Do take a look, I’ve made a start on a Vintage Charms A-Z with A for Acorns and opening charms starting with A.

I’ve also being trying out Google’s new Knol system ( short for knowledge I think) and have written a five point guide on how to tell genuine vintage jewellery from modern reproductions

Anne

Silver jewellery wears well and as it ages it acquires a lovely soft patina as long as it is not over polished. Here are a few pieces of vintage silver jewellery available on antiquesavenue during March 2010.

Vintage silver Jewellery

1970s silver bracelet hallmarked 1976
A very stylish silver bracelet which is fully hallmarked and can be dated to 1976. The bracelet measures about 20 cms long and is about 14mm wide. In excellent condition this weighs about35 grams

Vintage Silver Jewellery

Vintage silver jewellery gate necklace bracelet 1960s
This vintage jewellery set consists of a matching necklace and bracelet. These are both made of fully hallmarked silver and can be dated to 1966. The bracelets with this gate effect are quite popular and it is quite rare to find a matching necklace and bracelet set. The bracelet fastens with a heart shaped padlock
Material: Silver .925 sterling ( Fully hallmarked) Size: 1 cm wide. Bracelet is 18.5 cms long. Necklace 40 cms long Age: 1966 Condition: Excellent Maker, Designer, Origin: JAM

Vintage brooch in silver

vintage brooch enamel silver orchid marcasites
What a pretty brooch dating from circa 1950s. This flower brooch is enameled and set with marcasites. This brooch is made of silver and measures about 5 cms long This vintage brooch is in excellent

Silver Charm Bracelet

Silver charm bracelet

This silver charm bracelet comes complete with sixteen charms attached. The silver charms are:
Dwarf, Shakespears head, horse drawn cart
gondola, pixie, round tower
bull fighter, stork, windmill,
cottage, harp, spinning wheel
dog, building on bridge,
stag,

The silver bracelet measures about 18.5 cms long, has an attached safety chain and fastens with a roll over catch. This silver charm bracelet measures about 53 grams

Hello, Anne here with your March Vintage Jewellery News from AntiquesAvenue.

Blog:

Just for a change lets start with this Antiques and Vintage Jewellery blog.

Information Videos: As you can see I have now added a section on the right hand side of the page where you can see all my information Videos. Hover over a picture to see what the video is about and click on it to view the vid.  I have received such good feedback ( kind people) on these that I am hoping to be able to show you more about Antiques and Vintage Jewellery in this format. Is there anything you would like me to cover next?

Vintage Jewellery A-Z: I’ve now finished with the letter A for vintage jewellery materials, A is for Agate, Amber, Amethyst and Aventurine. During March I will be blogging on Antique and Vintage Jewellery materials beginning with B: Bakelite, Basalt, Bloodstone, Bog Oak, Brass and Bronze.

Comments and Contact Anne:

Thank you for all your wonderful comments left on this blog but please be aware – I do have an anti-spam program running so please don’t waste you time leaving a long comment advertising your latest pharmaceuticals or adult products. My anti spam program will prevent this from being published. One link back to your site or blog which is Antiques or Vintage jewellery related is welcome where this adds to the article.

Thank you also for all the lovely emails I get from you on a regular basis. I will try and help if I know the answer but cannot spend hours researching your item. Nor can I do valuations . Should you wish to sell you item please contact your local auction house or try selling it on eBay. As a private individual you are very unlikely to get a better price from a dealer than you would achieve yourself by selling it on eBay.

AntiquesAvenue Vintage Jewellery Shop:

There is still time to order your Vintage Jewellery for Mothers day – please ensure that orders are with me by March 11. Easter is coming too, I will be back early next week with a selection of jewellery for Easter ( much less fattening and longer lasting than chocolate) . Think Spring flowers, chicks, bunnies, ducks, egg jewellery. Do you have any Easter theme suggestions I can add?

I have been very busy working on the Shop during February adding lots of lovely fresh stock of vintage jewellery including gold gemstone rings, Victorian silver sweetheart brooches and some nice Scandinavian silver and enamel jewelry. How about this striking brooch :

Vintage Norwegian silver enamel brooch K Rasmussen

What a colourful vintage brooch. This brooch is made of silver and enamel and was made in Norway by Karl A Rasmussen having the KAR initials and the markers mark on the reverse. I believe that this dates from circa 1950s. This brooch measures about 5 cms long .

You can now find a selection of vintage crosses in the shop and coming soon a new department for pearls including pearl necklaces and pearl earrings.  Also coming during March are more wonderful gold and silver charms and I have just receive a nice selection of vintage costume jewellery .

