Archive for Events
Vintage Wedding Jewellery
Posted by: | CommentsAntiquesAvenue has a department devoted to Vintage Wedding Jewellery and each time a piece goes off to its new home I think how lovely that the Bride has chosen a genuine piece of Vintage Jewellery to wear on her special day. A piece of vintage wedding jewellery can look better than new, be more individual and cost less than new. Better than all of these is that the piece of Vintage Wedding Jewellery can help fulfill both the old and blue parts of the custom for wearing ” Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a silver sixpence in her shoe”.
These items in the poem are meant to all bring good luck to the bride who wears them and this custom probably started back in the Victorian Era
Something Old
Wedding Earrings
Technically most antique or vintage jewellery could fulfill the “Something Old” part of this good luck custom, most brides would prefer something a little bright, white, pretty or sparkling such as pearls, diamante. How about a nice necklace or pair of earrings set with diamante and pearls. This pair of earrings is chandelier type and are very large and glamorous. The “Something Old” is meant to symbolise the past and perhaps a link to the brides family. A piece of Vintage Wedding Jewellery from mum or Grannies Jewelry box would be especially suitable .
Of course not all brides want sparkling white and girly for their wedding day. Some would prefer a Gothic look and so a piece of genuine Victorian Antique Jewellery would be best for ” Something Old”. For a smart wedding where the bride is not wearing the traditional white wedding dress the Bride could still wear something old , a lovely enamel brooch to match the colours of her outfit perhaps.
Vintage wedding Jewellery is not just for the Bride, There are some wonderful pieces available for bridesmaids and the Brides Mother too.
Something Blue“Something Blue”? Why not another colour? I used to think that the colour had been made up to suit the poem however digging in to the history blue does have associations with weddings. The Romans wore blue at their weddings to symbolise Love and Fidelity and it has also been thought to keep bad spirits away. There is a wide range of different blue colours available in Jewellery from pale baby blue ( Glass Jewellery?), sky blue aquamarines too a deep almost black blue found in some Australian Sapphires.
Another idea is to have the something “Old and blue” in your engagement ring and so you will always be wearing your lucky wedding day charms.
Vintage Ring
Wedding Necklace
Antiques Master, your chance to be on TV
Posted by: | CommentsI see the BBC are making yet another antiques quiz / games show. Antiques Master will be on BBC 2 and is currently looking for competitors with a good knowledge of antiques. The following two quotes are from the Antiques Mastger website
Are you an amateur antiques aficionado with the knowledge and know-how to win the title of Antiques Master 2010?
Antiques Master is a brand new prime time quiz show and we’re looking for passionate, knowledgeable amateur antiques experts.
You’ll be battling it out over a series of challenges and questions to prove that you have the all-round knowledge to become Antiques Master 2010.
All amateur antiques enthusiasts are invited to apply.
Antiques hunters, collectors, society members, etc – all are welcome as long as you don’t earn your living in the antiques business.
To apply
Age limit: Applicants must be 18 years of age and over.
You must not work in a professional capacity within the antiques trade
BBC2 has secured comedian and actress Sandi Toksvig to front a primetime series touted as MasterChef for antique lovers.
Antiques Master will see heirloom lovers from around the country compete in a string of challenges designed to test their knowledge of different collections, periods and the value of antiques.
The 12 x 30-minute series will be produced by BBC’s in-house team at Manchester and is expected to debut in a weekday slot over the summer
The programme is the latest
antiques show being trialled by BBC2, including the primetime Cracking Antiques from Silver River and new daytime series Antiques Road Trip and Restoration Roadshow..
The Antiques Master website is at http://www.antiquesmaster.co.uk/
I’m barred from applying as I work in the antiques trade but I am interested if any of you decide to give it a go and test out your skills. Please do get in touch if you apply and let me know how you get on and I will publish your experiences here.
A to Z Vintage Jewellery, Anniversaries
Posted by: | CommentsGive vintage jewellery A to Z, Anniversaries and Aunts
The first part of my A to Z guide of occasions, reasons and people to give vintage jewellery for. A = Anniversaries and Jewellery for Aunts
Anniversaries:
Vintage Jewellery and Antique Jewellery for Anniversaries. Traditionally Jewellery has been given at wedding anniversaries but is equally suitable for other special anniversaries too.
vintage Jewellery
For wedding anniversaries the following pieces are traditional:
1st Anniversary is Paper – plain gold jewellery. A ring or a lovely brooch
2nd Anniversary is Cotton – Garnet set jewellery – a nice pendant or a pair of cufflinks for your man?
