A bit of BLING vintage style

As the party season hots up. Change the look of your evening gown by adding a sparkling piece of vintage jewellery.
A bling vintage brooch pinned to the lapel side of your dress as a corsage or used as an accent on the plunge of your bust-line. Just the one brooch, necklace or bracelet will add that something special to any clothing and transform you into a glamorous individual.
 
Pin a brooch to a silver material hair band for a total unique hair accessory. Or add a twinkling brooch to a plain clutch bag. Two brooches on a pair of heels, a belt or even on the plunge at the back of a dress. Just a sprinkle of imagination can transform a sober jacket into an couture outfit suitable for a glitz Hollywood party.  

With a truly vintage piece of jewellery your look will be unique and no one else in the room will have the same copy.

Diamante is fabulous under party lights and rhinestones even better. Add bling in the form of a vintage necklace, dress clip or bracelet if brooches are not your thing.

Swag rhinestone necklace. Pre owned jewellery from recent years. Just covered in bling.

Liven up denim with this sparkling denim clip brooch. Push onto denim buttons available in several different colours and styles.

  Beautiful vintage brooch with deep sparkling rhinestones. So versatile and easy to wear.

Brooches pinned to the clothing can be found in Jewels and Finery's white vintage brooches category.       

Zoom feature on Jewels and Finery's vintage jewellery photographs

Yesterday saw the launch of the new zoom feature on our Jewels and Finery's website. So now the vintage jewellery photographs can be seen close up and in closer detail. Taking vintage jewellery photographs is an art in itself. Best taken outside in natural light for me. I have never been a fan of the bland jewellery pictures on a white background - they seem so flat and false. But that is my opinion, not for the many jewellery website around, but then I have always looked at life very differently.. 

Particularly like the close up detail to this second hand brooch of a silver modernist design.

This vintage jewellery set of Christmas bells in our vintage Christmas jewellery category can be viewed so close the reflection of the outdoor studio can be seen.

Look at the detail with the new zoom feature on this panther vintage bracelet.

The zoom can not be seen on these blog photographs - view them on our website - vintage jewellery from Jewels and Finery.

Now have a good weekend.

Black and Gothic jewellery anyone can wear!

Wearing jewellery is a part of every days attention to detail. A simple pair of earrings or brooch can lift a plain outfit. A necklace will draw attention to the neckline and a bracelet will show off your hands.

Today, I thought I would look at the black and Gothic jewellery . Wearing black jewellery with a white outfit will just offset the look from being too pale or wedding like. The two tone colours of black and white creates the biggest visual contrast.
Wearing black Gothic clothing can look somber. But add just a hint of a sparkling rhinestone can set you apart.

Vintage earrings droppers in antique gold

Just a simple pair of earring can lift an outfit without wearing any other jewellery.

Black will go with most other colours, so is the most versatile colour accessory to choose.
The Victorians were famous for their love of Gothic jewellery. When the country went into mourning, along with Queen Victoria, on the death of her husband. Black became the fashionable colour in jewellery. Black beads of jet and glass, earrings and bracelets. All in carved black jet or faceted black glass beads.

Medieval motifs were commonly used in the nineteenth century such as snakes, crosses, unicorns, lions and flowers.

The sixties and seventies saw a rock, hippie and semi Gothic style of heavy rock music influencing dress. Bikers and rockers mixed together. Dragons, grotesque jewellery and braided bead necklaces were in fashion. What do you wear with a long flowing dress but lots of beaded jewellery.

When the eighties world were going all out for large and focal jewellery. A Gothic and rock culture flourished also. In the post punk years, the "look" changed to the black Gothic style of the late twentieth century.  Black with red creates an anarchist feel. Or jazz black up by adding a great big bold splash of red - A large red rose brooch on a black hat. Or if wearing red adding black accessories can look stylish rather than coquette. 
Jewellery creates an individual and no matter what style or era. If you feel good, comfortable and confident, then go ahead and wear it.

 

Collectible jewellery from to-days Gothic age will be the Alchemy Gothic's range and almost certainly fantasy necklaces produced by Anne Stokes. Enameled rock band merchandise and crafted Steam-punk jewellery, with its cogs, wheels and chain, recycled into works of art.Although this type of jewellery has been around since Victorian times.  

 

We have lots of different vintage jewellery that will suite everyone.

Antique and Vintage Jewellery Glossary - C

With the weather being so hot and sunny the last few days have flown by. That and setting up our second website

Today here is the third blog on the glossary. This time for the letter C

Cabochon - smooth stone not faceted, can be round, oval, square, etc

The central stone is a cabochon in this vintage brooch

Cairngorm - A brownish/yellow variety of the smoky quartz, much favored in Scottish fine and costume jewellery

Cameo - Any stone carved in relief in any material

Sphinx vintage cameo brooch

Chalcedony - A greyish blue quartz

Champleve - Enamel work on a metal piece, where an engraving tool has been used to engrave cuts/spaces that allow the enamel paste to lie.