See you soon – Happy hunting

Anne

Aventurine is a lovely green colour, the colour of jade or emerald. This gemstone is enhanced by flecks of mica or hematite which give a the polished surface a sparkling effect known as Aventurescence.  Aventurine can also be found in other colours such as grey or red / brown.

Aventurine is found in Brazil, India and Russia amongst other countries.

So why do I call it the ” by chance ” gemstone? Aventurine comes from the Italian  “A ventura” which translates to By chance and refers to a lucky find by an Italian of a type of glass containing flecks which can be used to imitate both aventurine ( green) and gold stone ( brown with gold flecks).  This imitation is also used widely in jewellery but you should easily be able to tell the difference with a 10x lens where the glass will show the copper spangles as opposed to the more natural flecks in Aventurine.

Aventurine was popular during the art deco era as the green colour  matched the fashion of the time.

In crystal healing Aventurine is supposed to be supporting and comforting. I calms anger and aids recovery.

The vintage jewellery necklace shown here is an original piece of art deco jewellery made with Aventurine polished into small slabs. It can also be found as beads, cabochons and even carved into cameos.

Art Deco Aventurine necklace vintage jewellery

An original art deco necklace made of Aventurine (an apple green coloured natural gemstone with silver flecks inside. This necklace is on a gold thread coloured cord with gold coloured thread wrapped between each piece of aventurine. This is a wonderful piece of original vintage jewellery which measures about 45 cms long. The longest piece of aventurine is 2 cms deep.

amethyst jewellery

The amethyst in history and legend

The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that the amethyst protected from drunkenness, drinking from an amethyst bowl would keep you sober. In fact the word amethyst is derived from the ancient Greek work for intoxicated. The Legends of the Gods include variations of stories about Dionysus’s tears staining quartz purple to form amethyst.

The amethyst has been worn as a gemstone since at least Egyptian times

Is this a real amethyst or a piece of costume jewellery?

Whilst amethysts are quite abundant and not over particularly expensive as gemstones go, not every purple or violet stone you find is real. Some amethyst coloured stones are made of glass. Look deep into the amethyst with a 10 x magnifying class. Can you see round bubbles? if so it is most likely to be glass. Can you see tiger stripes? If so then your amethyst could well be real. You will need to take your gemstone to an experienced jewellery to be sure.

What makes an Amethyst valuable?

Like all gemstones the larger the better and the clearer the better. Amethysts can be quite opaque and cloudy and such stones are often turned into beads.

Care of Amethyst jewellery.

The amethyst is quite a tough material measuring 7 on Mohs scale . This means that any jewellery set with amethysts will be quite durable and it is suitable for wearing in rings. As with all jewellery you need to take a look at what the stone is set into before you decide how to clean it. If the amethyst is set into silver or jewellery and with no other stones present you may clean it in an ultrasonic cleaner without any real harm.  Alternatively a quick dip in liquid jewellery cleaner should be OK ( not silver dip) . Rinse well and pat dry.

Vintage Jewellery set with Amethysts

Here are a few examples of vintage jewellery set with amethysts available from antiquesavenue:

vintage amethyst jewellery

vintage pendant pearl amethyst silver baroque
What an amazing vintage pendant and is in the antique baroque style although it actually dates from the early 1900s. This pendant is made of silver and set with a central real amethyst and baroque and round pearls (I am presuming the round pearls are cultured although I cannot test these without damaging them). The smaller “amethysts” are coloured glass. I have added a newer silver chain so that this pendant is ready to wear.
Material:Silver, amethyst and costume jewellery Size: Pendant is 4 cms long and 3.6 cms wide. The silver chain is 60 cms long-Age:Early 1900s Condition: Excellent

Antique lavalier 9 carat gold amethyst 

gold ring diamond and amethysts

About Amber

Amber is the fossilized resin of pine trees, in the main it has been under the sea for 60 million years. Amber is found in a range of colours, normally we see it in honey shades but it can vary from a pale whitish or lemon colour through to almost black. Cherry red amber is very sought after and a natural amber in shades of blue is most rare.  Natural amber is cut, carved and polished into the required shapes. As it is very soft for a gemstone is is possible to carve it quite intricately or alternatively it can be faceted. Most often we see amber polished smooth.

Antique Amber pendant

Care of Amber Jewellery

As Amber is quite soft it needs to be handled with some care, store it separately or protected from other pieces of jewellery so that it does not scratch. Also avoid leaving it in direct sunlight for a long time.  Solvents in perfume and hairspray can damage your amber, the best thing to do is to use these first and put your amber jewellery on after. Perhaps clean it as soon as practicable after wearing.

