Books, Books, History, Jewelry, Reviews

Georgian Paste Jewelry

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I love fine paste jewelry from all eras but Georgian paste is the finest ever produced.

Paste is glass that is meant to look like gemstones and in my Ruby Lane shop I have pieces dating from the Georgian era through the mid-20th century.  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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Conferences, Events, History, Jewelry

Report from Jewelry Camp

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Last week I attended “Jewelry Camp” – the nickname for the annual Antique Jewelry and Art Conference – for the first time.  Held from July 30-August 1st, Jewelry Camp began with tours of the Macklowe Gallery and Van Cleef and Arpels in New York City and continued in Westchester, about an hour north of the City, with two days of seminars on a variety of topics about antique jewelry.

I was lucky enough to attend the optional tour of the Macklowe Gallery where Ben Macklowe showed us around his gallery.  The Macklowe Gallery specializes in decorative arts of the Art Nouveau period and, among their riches, they have the largest collection of Tiffany light fixtures for sale in the world.  But our focus was on the jewelry, and Ben let us choose pieces and examine them while he answered our questions about the pieces.  Among my favorites were a large Marcus and Company boulder opal brooch/pendant and an Art Nouveau horn necklace. read more

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Art and Design, History, Jewelry

Vintage and Antiques 101 – Definitions

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The terms “Vintage”, “Antique”, and “Estate” are frequently used describe second-hand merchandise. These terms are often used incorrectly, or with intent to deceive. Here are the definitions of these terms and a few caveats:

Antiques – Antiques are items that are 100 years old, and older. This definition is accepted in the trade, but also has important legal and financial implications.

In the United States (and some other countries) no import duty is paid on antiques so you can save a lot of money if you know that your purchases are antique. This applies to items acquired on a buying trip, vacation, or online purchase so get a receipt from the seller stating that it’s an antique or, if you buy an antique online from a foreign seller, make sure they describe it as an antique on the customs form. More information can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 19 Part 10, Section 10.53. read more

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Art and Design, History, Jewelry, Vintage Fashion and Accessories

Repairs Made Easy: Conversions of Screw-back Vintage Earrings to Posts

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Those of us who love vintage earrings are often frustrated to find that a newly-acquired pair is unbearably uncomfortable because of its screw-back or clip-back fitting.   If this were an occasional issue it wouldn’t be a big deal; however for the first three-quarters of the 20th century pierced earrings were out of fashion in many parts of the world.  For me, this time period encompasses many of my favorite styles of earrings:  long, elegant Art Deco earrings; Mexican silver hoops and enameled earrings; sculptural Modernist earrings; and dangling 60’s mod earrings.  While a jeweler can convert almost any pair of earrings to pierced, the cost runs at least $20-50 and sometimes higher.  While this is worth doing on some earrings, it can get prohibitively expensive. read more

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