Vintage brooches and a new year!

This is our first post of the New Year 2012. Just been a bit busy making a few new collection categories to Jewels and Finery. Our vintage brooches has been split into themes. So over the next few weeks we will be showing each new collection category.
New additions to vintage brooches over the next week to come and here are a few already available:

Crescent garland vintage brooch by Jewelcraft

Pretty vintage brooch by Jewelcraft which was the mark Coro used in the UK.

Wheat or grass vintage brooch

Unusual vintage brooch - think it looks better pinned this way. Very 3D and well made. Unsigned beauty.

The three vintage brooches and pre owned brooch will be added shortly, just a few of the many we have photographed and will add soon.

Dating Sarah Coventry vintage jewellery P15

I can not believe its been almost 3 weeks since I last blogged. But this time of year is so busy. Lots of vintage jewellery to pack and send to new homes.
This blog is part 15 of the spring 1976 Sarah Coventry brochure to help date and identify vintage jewellery.

Page 47

Vintage earrings all for pierced ears

A = Tiny Garden**
B = Mushroom*
C = Tiny Turtle*
D = Hollywood Squares*
E = New Twist*
F = Taffee Tones**
G = Luv**
H = Madame Butterfly*(G)
I = The Big Apple**(G)
J = The Big Apple**(S)
K = Serenity Cross*(G)
L = Moon Drops**(G)
M = Golden Lace*
N = Madame Butterfly*(S)
O = Diamonice*
P = Serenity Cross*(S)
Q = Moon Drops**(S)
R = Silvery Lace*
S = Papillon*
T = Flair**
U = Swing Away*~~ (S)
V = Classic Tassel*~~(S)
W = Wishbone*
X = Princess**
Y = Texture Twist*
Z = Senorita*(S)

AA = Swing Away*~~(G)
BB = Classical Tassel*~~(G)
CC = Capers*~~
DD = Tiny Cross*
EE = Senorita*(G)

*Surgical steel post
**Surgical steel wire
~~Sarah convertibles - may be worn with or without dangle.

Page 48

A = Tailored Accent Necklace/Belt 37"
B = Tailored Accent Bracelet

New additions to Jewels and Finery

Mother of pearl shell bracelet

Amber oval ring

And don't forget our sale vintage jewellery...............

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.       

Sarah Coventry vintage brooch Featherfroth

One of the latest vintage brooches added to Jewels and Finery, is this striking vintage brooch from Sarah Coventry.

This vintage brooch has the name of "Featherfroth". Originally produced in 1955 by the US company Sarah Coventry. It is a feather stamped brooch which has fine feather detail. This piece of jewellery is in an antique silver coloured metal, complete with a secure safety fastening. Stamped on the reverse Sarah Coventry and Canada. This particular vintage brooch is in excellent condition and looks unused.
Sarah Coventry also produced clip on earrings to match this brooch in the creeper style. Jewels and Finery has the vintage brooch for sale only. But the earrings are still available to source yourself.


The international company Sarah Coventry started producing jewellery for sale at home parties in the late 1940s and continued until the early 2000s. They also produced Emmons jewellery range.
More Sarah Coventry jewelry is available and information on vintage jewellery can be found from links on our home page.

Vintage Flower Brooches

This week Jewels and Finery has launched a new category - vintage flower brooches. This is just one of the categories we have in vintage brooches.
We intend to have just the single flower brooches here, not floral bunches and bouquets designed vintage brooches, but just ones like the small sample below. The category will eventually include the following vintage flower brooches.

This beautiful mock pearl large vintage flower brooch by Jewelcraft. Jewelcraft was a name used by Coro and most of the Jewelcraft vintage jewellery found in the UK was made here in Sussex.

Another UK produced single rose vintage brooch by Hollywood. A Birmingham based firm that produced large quantities of vintage jewellery from the early part of the 20th century until the late 70s.
This is another larger than average red rose brooch that is enameled and has textured gold metal.

Lily flowers are often produced as brooches. Single blooms have been added to our new vintage flower category. This is a gorgeous light purple enameled vintage brooch.
But if your tastes are a little darker, then go for this lily vintage brooch in black.

Back soon with some more pics from our vintage jewellery and an update on Sarah Coventry's brochure .

Vintage Christmas jewellery

Its nearly the end of October, time has just flown so quick and it will soon be Christmas again - whether we are ready for it or not.
During the festive season a few years ago now, I started to wear vintage Christmas jewellery and it not only brightened up a plain outfit  but it made me smile and feel more Christmasy.

Now every year I wear a different piece of vintage Christmas jewellery every day. It may be a themed piece like a vintage Christmas tree brooch or a pair of sparkling vintage earrings. Lets face it, when in the year will you get away with wearing rhinestone and diamante vintage jewellery during the day to work or out just shopping. So I make the most of this time - it makes me feel good and happier, it is also a better talking point other than the bad winter weather!

Now I did not start of with buying lots of Christmas themed jewellery in one go as far too expensive. Each year I buy one or two pieces and add them to the ones stored at home. Of course I have lots of bright sparkle jewellery that I keep for special occasions and they get a daytime airing as well.
Over the years that we have sold vintage Christmas jewellery; it has become obvious which type of jewellery is most popular.
Top is vintage Christmas tree brooches. Well you have one at home and probably in the office, they are in shops and standing in the middle of the high street. So why not one on your shoulder or bag. Putting up the tree is part of our Christmas tradition.

