Archive for Events
Red, white and blue vintage jewellery for a Royal Wedding
Posted by: | CommentsAre you going to celebrate the Royal Wedding on Friday? If so why n ot dig through your vintage jewellery and wear pieces in patriotic colours of red, white and blue. I’ve been looking through my jewels and here are a few locely pieces that would be suitable. Its probably a little too late to order these in time for the wedding but they would make a special momento of the day.
Red Jewellery
There are few red gemstones with Ruby and Garnet being the most popular. Other red gemstones are some agates ( probably a brownish red colour) , some spinels , amber and coral can be quite red too. Red crystal glass diamante and red glass beads are rare compared with other colours . The red we are looking at in the red, white and blue is a strong red such as in this necklace from the 1930s.
red glass necklace
White Jewellery
Diamonds are thought of as white but to my mind they are more clear . Pearls can be white as can shell, opals and of course milk glass.
pearl necklace
Blue Jewellery
Sapphires are the most loved blue gemstone. Many blue gemstones such as aquamarine and turquoise are too pale for the red, white and blue . Lapis Lasuli is a deep blue but I think best of all are blue glass diamante and beads such as in this lovely vintage ring
vintage ring
Anoither option is enamel jewellery which can be found in all three patriotic jewellery colours or possibly a piece of jewellery decorated as a union jack flag. Ive seen both bracelts and necklaces by Swarovski set with out flag and these pieces are made by others too.
I hope Ive inspired you to look though your jewellery box and wear your vintage red, white and blue jewellery this Friday
Vintage jewellery for the Royal Wedding
Posted by: | CommentsSomething I really wasn’t expecting, folks are getting excited about the Royal Wedding and Royal memorabilia including commemorative vintage jewellery is getting popular again. Royal memorabilia has been very out of fashion for some years now and the prices have dropped considerably unless you have a very rare piece but now the forthcoming wedding of Wills and Kate has sparked an interest amongst new collectors.
Queen Victoria Brooch
Royal memorabilia has been made to commemorate major Royal occasions since the Victorian era. Weddings, Jubilees, coronations and deaths are all celebrated. You can find all manor of commemorative objects. Ceramics including mugs, plates, vases, jugs, trinket pots, bells, cups and saucers . Pressed glass commemorative were popular in the Victorian era and you can find commemorative scarves, coins, books, enamel boxes, bottles of spirits and of course jewellery.
I have found antique and vintage jewellery which commemorates all monarchs from Queen Victoria onwards – the older pieces tend to be rarer and therefore more desirable. Now with the forthcoming Royal wedding would be a great time to start collecting these. AntiquesAvenue has a selection of Royal Commemorative vintage jewellery including pieces from the era of Queen Victoria, our current Queens coronation and an opening silver charm from the Wedding of Charles and Dianna.
Royal wedding charm
Royal Rings
And whilst we are talking Royal wedding , like many celebrities recently Kate has a vintage engagement ring which I’ve mentioned in the past . Its Diana’s ring made of a sapphire surrounded by a ring of diamonds. There is a Royal tradition that all their wedding rings are made of Welsh gold , I presume Kate is having a Welsh gold ring too – has this been confirmed yet?
Vintage jewellery for Valentines
Posted by: | CommentsAre you still looking for that perfect Valentines gift for your beloved? And do you know (or care) why we celebrate St Valentine? Heres a little look at our most romantic day of the year and a few suggestions of vintage jewellery as the perfect gift for this occasion. AntiquesAvenue is posting jewellery for Valentines day upto and including orders received by February 12 2013
Mizpah brooch
History of ”Valentines Day”
Celebrated each year on February 14th throughout the English speaking world, Valentines day is named after an early Christian martyr. It is thought that Valentine was a priest who helped Christian couples by marrying them. It was a crime at that time to help Christians and Valentine was put to death on February 14th by Claudius 11. Before he dies ( according to legend) Valentine passed a message to his jailers daughter which read ” From your Valentine”.
Another theory is that the Christian church replaced the Pagan Roman tradition of celebrating the Goddess Juno on February the 14th with a Christian festival. Whatever its history the tradition of exchanging messages between lovers on February 14th was well established in the middle ages with the fashion for “courtly love”.
It was during the 1800s that Valentines cards became commercially available, these were often very decorative with real lace attached and romantic poems inside .