Chateline - A brooch or clasp from which hangs short chains that have keys, scissors, watch, trinkets, another brooch

Chaton - The central ornament of a ring

Chrysoprase - Light green quartz, often used in the vintage seventies costume jewellery instead of jade

Faux jade ring with chrysoprase

Cinnabar - very soft and poisonous mercury sulphide with a rich red colour

Citrine - Quartz, combines the bright clarity of quartz with the warm tones of sunlight

Cloisonne - Enamel work in which applied fillets/borders of metal separate the enamels

 Cloisonne bracelet

Cocktail rings - A name given to heavy elaborate rings of an unusual design in about 1925, thought suitable to wear at cocktail or dinner parties

Collier - A wide necklet which encircles the neck from throat to chin

Cornelian - A clear red chalcedony or more orange in colour with some banding. Also known as carnelian

Coral - Formed from the skeletal remains of small sea animals and polyps.Red, black, golden and blue colours

Costume jewellery - Ornaments made of non precious metal made for the prevailing dress fashion of that time

Creole - A hoop on an earring where the metal is thicker at the bottom than the top

Crystal - Mineral, can also refer to some cut glass with a higher content of lead

Cubic Zircon - similar to diamonds in look but heavier.

Curb - The most common pattern for chain bracelets

 Chrysanthemum pin brooch by Sarah Coventry

Mirella by WAP Watson

I have written several articles on Exquisite jewellery by WAP Watson and soon will publish further information
But the company also produced the Myths and Magic range as well as the lesser know range of mirrors and trinkets called Mirella.
The Mirella range was named after an employer of the company. I have only been looking for Mirella items in the last couple of months, but both the pieces I found are marked, so easy to identify.

 

  

Interesting small trinket box in a gold metal and red velvet style material. Topped with a poodle holding a faux pearl.

In very good condition and has the Mirella signature on the bottom

 

The other item is a hand held mirror

 

The mirror is decorated with faux pearl beads and a faux turquoise stone. Also in a heavy gold metal and in good condition with slight rubbing to the gold plate.

The mirror is signed "Made in England" on the top of the handle on one side.

 

And the Mirella signature on the other side of the handle.

 

This design was popular as I have had a lady previously contact me regarding Mirella pieces and this was the one she had. At the time I estimated this as being produced in the late seventies. But at present I am not sure how long this range was manufactured for?

WAP Watson also produced a range of souvenir spoons and associated items. Now I am a closeted spoon collector as well but don't tell anyone. Unfortunately I now collect so many things this house is bulging!

The spoon collecting started in the seventies when my pen friend Nancy came over from the US. We went to all the tourist places and she collected souvenir thimbles, so I started to buy a few spoons and got hooked. 

Now I just buy the occasional one or two that are special. This collection now runs into hundreds, but I have not counted for a long time. So now is the time to dig the Exquisite one's out and get photographing as some are quite old.

Been a bit slow adding more items to Jewels and Finery but here are a few...

 

To be added shortly 

Vintage faux jade bracelet Seventies

 

Diamante leaf brooch  

 

Bright wood vintage necklace

That's all for this Saturday morning. Take care

 

Make a Rainbow

Make a Rainbow

If your world looks gloomy and you're feeling grim and glum.
Make a rainbow for yourself, don't wait for one to come.
Don't sit watching at the window for the clouds to part.
There'll soon be a rainbow if you start one in your heart.

Take some lovely thoughts out of a poem or a prayer.
Turn it over in your mind and let it linger within,
and hold on to the magic word that lets the brightness in.

Work your own small miracle and make the dull day glow.
Put some sunshine into life and let the glory show.
Make a rainbow for yourself with colours brave and gay,
and underneath its golden arch your cares will fade away.
Patience Strong

Today found a book of poems by Patience Strong, this one just stood out and I thought I would share it with you.

It was such a glorious autumn day I went for a walk to the local shops. In the charity shop I picked up a few books and many laughs. Why one of the assistance was wearing a pair of bunny ears, I still do not know.

Our garden is slowly going to sleep for the winter. The hydrangeas are fading but the magic is still there. Caught this one little guy looking out through the foliage. The nights are drawing in as Halloween approaches. I do love this time of year.





We have some lovely autumn coloured vintage bead necklaces. They are just ideal to colour co-ordinate with this glorious season.


Vintage two strand necklace

Long bead vintage necklace

Rainbow bangle

Gem Tester and Vintage Jewellery

Mock Jade vintage Men's Cufflinks and Tie Pin signed Sarah Coventry


One of our most handy tools in sourcing and collecting antique vintage jewellery has been a gem tester.

It became obvious that we needed a way of testing some of the stones in the jewellery because although we could take an educated guess, we needed to be more accurate.

Vintage modern stone bead bracelet


Research showed us that one gem tester The Presidium stood out from others but we were unable to find a dealer in the UK. So we sent for the tester from the US and have been more than happy with the results.

We have tested all stones, even if we are fairly sure that they are faux ones.

Miracle vintage jewellery is usually made with mock quartz stones.
Exquisite the Solihull jewellery makers also used faux stones, but it is possible that some earlier pieces may have used actual real quartz so we always test.

Quartz stones are different in feel to glass as they have a somewhat cooler surface (ideal to wear in the summer)

Vintage Deco brooch with faux turquoise


One benefit is that if we say the stone is jade, then it is not a guess. As many pieces of jewellery from the seventies, when jade was very fashionable, were made of jade but there was also many mock jade imitations manufactured.



Vintage jewellery set Real jadeite chip necklace and earrings

Vintage Jewellery Absolutely Fifties Fashion

This week we have added some great clip earrings
To us this is the fifties fashion
Beautiful sparkling earrings to be worn to a dance.
Earrings that match the original stretch bracelets that were the epitome of that era
Vintage jewellery that can be worn today and are ideal for evening wear


Just part of our huge range of vintage jewellery that dates from Victorian to yesterday

Vintage fifties earrings

Vintage stretch bracelet

Vintage costume jewellery