dog chasing cat up lamp charm
Here is a cute charm. A dog has chased a cat up a street lamp. The lamp is set with a pink crystals and there is the Nuvo makers mark on the base . This charm measures about 3 cms high and dates from circa 1970s.
Selection of Dog Charms:
Spaniel Charm
Poodle Charm
Glass dog charm
Antique and Vintage Rings from AntiquesAvenue
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve spent today adding more lovely antique and vintage rings to www.antiquesavenue.co.uk and changing the site around a little to make them more easy to find. Antique Rings and Vintage Rings are now both under Rings so you can find them all together.
Here are some of the special vintage cocktail rings I’ve added today all made of yellow gold and set with real gemstones. Each of these will make a real splash of colour on your hand.
Peridot and Topaz Ring
Peridot Topaz Cocktail Ring
Here’s a lovely cocktail ring. This is made of fully hallmarked 9 carat gold and is set with a large blue topaz and two peridots. All three stones are oblong cut and have faceted sides. The head of the ring measures up to 1 cm wide and 1.5 cm long.
Tripple Amethyst Ring
Triple Amethyst Cocktail Ring
There are three large amethyst gemstones set into this beautiful ring. The ring is made of yellow gold which has full 9 carat hallmarks. The head of the ring is quite chunky measuring about 2.3 cms long and up to 1.1 cms wide.
Amethyst Ring
Vintage Amethyst Ring
This vintage ring is set with a lovely amethyst gemstone in a deep purple colour. There is a rope twist border round the edge of the ring. the rings is made of 9 carat yellow gold which is fully hallmarked. The head of this vintage ring measures about 1.2 cms long . This ring is UK size N.5, USA size 7