3rd Anniversary is Leather – Pearls are the traditional gift – Earrings or necklace or tie pin for men
4th Anniversary is Linen – Blue Topaz Jewellery -A lovely range of blue shades available
5th Anniversary is Wood – Sparkling Sapphires are given
6th Anniversary is Iron – Amethysts – choose a lovely deep purple one
7th Anniversary is Wool – Onyx – A Victorian Scottish Celtic brooch or dirk set with hard stone
8th Anniversary is Bronze – Tourmaline – Wonderful colours available
9th Anniversary is Copper – Lapis-Lazuli – the traditional art deco jewellery stone
10thAnniversary is Tin – Your Diamond Wedding – how about a Victorian rose cut diamond for something special?
11th Anniversary is Steel – Turquoises – one of my favourites – a vintage ring or a charm is excellent
12th Anniversary is Silk -Jade – Jade bracelets were popular in the art deco era
13th Anniversary is Lace – Citrine – a bight yellow stone that looks good set in gold
14th Anniversary is Ivory – Opal – Black or white the choice is yours – try a brooch or cuff links
15th Anniversary is Crystal – Ruby – excellent stone for rings for both men and women
20th Anniversary is China -Emerald – a beautiful shade of green – how about a necklace with an Emerald pendant?
25th Anniversary is Silver – plain silver jewellery – appreciated by both men and women
30th Anniversary is Pearl – A better quality set than for the 3rd anniversary I think
35th Anniversary is Coral – Best to go Victorian here so that we are not damaging the environment
40th Anniversary is Ruby – Big and bold to celebrate 40 years I think
45th Anniversary is Sapphire – Sapphires come in white and pink and other colours if you dont fancy blue
50th Anniversary is Golden Jubilee – Gold and lots of it please
55th Anniversary is Emerald – 55 years – wow that deserves and Emerald ring
60th Anniversary is Diamond Jubilee – Lots and lots of them for 60 years
65th Anniversary is Blue Sapphire – Sapphires again!
70th Anniversary is Sapphire Jubilee – More Sapphires?
75th Anniversary is Platinum Jubilee – A bit heavy so make it a ring
80th Anniversary is Ruby Jubilee – Twice the size of the one you gave for a 40th anniversary
Vintage Jewellery for your Aunt
Aunts of all ages will appreciate a gift of vintage or antique jewellery. What sort? How about antique brooches or vintage necklaces? Heres a thought, how about choosing something in her favourite colour or from the era ( or even year) she was born in?
Auction Party – Want to be on TV?
Posted by: | CommentsITV1′s brand new antiques show, AUCTION PARTY is looking for participants with a passion for beautiful objects and an eye for turning a profit. We are offering participants the opportunity to host their very own auction, from within their own home. Furthermore, participants will be given £500 to go out and, with the help of our antiques expert, gather a collection of items to then sell at their auction. Family, friends and neighbours will be invited to view the lots for sale while sipping on champagne and nibbling on canapés. With a professional auctioneer present to help them through, the auction pieces will be displayed around the participant’s home before going under the hammer. At the end of the day, the cash is counted and (hopefully) profits are revealed!
If you are interested in taking part please do not hesitate to contact us via our phone line - 0207 157 4599 or email – auctionparty@itv.com, clearly stating your name and daytime contact number.
Auction Party
Antiques Fairs, Which are the best for buying at?
Posted by: | CommentsI spent yesterday trawling round the Antiques fair at Peterborough’s East of England showground. Getting there soon after 7.00 in the morning you would have thought that I would have come home with an absolute car load of bargains. Nope, if fact whilst the pieces I bought are all very pretty there are only five bits of vintage jewellery, no tiles, no pots, no paperweights – oh and I did get one reference book which I had wanted for a while but am way too much of a tight wad to pay the full price for.
Why was it so difficult to buy good stock? The weather was good for a fair, not to hot or cold and nice and dry. The fair appeared to be packed with stalls and the stalls packed with stock. Economics I’m afraid, either stuff was damaged, repro or it was priced way beyond what I could hope to sell at. Do these stall holders actually sell much during their three day fair? Surely they cant just be wanting to sell to the public?
As readers who know me of old know, I stood at antiques fairs for many years before moving my shop on-line and used to make a sparse profit at fairs and only then by pricing stuff way down on its so called “market value” . So I pondered as I pottered home: Which fairs are the best for buying at?
Please don’t get me wrong if you just want a day out, to look at lovely pots, glass, jewellery and all manner of wooden items with a good quantity of junk thrown in too then the Peterborough fair is a great place for you to go. But are there any fairs worth going to for buying these days? What do you recommend? With the new trio of Newark, Lincoln and Swinderby fairs coming up within the next week – are any of these worth a buying trip?