There is a tradition in Wales of giving wooden Love spoons on Valentines day , these Love spoons are often carved with heart and key decoration with the meaning of “the key to my heart”. This lock and heart is mirrored on vintage charm bracelets with the heart shaped padlock having a key hole in it – if you are very lucky you can occasionally find a heart shaped charm bracelet with padlock that actually has a working key.
Flower jewellery
The fashion for giving gifts on valentines day started in the mid 1900s. These gifts included anything with hearts, cherubs and flowers. Chocolate and jewellery and of course the romantic meal out .
Valentines day gift ideas
Ive already mentioned that vintage silver charm bracelets have heart shaped padlocks. The heart theme is also found in most types of vitnage jewellery brooches, bracelts, lockets , earrings . Fancy a change from a heart? How about a cherub or angel? Silver vintage charms in the shape of Eros, A Wedgwood cameo decorated with a cherub? Flowers are also a popular theme in vintage jewellery so a floral brooch would also be appropriate.
Antiquesavenue.co.uk has an entire section called Love Jewellery which has heart and cherub jewellery. There is also a selection of gold Mizpah brooches which are given as a gift between parted lovers and a Mizpah brooch would be great for those who can actually see each other on Valentines day.
Vintage Jewellery for Autumn
Posted by: | CommentsThrough the years many pieces of jewellery have been made to match the seasons, with designs appropriate to wear with the clothing you wear at a particular time of year. You can find Christmas Jewellery in the shapes of snowmen and Christmas trees, Summer Jewellery is often made of silver and set with shells with a beach or holiday theme. Spring jewellery in the shape of flowers . Today I’m looking at vintage jewellery suitable for wearing right now – Autumn Jewellery.
Autumn Jewellery comes shaped as leaves and in golden and brown colours. It can be costume jewellery, made of real gold or silver made golden with enamel or gold gilt. Autumn Jewellery includes Jewellery for Halloween in the shapes of witches, cats, ghosts, pumpkins or apples. Firework shaped jewellery for bonfire night can be set with diamante and sparkling red and crystal clear in the shape of star bursts .
Here are some pieces of Autumn Jewellery available from AntiquesAvenue:
A sparking red leaf brooch suitable for wearing during the Autumn and great for Bonfire night:
Nine carat gold leaf earrings
Autumn Leaf Earrings
A selection of cat charms from Antiquesavenue
Halloween Jewellery Ideas
Posted by: | CommentsHave you been invited to a Halloween Party this year? If so then its a great opportunity to dig out and wear some vintage jewellery with a Halloween Theme. Last year I suggested that you could wear Victorian Mourning Jewellery which of course is appropriately black and somber and related to death. This year I am thinking more along the lines of wearing a black outfit and brightening it up with loads of costume jewellery decorated with Halloween icons.
Gold coffin charm
What are the Halloween images which can be found in jewellery? I’ve taken a look through antiquesavenue web shop and my personal archives and found these: Spiders, Ghosts, Witches, Cats, Skulls, Skeletons, Coffins, Cats, Pumpkins, Apples and Bats.
Here are a few examples which can be delivered in time for your Halloween celebration.
Spider Brooch and Spider Bracelet, Apple pendant, cat charms and an amazing skeleton in coffin charm. There is a skull silver charm and if you like last years idea of Victorian Mourning Jewellery there are some great Victorian brooches.
Skeleton in coffin charm
Vintage Jewellery V The World Cup
Posted by: | CommentsIt looks like the world will be going football mad in a few days. For a whole month the TV will be filled with football but what about all of us who find it a pointless waste of time and want to run as soon as we hear the start of the commentary? Vintage Jewellery lovers I’ve got some alternatives for you.
Now is the time to buy
As someone who has been buying Vintage and Antique items for many many years I would say that during the world cup will be a great time to buy Vintage Jewellery as I believe prices will be lower then. Prices are traditionally lower on eBay during the Summer than in the Winter for Antique and Vintage items. Add in an event like the world cup and you have a real opportunity for a bargain.
I will be looking on eBay for items ending during the England matches. Few will be buying during that time and auctions will end low. Similarly with real life auctions and antique fairs, those held on world cup days are likely to be poorly attended by buyers and it is your chance to grab the goodies.
Learn about Jewellery
Learn something new
Time on your hands whilst your friends and partners are watching TV? What a great opportunity to learn something more about your favourite area of Vintage Jewellery or other antiques.
