New Arrivals For October

I can't believe its already October, time moves so fast. As usual we have  has seen some unique new arrivals to the shop. So I'll take this opportunity to highlight some of our new favorites.  Its all about necklaces right now, here are some of our new faves.

This lovely stainless steel, modernist style , large carnelian gemstone set pendant dates from approx the 1970's .

The raw and simplistic nature of the 60' s - 70's modernist style resonates so well with minimalist and feng shui ideals.










Remember the 80's I know when I type this not many people will. Sob, for my showing my own age. But remember early Madonna ( the singer ) and her pearls.  Yes this long faux glass pearl necklace, totally rocks the 80's style. Its formed from pearlised creamy tone glass beads, rather than plastic ones and is long so can be twisted up or knotted. It so 80's.

Quality Creamy faux pearl long length necklace, totally 80's, hand knotted between each faux pearl.








Jewellery manufactured by Hollywood can be a bit hit and miss, their earlier pieces are fantastic and adorable and very collectable, but in later years they did skimp on a few pieces with thought and care when it came to manufacture.  Luckily this necklace is not one of those examples.

This is one of their stunning pieces, a pendant set with an art glass/ faux agate stone to its center, bordered by faux moonstones that have an opal sparkle, with a naturalistic Celtic inspired border.  It is just simply lovely.







As usual these are just a few of our pieces added please check out more of our necklaces by following the link.

Who We Sell To: Questions And Answers.

Who do we sell to? 

This is a valid question:
Who do we actually sell to?
Well its an open shop we sell to everyone, that is the simple answer.
If your interested in vintage, dressing up for a themed night, vintage cos player, love vintage or really unique pieces of jewellery, we hope to be here for you.
Yes we have antique items, we have vintage designer items as well as  general vintage costume jewellery, as well as unusual striking modern items that catch our eye.

Where Do We Sell.

We sell world wide, in fact I'm not sure there is a country we have not sold to.

Have we sold any items that have been featured anywhere:  Well,  yes, as well as selling to the general public we sell to many UK theater companies, UK and worldwide movie production companies, designer fashion shoots etc.

We have recently sold items that have appeared on several Netflix series's as well as some UK produced TV shows and should appear on some films ' Exciting '. !!!

Customer Service 

This is really important to us, we are a dedicated but small business, and we do have to sleep at some point. Although we answer all emails , within 24 hours. Sometimes we are super busy.

Valuations Online Or Over The Phone.

No, this is not possible over the phone or even through email, even with photos or you telling me every aspect of a piece.  Why because I cant tell if something is set with precious stones, for example diamonds. There is no human being alive, who can tell genuinely, whether  a piece is genuine diamond set from a photo, as well as other precious gemstones.
If you live in Birmingham and wish for the best valuation for a vintage piece,  I would recommend visiting the jewellery quarter.

New For September

As with all months, September has seen some unique new arrivals to the shop. So I'll take this opportunity to highlight some of our new favorites.  Its all about bracelets right now, here are some of our new faves.

 This lovely clear rhinestone set double row empire bangle dates from the 1950's.  These bracelets where fantastic in the day as they offered a stretch to fit all size by a hinged mechanical movement, rather than elastic or cord. So they stand the tests of time very well.  This one is signed Empire Made, and dates from the 50's.




Lets move on from the 50's to the swinging 60's.

This stunning balloon link bracelet dates from the 1960's - 70's,  Though its more likely 70's rather than 60's.
Why is it called  balloon link bracelet?  The panels of the bracelet are designed like open work paper lanterns/hot air balloons.  It really is a stunning piece and has to be one of our current shop favorites.






Are personal favorites a bad thing? I don't care I love this one.

Yes sometimes my bias will shine through, I totally adore this bangle, its two tone lucite with a faux wood effect.  It's so 1960's - 70's, if I had to sum up that period with one piece of jewellery, this would be it.







Well these are just a few of the new pieces added to the shop please click the link to check out more of our current bracelets and bangles

Taking Care Of Vintage Costume Jewllery: Stage 1: Maintenance

Taking Care Of Vintage Costume Jewellery.  
Stage 1 Maintenance.

1. Don't sleep in it, take it off before you go to bed.
There are many reasons for this, obviously a very delicate piece could just be destroyed  by the every day tossing and turning of sleep.

2, Don't shower or bathe in it, take it off before hand. Hot water will slowly erode any glue settings, rhinestones will be lost.

3, Never ever do hot tubs with jewellery on, this shouldn't even be for vintage jewellery, it should be a warning sign for ANY jewellery, the chemicals in hot tubs affect all stones, ( I cant' even, there's chlorine and bromine usually added to the general maintenance disinfect as well as many others) even precious ones if you love pearls, don't even think about it.  Pearls are really badly affected by hot tubs, keep in mind pearl jewellery is mainly hand strung the older pieces on natural fibers, you are slowly bleaching both the pearls and material used to string them.  They just cant stand up to it.

4. Perfume. Put it on before jewellery and give it time to settle, or just don't wear it in places where you are wearing jewellery.  Perfume natural or not is still just a series of scented chemicals you are applying. Spraying over vintage jewellery will leave a coating, some of the chemicals may interact with and damage your pieces.

4. If its a valued piece family piece, keep it that way, store it carefully, don't mix it up with other jewellery. And Keep any family history alive, by any letters, mentions in letters, of the pieces, photos etc. 

5, If you buy a vintage piece be aware what you have bought, a costume jewellery piece from the 1920's - 90's  will still decay quickly if you don't love and look after it.

6. Verdigris, the dreaded green sign of decay to costume jewellery.  If you notice this on a piece, separate it from the other pieces. Clean it thoroughly, if you catch it early you may be able to save the piece, but still keep it separated from other jewellery.  Think of it like a virus it can be passed on by touch, but between jewellery.