Please leave a comment and let us know.
Anne
Antiques Auctions catalogue review
Posted by: | CommentsTwo glossy auction catalogues plopped through my letter box this morning. Full colour glossy things for the sort of fine art auction I dont normally bother with ( not much chance of a real bargain here). These have been sent to me by midlands auctioneers in hopes of tempting me to their sales ( not much chance of that either ).
Why dont Gildings and Lock & England just e.mail me with a link to their on-line catalogues? I will take a look if I am interested and it will save you the cost of printing and posting and me the trouble of recycling your publicity.
Anyway, despite my concern over the environmental waste to these glossies I did take a look and found one or two pretties I would buy for myself for keeps if only funds permitted. What would I like? Well Gildings ( Market Harborough)are offering two wonderful seventeenth century carved wooden angels each about 12 inches high. The catalogue estimate (lot 268) are £100 to £150 but I think that is just to draw us in. Have you seen these beautiful ladies. OK, just for fun I may leave a bid of double their top estimate but there is no way they are going to sell at that lowly price.
Lot 72 is a Minton owl teapot dating from 1884 and glazed in a mustard yellow majolica colour, this could have a home my art pottery owl collection Estimated £200 to £300 well not this month I need to buy more stock. The Gildings auction is on September 29 only one day after my birthday so those angels may yet come home with me should my relatives be unusually generous this year.
Lock and England in leamington spa have the usual selection of brown furniture , silver tableware and miscellaneous painting. I did spot a few piece of Newlyn copper on page 42 and for Victorian dump enthusiasts a rare dump with an internal sulphide in the shape of a dog ( est £80 to £120). This aucion is on September 24th
Any one attending either of these aucitons? If so do drop in a comment and let us know how these particular items went,
Antique Tile Fair 2009 – event news
Posted by: | CommentsReminder: This years antique tiles fair will be held on Saturday September 26th. As usual it will be in St Judes Church Hall in Mapperley, Nottingham and is being organised as usual by Mr. Michael Blood.
antique tile
This is an amazing annual event with just one fair being dedicated to antique and collectable tiles being held in the whole of the UK. Profits go the the Tile and Architectural society .
You can be sure to see the best antique tiles available in todays market at this fair
The fair is being organised by Michael Blood who can be contacted on 0115 9608502
Antiques Wars? Swinderby fair to be revived by Newark owners!
Posted by: | CommentsIs there to be an antiques fair war? A clash of the two Titans of the Antiques Fair world?
The countries best fair the Newark Antiques fair has long been plagued by Aurthur Swallow fairsrunning a down market event on the nearby disused Swinderby airfield in the days running up to the Newark fair. ( This is my blog and so you do get my personal opinion of the two fairs!). Recently Arthur Swallow held their last fair on the Swinderby site and announced that they would be moving the fair to the Lincolnshire show ground site. This move was quite a bold step and may have moved the fair upmarket somewhat as the facilities on the Lincolnshire showground are much better than those on the Swinderby airfield.
Now I see ( according to the Antique Trade Gazette ) that the owners of the Newark fair are to run a fair on the Swinderby site at almost the same time as the Arthur Swallow fair on the Lincolnshire show ground.
Here is a copy of the piece
Newark owners revive Swinderby 21st August 2009 INTERNATIONAL Antiques and Collectors’ Fairs (IACF), the owners of the Newark showground fair, have announced controversial plans to revive the fair at RAF Swinderby just days after the site was vacated by Arthur Swallow Fairs in favour of the Lincoln Showground. IACF say they have an agreement with the site owners to run an antiques fair at Swinderby for at least two years without fear that the disused airfield will be redeveloped. Keith Harris and Robert Thomas, veteran exhibition organisers who acquired the Newark, Ardingly, Shepton Mallet and Detling fairs from DMG under the revived IACF brand in May, announced their plans in an email to customers on August 20. They are proposing a fair with set up on Monday, October 5 and a single buying day on Tuesday, October 6. Newark then follows on October 8-9.
For full details visit www.antiquestradegazette.com
So we have the new Swinderby fair on Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th of October. The Lincolnshire show ground fair on the 6th and Wednesday 7th with the Newark fair at on the Thursday and Friday of the same week.
That should be really interesting – dealers are most unlikely to be at both the Linconshire showground fair and the revised Swinderby fair both the cost and logistics would be quite prohibitive , choices will have to be made. Are they going to be loyal to Aurthur Swallow and take a risk at the new venue? Or will they stick to the site they know and which is miles closer to the Newark fair? You can be sure I will be asking traders and seeking their opinion and will report back next week.
Are you a stall holder at any of these fairs? Please do leave a comment with your view