 When cleaning your amber jewellery please do not use an ultra sonic cleaner or harsh chemicals and do not use a jewellery dip. A soft cloth and a very tiny drop of pure olive oil are often recommended. If the jewellery is set into gold or silver you could try and clean the metal without toughing the amber.

How to tell Amber from Faux Amber

As Amber is so popular these days the price is rising and so fake or faux amber jewellery is being produced. How can you tell a real piece of amber from a piece of plastic or resin jewellery? The traditional method was to make a saturated salt solution, amber will float in this where as glass or plastic would sink. This method does not work on pieces of amber which are set into metal as they would sink with the weight of the metal.  I have heard that if you stick a hot needle into amber that it smells of pine trees. I am not going to try this on a piece of amber jewellery as it would be damaged.

Here are two tests that you can try on your jewellery. Rub it against a piece of wool, its electrostatic properties produce static electricity which will attract dust. Secondly amber can glow a greenish yellow under an ultraviolet lamp

Amber Jewellery

Value of Amber Jewellery

Amber Jewellery can be purchased fro about £20 upwards depending on the age, setting, size of the piece and craftsmanship. Very occasionally a piece of amber is found with an insect trapped into it and such pieces if genuine would fetch a few hundred pounds or more. Beware of fakes if the amber is set with an insect  though and only buy from a very trusted source. Please pop over to my vintage jewellery shop at www.antiquesavenue.co.uk where I like to have one or two pieces of amber in stock.

Value of Agate Jewellery

Agate is not a particularly expensive stone as it is quite common. The more decorative and colourful the piece the more value it has. The value in a piece of agate set jewellery (often known as pebble jewellery) can be in the setting . A silver or gold piece of jewellery set with agate is going to be more valuable than agate set into costume jewellery.  The shape of the piece of jewellery is also important as is the size. A Victorian pebble brooch can cost as little as £30 rising in cost with desirability to about £150. I would not expect to see one at a much higher price than this unless it was by a famous maker, set into a heavy gold frame or had some other factor to boost the price.

Care of Agate Jewellery

Agate is quite a hard stone and so will wear well in jewellery and which is why we see so many antique pieces still in good condition. Take care not to drop the piece as I do see agates with cracks in them from time to time. Store pieces separately so that they do not rub together.

If the piece of Agate jewellery is set into gold or silver it is possible to give it a wipe with a damp cloth to clean it without any harm. Some agates have been dyed and so I would avoid cleaning chemicals if possible.

Examples of Agate Jewellery:

AntiquesAvenue.co.uk usually has a few nice agate brooches for you to choose from . Please do take a look int he Antique Brooches section.

Agate Brooch

Vintage Brooches for Mothers Day Video:

Every Mum deserves a flower brooch this Mothers Day .

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Vintage Jewellery.

Enough about the shop, what about the vintage jewellery which is what you come here for after all. A quick preview of three of my favourites:

Antique jewellery pendant lavalier on chain

 A lovely piece of antique jewellery. This lavalier type pendant is made of 9 carat gold and is set with amethysts and pearls. This pendant hangs from a decorative nine carat gold chain. Th amethyst drop at the base of this Lavaliere separately articulated. The Lavaliere measures about 3.5 cms long and it hands from a chain which measures about 44 cms long.

Antique rose gold 5 bar gate bracelet heart padlock

 A wonderful antique gold bracelet made of 9 ct gold in a warm shade of pinkish gold known as Rose gold. This bracelet fastens with a heart shaped padlock which is stamped as 9ct. There is also an attached safety chain. The bracelet is just over 18 cms long and about 1.5 cms wide. This is quite a heavy bracelet weighing 24 grams. An excellent piece of antique jewellery in lovely condition

Antique opal diamond ring 18 carat gold Edwardian

 A truly beautiful antique ring. This gold ring is made of 18 carat gold and is fully hallmarked with the hallmarks being for 1902 right at the beginning of the Edwardian era. This ring is set with three opals and two real diamonds.  The opals have red, green and blue colours and there are diamonds inset in between the opals. The head of the ring is 6 mm across and it is UK ring size L, USA size 6. It weighs a little over 3 grams

 
Vintage Jewellery coming Soon:

Look out over the next couple of weeks for some interesting antique Victorian cameo jewellery including a bracelet, some mourning cameo jewellery and some antique Wedgwood cameo brooches. Ive some mid 20th century silver and enamel pieces which will be very popular and of course vintage gold rings and some unusual brooches

Vintage Jewellery Blog

Yesterday I started my A-z of vintage jewellery materials with Abalone. This series is continuing every day or so. Next is Agate closely followed by amber, amethyst, aquamarine and aventurine. Hmmm, I think this is going to take several months to work my way to Z!

Happy collecting

Anne