There are some great books or research on the Internet. Personally I will use any spare time to find out more about Designer Jewellery especially the Scandinavian silver designers and their history. If you are quite new to collecting vintage jewellery then perhaps a book on gemstones or one of Millers books on Costume Jewellery .
Websites are also a source of information but they tend to be less in depth than books although much cheaper. There is loads of information here on wwe.antiquesavenue.com if you dig around and use the search box.
Prepare for the selling season
Another way I will be spending this quite time during the football ( yes I expect to have less customers too) is to prepare for the selling season ahead. Sorting and cleaning stock, photographing it and adding as much as I can to antiquesavenue.co.uk. If you are not planning on selling your jewels this year its still an great opportunity to clean your pieces and ensure that they are in good condition.
World Cup Final Discount
So I will be busy avoiding the World Cup by buying jewellery, Learning about it and preparing for the selling season . Everyone else will be having some excitement and so here’s an exciting offer from AntiquesAvenue for all of us who wont be watching the football. If England are in the world cup final I will give a discount of 20% for all orders placed during the World Cup Final Match. That’s a great offer from me as discount days are rare and normally only 10% . Spend the World Cup final with AntiquesAvenue instead. I believe it’s during a Sunday evening and so I will be here on line during that time to answer any questions and help select your discounted Vintage jewellery.
Antique Tile Fair 2010
Posted by: | CommentsGave you ever been to the Antique Tile fair held each year in Nottingham? If you are interested in Antique Tiles or Vintage Tiles then this really is a must go to event. There is only one Tile fair in the country and it is held just once a year. This years event will be held on Saturday 25th of September and is in the usual venue at St Judes Church hall in Mapperley Nottingham.
Got a load of tiles to sell? Why not take a stall? Michael Blood is the organiser and he is now accepting bookings for stall holders on 0115 9608502
Tile Fair
Vintage Jewellery and Accessories Auctions
Posted by: | CommentsI’m a great fan of auctions, not the eBay type but real life auctions and some of you may well have read the beginners guides I have written in the past. I regularly attend auctions and indeed buy most of my antique and vintage jewellery stock that way.
One of the steps I advise is to research when and where auctions are being held well in advance and to study the catalogues. Whilst doing my own research earlier today I came across this auction, I wont be attending but may well be useful .
Vintage Perfume Bottles.
I used to have a large collection of vintage perfume bottles especially the Devon Violets variety. Most of these have now gone to their new homes but if I were still collecting perfume bottles I certainly would want to be attending this perfume bottle auction in Leeds on June 12th. There are over 200 lots so there should be something for most tastes.
Vintage necklace from auction
Do you want to attend vintage and Antique jewellery Auctions too?
You can find Specialist antique Jewellery auctions, I believe Bonhams run them regularly for example. Specialist auctions tend to be pricey so I look for auctions where they have jewellery as part of the main auction. For example Bamfords in Derby always have a nice selection of vintage jewellery for you to choose from. Take a look at your local auction house, there is one in most major towns and you can normally look up the calendar of events on the Internet.
If your going to buy jewellery at auction do give yourself plenty of time in advance to view. The viewing will be crowded and unless you view well in advance you may find yourself struggling to get to see the pieces you are interested int. The auction will start more or less on time even if you have not finished looking. Take along a pen and paper and a 10 x magnifying loupe. you need to be prepared to accurately assess what you are going to buy and jot down notes on the item and how much you are prepared to pay. Don’t worry if you don’t buy anything at the first couple of jewellery auctions you attend. You will soon get the hang of it and snapping up some real bargains.
Vintage Jewellery Wholesale
I’ve been going to a few to many auctions recently and now have wholesale quantities of vintage costume jewellery available at discount prices. There is no gold at all in quantity but there may be a little silver. Mainly the wholesale quantities I have available are necklaces, faux pearls, chains and brooches. These are all vintage and will date circa 1920s through to the last 10 years. Most of it is from the 1950s through 1970s. If you are based in the UK and are interested then please do get in touch. I believe that this jewellery would be most suitable for sale at car boots , markets and antique fairs. You may wish to try a few lots on eBay as well. Most pieces should sell for £3 to £20. I also have some lots suitable for repair, restoration and craft projects. Sorry but the weight of wholesale quantities will make it too expensive to ship outside of the UK.
