Archive for S
Vintage micromosaic silver stick pin
Posted by: | CommentsHere is a superb old stick pin set with micromosaics in a floral pattern .The stick pin is made of 800 grade continental silver. The head measures about 1.4 cms long with the pin being about 6.3 cms long in total. All the tiles are in place in this piece of jewellery which dates from the early 1900s.
Micromosaic stick pin
A lovely piece of micromosaic jewellery offered by AntiquesAvenue for £65 . There is just one of these available but is part of the range of Micromosaic jewellery and stick pin range at www.antiquesavenue.co.uk
Art Nouveau lady French 18ct gold stick pin diamonds
Posted by: | CommentsA really beautiful antique art nouveau stick pin. This is made of French 18 carat gold with the Eagle head stamped onto the pin. This is the French hallmark for 18 carat. The design of this stick pin is of an art nouveau lady she has a real diamond in her hair and a necklace of three real diamonds
Art nouveau lady stick pin
There seems to be an artists signature on the lower left of the ladies head, it looks like a joined letters LR, RL or possibly a B . The head of this pin measures about 1.4 cms diameter and the stick pin is about 6.5 cms long in total . A really lovely piece of original art nouveau jewellery. Clearly there is only one if these available and it will be highly unlikely I will ever find another quite as beautiful.
Tie pins and stick pins
Posted by: | CommentsToday I’m taking a look at tie pins and stick pins. These are pins which have been used for centuries to hold neck wear in place, originally cravats but more usually to hold a tie in place. These pins can also be worn as lapel pins to create a point of interest on the clothing. Originally these pins were just worn by men but in the later Victorian time ladies began to wear them too.
tie pin collection
The stick pin has a long needle like point and a decorative finial. These finials are usually made of gold or silver but other materials are sometimes seen. There is often a very decorative shape or a sparkling stone set in the center. The pins can be in the sahpe of an animal, flowers, coins, anchors, hearts, bows, insects or any other motif. There are pins for cricket clubs, sailing clubs and those for horse shows are always popular.
Ive recently purchased quite a collection of stick pins as you can see in the pictures. I am gradually adding these to AntiquesAvenue and will show you a few special ones here today ~ watch out for the next few posts later today.
tie pins
Saphiret glass jewellery
Posted by: | CommentsSaphirets are one of the most collectable of all glass costume jewellery stones. It is thought that Saphirets were first made in Czechoslovakia in the Victorian era when real gold was added to a sapphire blue coloured glass. This mixture resulted in a stones which changes colour through a range of brownish purple blues depending on the light.
Saphiret ( sometimes misspelled as saphirite ) stones can come as smooth polished cabochons or faceted as diamante type stones. During circa 1950s similar stones were produced in Germany these are sometimes known as Sapharine . Sapharines can have a matt polished finish or be bright polished.
Saphiret pendant
Saphirets can be found in various shapes and sizes and set into most types of jewellery, they can also be moulded to have a face or man in the moon in the stone. I have seen earrings, rings, bracelets, brooches and necklaces set with Saphirets. Here is the most wonderful Saphiret necklace from the early 1900s a wonderful piece of collectable vintage jewellery.
You can search AntiquesAvenue for Saphiret jewellery to buy – please press the search button below:
Happy Hunting
Anne x
Silver gilt jewellery
Posted by: | CommentsSilver Gilt is also known as silver gild, gilded silver, gilt silver or by its French term Vermeil. What ever term it is know by the jewellery is made of silver and has a think layer of gold over it to give a gold appearance. Silver gilt has been used in jewellery since ancient times however it is less common that gold or silver vintage jewellery
There are several reasons for silver being gilded with gold in jewellery:
i) Its cheaper than carat gold. Gold is getting very expensive these days with nine carat gold fetching over £10 a gram for scrap pure gold jewellery is very expensive. Silver gilt has the appearance of real gold but much cheaper
ii) Its lighter weight than solid gold. Solid gold is heavy. If you have a large pair of earrings for example you will find silver gilt more comfortable to wear than solid gold
iii) its easier to clean than solid silver and less prone to corrosion. Silver tarnishes easily and goes dark. When it has a layer of gold over it it stays bright ans shiny longer and is easier to clean. Have you ever seen a silver salt cellar? These are normally gilded on the inside as salt eats into silver but does not affect the gold at all. We all have salt in out skin which is one of the reasons that silver jewellery does go dark easily. The gold layer does protect it.
Silver gilt bangle
How to tell if a piece of jewellery is silver gilt
Has your piece of jewellery got silver hallmarks but is gold in colour? in this case it is probably silver gilt.
Silver gilt jewellery care
Assuming the piece of jewellery is all silver gilt and there are no other materials the jewellery will stay bright and clean for quite a while. If you do think it needs a clean I would use a tiny drop of jewellery cleaner (not silver dip) but a cleaner suited to gold. Put a drop of this on a cloth and wipe the jewellery. Then get a clean damp cloth and wipe off the residue of the cleaner and dry with a dry cloth . A polish with a gold polishing cloth would do just as well.
Here’s some silver gilt hallmarks on Britannia silver