Hope these tips help, we''ll add some more practical maintenance advice soon as this list was mainly a ' Do Not Do section '

Whats the difference, between antique and Vintage? What actually is vintage.

In terms of jewellery and many other items, what is the actual difference between antique and vintage and not vintage?



Vintage:
In terms of jewellery, clothes, toys, household and pretty much all goods its commonly accepted that after 20 years of age an item becomes vintage , hence 80's and some early 90's  items are now considered vintage as are 30's 40's, 50's and 60's items. ( Wine and spirits are a whole different cup of tea when describing vintage ).

This lovely blue enamel flower bracelet is vintage, likely 1960's - 70's.  Formed in a floral design its a truly statement piece for its time. You can view more of our Vintage bracelets by clicking the link. Visit Bracelets









Antique
This is a industry standard, widely accepted term, for an item and that is 100 years plus, not just jewellery, toys, household items everything, if its 100 years plus its considered an antique.

If somethings 100+ years its an antique.

This brooch lovely Scottish brooch is an antique, it's formed from early electroplating of silver onto a base metal. You can check out more of our brooches antique and vintage Brooches by clicking the link.View the brooches










Vintage Style:
Does not mean its vintage, it is a term often used for items designed that show a nod to the past in their style and design. If unsure just ask the seller.

These stunning earrings by the designer Monet aren't quite vintage though they are made in a vintage style.
You can see more of our truly vintage and vintage style style items by clicking the link View Earrings







So if somethings an 80's thingy yes its vintage,  as is a 30's thingy, both are vintage.  If its from Ebay, or any similar site saying its vintage and they have 20 -30 of this item item in stock then its doubtful its vintage it more than probably a modern item made in a vintage style. ( Though it could be a dead stock item, that another discussion for another day )!!!
Don't be afraid of asking the seller if you are unsure!
But also have realistic expectations if you are buying an item sold as vintage item, don't think its an antique 100+ years, it shouldn't be, it has been described to you as vintage.

So in basic and the most important terms,  a truly vintage item is 20+ years up to 99 in age. 
An Antique is 100+ Years Or Older.

New Arrivals For August.

Sorry for so long delay between posts, we have just been super busy . As with all months, July had seen some awesome and unique new arrivals to the shop. ( I'm aware it August but these darlings hit in late July ) So I'll take this opportunity to highlight some of our new favorites.  Its all about earrings right now, here are some of our new faves.

These huge Swarovski clip on earrings are a true statement piece, they are clip on so can be worn by anyone.  The large deep purple amethyst crystal is truly stunning




Just because I love the over top decadence of Indian wedding,  Bollywood style pieces , I couldn't help but add these beauties.  Large, oversize they are just amazing.

Set with rhinestones, and blue beads, these large earrings are truly a statement item of jewellery.
Be brave to wear them, they are BIG.






We all love the art deco style, but during this period stunning naturalistic pieces were still being designed. These earrings sum up that style, probably produced from Europe rather than the UK.

Vintage Earrings

 These lovely screw back earrings are formed from pale aqua glass rhinestones and brass filigree, dating from the 1930's - 40's.
They are really unusual and add a certain ' Je ne sais quoi ' to any ensemble.

New Arrivals For June:

Sorry for so long delay between posts, we have just been super busy . As with all months, June has seen some unique new arrivals to the shop. So I'll take this opportunity to highlight some of our new favorites.  Its all about earrings right now, here are some of our new faves.

Unicorns, Pegasuses and horses are still so very much in and these whimsical clip on earrings from the late 40s - 50's tick all the cutesy boxes.

These lovely whimsical horse clip on earrings are from the late 1940's - 50's.
They are truly little cuties, clip on earrings so can be worn by anyone.







Sometimes everyone just loves showing off and  these lovely and very stylish drop tassel drop earrings by Swarovski tick all those boxes, dating from the late 70's - 80's, a lot of jewellery is sold as by Swarovski which only contains their crystals, Swarovski manufactured jewellery is extremely well made and is a designer brand well worth collecting.

These earrings have the swan stamp to the back dating them to before 1987.  As well as stunning emerald cut blue crystals, they have the so in vogue at the moment tassel drops.












These abstractly designed earrings by Trifari, make me think of discovered shells at with the children at the sea side and beach holidays in general.

Formed from polished and textured gold tone metal, they are stamped with the crown symbol and Trifari to the backs and make a statement without being too overpowering.

These were just a few of the earrings that have been recently added to the shop, please feel free to stop by and have a browse through some of the other designs available in our vintage earrings selection.

New Arrivals For February.

As with all months, February has seen some unique new arrivals to the shop. So I'll take this opportunity to highlight some of our new favorites. 

This lovely bracelet is fashioned from a chunky textured gold tone curb chain and is set with a charm of two lovers meeting on a bench, with a red rhinestone heart next to them. The charm is removable. Its such a lovely love and friendship themed bracelet, it really puts me in the mood for Valentines day.





Enamel and especially cloisonne enamel jewellery are some of my favourite pieces of jewellery, the art of cloisonne enameling dates back well over a thousand years so how could I not mention these.

Formed from cloisonne enamel, these vibrant daisy flower and bamboo earrings really are just stunning. Dating from the 1950's, with a screw back closure,  they can be worn by anyone.






Again biased, but I love frogs and these designer earrings by Mimi Di N tick every box for me.

I say biased they are actually an amazing pair of earrings by this collectable designer. Stunning attention to detail and just super cute at the same time.  Mimi Di N pieces or ( Princess Mimi Di Niscemi ) are super collectable, gracing the covers of vogue and Harpers magazines in the 60's and 70's.








These were just a small section of our new arrivals, be sure to check out our website for vintage earrings, vintage brooches and vintage bracelets.