Jade is a lovely gemstone which is not as appreciated here in the west as it is in China and other Asian countries. Jade is a very hard stone and comes in shades of green ranging from emerald green to quite a pale colour. Other colours are occasionally seen including lavender, orange, pink, black, and [...]

Crystal Jewellery, what is it? Have you every seen that a piece of vintage jewellery which  is made of crystal or set with crystal? What is this crystal and what are you buying? The term crystal can be applied to several different materials and colours; Rock Crystal Rock crystal is a natural gemstone being the [...]

Chrysoprase a lovely apple green semi precious gemstone. This gemstone is part of the Chalcedony family, a variety of Agate. The green colour in Chrysoprase comes from the nickle in the stone. Personally I find it quite difficult to tell Chrysoprase from some other similar gemstones - Aventurine, New Zealand Green-stone and when chrysoprase has faded [...]

Agate is a colourful form of Quartz gemstone which can be cut and polished into Cabochons or panels and set into jewellery. There are lots of different decorative agates which have been used for hundreds of years but became particularly popular in the Victorian era as part of the Scottish trend. Many of these agates [...]

Marcasite Jewellery  has been popular since the ancient Greeks who used Iron Sulphide crystal in its white form to add sparkle and shine.  The Georgians set the black form of Marcasite into silver jewels.  More recently, from the Victorian era onwards,  Pyrite or Fools Gold is used as this mineral is hardier than true marcasites. The marcasites normally have a [...]

Is your vintage jewellery set with a purple or violet gemstone? If so there is a good chance that that stone is amethyst. The amethyst is a popular gemstone which varies from a light violet to a deep Royal Purple in colour . The amethyst is a purple form of quartz. The amethyst in history [...]

Art Deco Earrings Colour Change Sapphires I’ve spent a lot of time investigating these art deco vintage earrings today, they are so beautiful and rare I though I would show them to you. At first glance , I though I had a nice but unremarkable pair of art deco amethyst set earrings. Then when I put [...]

Taking a look at the Gemstones we find in Antique and Vintage Jewellery. Gemstones have always been popular in jewellery, the ancients collected and wore them – there is evidence of gemstone mining since the stone age.  I’m going to take a look at the gemstones we find in today’s antique and vintage jewellery that [...]

Emeralds are one of the loveliest gemstones, their green colour is reminiscent of spring and gardens. The emerald is a rare and valuable form of the Beryl family. They come in a range of shades of green from pale to dark velvet green with the darkest green being the most valuable. Used in jewellery since [...]

Strangely there is only one entry for AntiquesAvenue A-Z of  Vintage and Antique Jewellery materials. It seems that D has been reserved for possible the most sought after material of all Diamonds. Being one of the most popular and expensive gemstones you can read all about diamonds all over the Internet but most  are promoting large [...]

Carnelian and Cornelian are the same name for a red variety of  Chalcedony which is one of the varieties of Quartz hard stones. This stone is sometimes found in antique jewellery and vintage jewellery Cornelian is probably the name most used these days. The red is a translucent colour and it can vary from yellowish [...]

Rounding off  Antique jewellery and Vintage jewellery materials beginning with the letter B. As we all know vintage jewellery can be made of so many more materials than the precious metals and gemstones.  Today as part of my A-z of vintage jewellery materials I am rounding off the letter B with Berly, Bone, Bronze and [...]

Diamonds are cherished not only because of their beauty but also for their long lasting durable qualities. They are used in Jewellery such as engagement rings as they do not wear away and will last a life time.  Unfortunately these sparkling beauties are expensive and so other clear diamond like materials have been developed to [...]

I’ve been looking at a lovely piece of vintage jewellery today made of French Jet. Did you know that French Jet is not actually real Jet at all but an imitation made of black glass? There are lots of similar gemstone terms that have the name of the gemstone with an additional name alongside. This [...]

Have you ever seen old jewellery set with a dark green stone with red flecks in it? This is known as bloodstone or sometimes as heliotrope.  This is a hardstone which was popular during the Victorian era for setting into fobs and seals however it can also be carved as a cameo or used in [...]

Born in July? Thyen you have the Ruby as your months birthstone. The Ruby is also the stone for both the 40th and 50th anniversaries ant the birthstone for Capricorn. Rubies are a very hard red gemstone , along with sapphires they are second only to diamonds in hardness and durability and so are very [...]

The Emerald –  Birthstone for May.  Every month has its own special gemstone and it is popular to give jewellery with the correct gemstone in it appropriate to the month the recipient was born.  May has the beautiful green Emerald for its Birthstone. Back in the Victorian Era the famous Jewellery Tiffany published a poem [...]

Aprils Birthstone – The Diamond Lucky, Lucky, Lucky April = they have the diamond as their birthstone, that is clear white diamonds, brilliant and sparkling. The diamond itself  very hard in fact the hardest mineral on earth and does not wear out easily hence the diamond is  also the symbol of ever lasting love ( [...]

This blog entry was inspired by the wonderful pink sapphire set into this white gold and diamond ring – mainly because I dont often see real gemstones with such a vivid pink colour. Pink sapphires are the same gemstone class as both blue sapphires and Rubies, collectively known as Corundums. This gemstone family is second [...]

Lucky people  born in March have the beautiful aquamarine for their birthstone. This gem varies in colour from pale sky blue to a blue / green sea colour. Aquamarines are also the birthstone associated with the Zodiac sign Pisces and as a 19th wedding anniversary gift. Aquamarines are associated with the sea, giving safe passage to [...]

vintage amethyst brooch February Folks are lucky having the beautiful amethyst for their birthstone – not only is it a very lovely colour it is also plentiful compared to many birthstones and so genuine antique jewellery set with amethysts can be obtained at an affordable price. This is also the stone of the astrological sign [...]

Antique dealers and auctioneers have a special ( an completely legal ) way of describing items when they are selling them  to make them appear better than they really are. I am going to use three antique brooches to help show you what I mean. This brooch below I am describing as being set with [...]

Birthstones are gemstones which are associated with the months of the year and with the signs of the Zodiac.  It is often a popular gift to give someone a piece of Jewellery set with the gemstone associated with their special time of year. Antique-Jewels Birthstone Chart Month Star Sign Gemstones Colour January Capricorn Garnet Deep [...]

Turquoise is this months Birthstone and it is also for the star sign Sagittarius. The turquoise is prized because of its lovely blue to blue-green colour which goes especially well with both silver and gold  jewellery. As the turquoise is a relatively soft gemstone and is opaque is is polished into cabochons or hand carved [...]

Amber Amber is an organic gemstone , it is made from the fossilised resin of pine trees which lived millions of years ago.  It can be carved or polished so that it has a smooth polished surface and in this form it is popular in jewellery.  Occasionally an insect, small leaves or a pine needle  can [...]

  Why are Diamonds so sought after? I think it because they are so beautiful, they sparkle wonderfully, do not wear out and being white in colour can be worn with any outfit. Also there is a mystique surrounding them and a whole raft of specialist knowledge required to tell a good diamond from a bad [...]