Books, Books, Jewelry, Reviews

Building a Library of Jewelry Books: Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, and Jugendstil

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art nouveauThe turn of the 20th century saw an explosion of new design movements throughout the world.  These movements go by different names in different countries:  Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, Jugendstil, Secessionist, Wiener Werkstatte, Sconvirke.  These movements also coincide with, or overlap, the Edwardian era which is named for the reign of King Edward VII in England (1901-1910).

art nouveau
Skonvirk Brooch

With the exception of Edwardian jewelry with its delicate tracery of diamonds and platinum, the other design movements are often characterized by the minimal use of precious materials; the emphasis instead is on flowing lines (sometimes contrasted with hard-edged geometry), color, and symbolism.  There are several excellent books on jewelry of this era: read more

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Antique Shows and Flea Markets, Events, Florida, Travel, US

Antiquing in Florida: Mount Dora

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Three times a year Mount Dora, Florida becomes a major destination for antique-lovers.  This is when Renninger’s, the famed Pennsylvania antique show promoter, hold their Extravaganzas.

Renninger’s Extravaganza

Taking place in November, January, and February, Renninger’s Mount Dora Extravaganzas live up to their name with about 800 dealers from all over the country selling vintage and antique wares.  The Extravaganzas go on rain or shine; while not as pleasant in the rain, many of the dealers are set up in indoor spaces and covered sheds making it possible to get some serious antiquing done even when it’s raining (and being Florida, the rain usually passes quickly).  It’s also fairly spread out with some booths climbing a gentle hill, so be prepared for a lot of walking. read more

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Books, Books, History, Jewelry, Reviews

Building a Library of Jewelry Books: Victorian

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Victorian
Victorian Pearl Pendant

During the Victorian era (1837-1901) a series of major inventions, discoveries, and movements influenced the design of jewelry.  The industrial revolution allowed jewelry to be manufactured at lower cost and in greater quantities than ever before, and thus become available to a wider segment of the population.  In the mid-19th century, after 200 years of isolation, foreign merchant ships began to visit Japan and Japanese design had a major impact on jewelry and the decorative arts in the latter half of the 19th century.  In the 1870’s diamonds were discovered in South Africa and this, combined with the invention of a torch hot enough to work platinum, greatly affected the look of jewelry for the next several decades.  On the other hand, the Arts and Crafts movement arose as a reaction to the industrial revolution, and looked back toward a romanticized view of the middle ages (this will be the subject of its own blog post). read more

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Art, Art and Design, Contemporary, Jewelry, Studio

Notes from around the Web: Artist Hubert Duprat

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Duprat “Sculpture”

Straddling the line between conceptual art, sculpture, natural science, and jewelry the end result of Hubert Duprat’s work with insects are objects of great beauty.

Leonardo, an online magazine, has an article about the artist Duprat that begins:

“Since the early 1980s, artist Hubert Duprat has been utilizing insects to construct some of his “sculptures.” By removing caddis fly larvae from their natural habitat and providing them with precious materials, he prompts them to manufacture cases that resemble jewelers’ creations… This article is based on a conversation between the artist and art critic Christian Besson.”
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Books, Books, History, Jewelry, Reviews, Studio

Building a Library of Jewelry Books: Modernist Jewelry

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Modernist jewelry“Modernist Jewelry” refers to jewelry produced by studio jewelers of the mid-20th century who were influenced by modern art movements; these jewelers were consciously breaking away from prevailing notions of “fine” and “costume” jewelry, intent on creating pieces that were miniature works of art.   The books below focus  mostly, but not exclusively, on work produced by studio jewelers in the United States.  However, it is important to remember that modernist jewelry was also produced in Scandinavia, Mexico, and other parts of the world and that manufacturers of both costume and fine jewelry were influenced by the studio jewelry movement and created pieces in the modernist style. read more

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Antique Shows and Flea Markets, Architecture and Interior Design, Art and Design, Events, Southern California, Travel, US

Modernism Week in Palm Springs

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Modernism Week in Palm Springs is a celebration of mid-century architecture and design and features the Palm Springs Modernism Show and Sale, house tours, films, lectures, social events, and fund raising events that support state and local preservation organizations.   I’ll be selling at the Palm Springs Modernism Show and Sale in February 2015 for the first time and, to prepare, I decided to attend the inaugural “Fall Edition” in October 2014 to scope it out.  Taking place as part of the “Fall Season Kick-off”, this weekend was a mini-Modernism Week and gave me the opportunity to attend tours and other events that I won’t be able to attend in February when I’m working. read more

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Books, Books, History, Jewelry, Reviews

Building a Library of Jewelry Books: Hallmarks and Maker’s Marks

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One of the biggest challenges in identifying a piece of jewelry is deciphering the marks that you find on the back.  You’d think that a mark would, literally, spell out what you have but many marks are symbols, initials, pictures, and sometimes fakes.  There is no single book that will identify hallmarks and maker’s marks throughout the world in a comprehensive way but, depending on your needs, there are several excellent books each with its own area of specialization.  If you are looking for books that provide some information about marks, but not the level of detail addressed below, see my post on Building a Library of Jewelry Books:  the Basics. read more

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Exhibits, History, Jewelry, New York, Reviews, Travel, US

Jewelry Exhibits: the Newark Museum and “Gilded New York” at the Museum of the City of New York

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Jewelry exhibits
Newark Museum Jewelry Gallery

One of only four museums in the United States with a gallery space dedicated to its permanent jewelry collections, the Newark Museum is a little-known gem that deserves better recognition by jewelry lovers.  To people unfamiliar with jewelry history the crime-plagued city of Newark may seem like an odd place for a museum committed to the display of jewelry, however from about 1850-1950 Newark was the fine jewelry manufacturing capital of the United States.  According to Ulysses Grant Dietz, curator of decorative arts at the Newark Museum and author of “The Glitter and the Gold, Fashioning  America’s Jewelry”, it is estimated that in 1929 approximately ninety percent of solid-gold jewelry made in the U.S. came from Newark factories. read more

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Books, Books, History, Jewelry, Reviews

Building a Library of Jewelry Books: the Basics

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I have an extensive collection of jewelry books and over the years I’ve developed favorites that I turn to again-and-again when I’m researching a piece of jewelry.  For someone who is starting out collecting or selling vintage and antique jewelry there are several books that are indespensible.  I wouldn’t necessarily describe these books as “beginner” books; each is very serious in its coverage of its subject, but they cover a broad range of periods and styles.

While these books contain information about prices, I don’t recommend using them as price guides because most were written several years ago.  In fact, I don’t think books are a particularly good source of pricing these days; much better information can be found by doing research on the internet.  The best way to research prices is by using these books to help you figure out what you have acquired.  Then you can search for pricing of comparable items on sites like Ruby Lane, Etsy, and 1st Dibs; through a general Google search; and from auction sales results. read more

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History, Jewelry

Victorian, Edwardian, and Art Deco Paste Jewelry

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I love fine paste jewelry from all eras and in my Ruby Lane shop I have pieces dating from the Georgian era through the mid-20th century.  Paste is glass that is meant to look like gemstones and when I refer to “paste”, as opposed to rhinestone, jewelry I distinguish it by the quality of its construction:  paste jewelry is constructed just like fine jewelry using glass stones instead of gemstones in settings of gold or silver.  However, not everyone uses the term in this manner; some people throw around the terms “paste” and “rhinestone” interchangeably. read more

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For Lovers of Antique Jewelry and Traveling the World to Find It