Floral jewellery is the next popular with white Christmas roses, poinsettia and holly with its bright red berries, being the flower choice.

Vintage brooches of Father Christmas and stocking are the next favourite with bells, garlands and toy themed jewellery coming just after in the popularity stakes.

Sparkling vintage jewellery is not just for parties and evening do's. Put on a pair of shimmering earrings and a diamante bracelet every morning in December. Or add a rhinestone necklace to several layers of plain black bead necklaces for your office outfit. You will positively sparkle every time you walk past the a lighted Christmas tree.

Now I have to stop at this point and just point out that I have been talking about jewellery for women. But there is no reason why a man can not join in the fun. Its this time of the year you can attach a Christmas vintage brooch pin to your jacket or on your tie instead of a vintage tie pin. Hats just scream to have a little Father Christmas brooch pinned over that designer logo.................okay just put it next to it then!
Now men, if your thing is sparkling necklaces and bracelets - then go for it. Who cares in this day and age, be yourself.

Why vintage Christmas jewellery - well very few firms make special Christmas themed jewellery now days, as its too expensive. Older costume jewellery was often better made and is still available in a greater variety. 
My take on life is that you only live once so make the most of it, let your confidence shine through and start a new Christmas tradition this year. Have a Happy Christmas.       

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.

1930's filigree and rhinestone vintage jewellery

1930's vintage jewellery comes under the Art Deco and prewar banner. Vintage jewellery from that decade was a mix of graphic, luxury and very exotic. The thirties is most associated with bright colourful vintage jewellery, usually imported into the UK from Bohemia. Art Deco and modernist machine jewellery was in evidence but also other styles flourished in the pre war boom years.

Vintage brooches of that period were often of enamel with marcasite or rhinestone encrusted of multi colours. The signature style of Czech vintage jewellery was filigree, in a few short years it was imported into this country in the thousands such was the demand. It was evident on brooches, bracelets, necklaces, dress clips and earrings. Earring mechanisms changed from pierced to the clip and screw backs; because to pierce ears required a cork and sharp needle - modern piercing equipment had yet to be invented. Dress clips became very fashionable worn on dresses and tops singular or in pairs.

War in the UK saw a gradual change in material used, to sterling silver and "natural" occurring products such as shells, wood and seeds. With rationing until the 1950s, jewellery was available only in small quantities or "home made" Once again during the 30s and 40s, the UK saw the jewellery industry change to help the war effort.

The war brought an end to the flourishing Bohemian jewellery industry. The Jewish workers and owners either fled the country or ended up in concentration camps never to return.

Today brightly coloured rhinestone and filigree jewellery can still be found at a reasonable price. The workmanship was by far superior to today's machine made pieces. Rhinestones were prong set by hand and the filigree is in several layers. Beware when buying "vintage" filigree jewellery from Czechoslovakia as the jewellery is not real vintage but new reproductions of an inferior quality. This is very evident now on shopping channels such as Ebay.

             

Clown vintage brooches

There are so many kinds of vintage brooches to choose from, that today I thought I would have a quick look at clown vintage brooches.
Circus life has diminished tremendously during the last 50 years. In my childhood I went to the circus and enjoyed not only the clowns but the lions and elephant performances. Today circuses are still around but many have complied with the times and moved to theatrical and mostly human performances.

Clowns are either loved or hated. Hated maybe because you can not see their true expression and intent behind the face paint? Loved because they are funny and wear brightly coloured clothing.

Here are a few pieces of vintage jewellery of different clowns that we have on the website at the moment.
Very retro and fun to wear on a hat, bag, clothing or as hair decoration. Fun to collect and display in a frame or on a pillow.  

So have a good weekend and don't clown around too much!! 

BJL vintage necklace lily design

Several vintage jewellery blogs ago - I asked for any information on BJL signed vintage jewellery. and information on the unsigned vintage brooches that are of the marcasite and enamel lily design. These brooches can be found in many different colours from pink, blue to green enameled ones.

The lily vintage brooches are very similar to the signed brooches by BJL, so I wondered if they were made by the same company and asked if anyone had a vintage brooch that was signed?

Thank you very much to Clare in New Zealand who recently brought this beautiful vintage necklace signed BJL

It certainly looks very similar to the lily vintage brooches. Now we know that BJL made lily designed jewellery - so there must be a signed brooch somewhere as absolute proof?

And if anyone knows who the company was that made BJL jewellery - please let me know so that I can share the information.

Vintage brooch or vintage pendant?

Some forms of vintage jewellery are very versatile. There are a few vintage brooches that have a loop on the back to convert into a vintage pendant. Easy to do by adding a chain necklace or even a ribbon. The loop is also handy to attach a safety chain pin, most often seen on the 1950s vintage brooches.

Here are a few available at the moment on Jewels and Finery.

We do have many more of these vintage brooches available

Art Deco Jewellery

Art Deco jewellery is very popular, it is one of those styles that is sought after by collectors and fashionables alike.
Original Art Deco vintage jewellery dates from the 1920s to the 1930s, it is modern, luxurious, exotic and graphic. Short hair of the times needed long earrings to create femininity. Layers of bangles and beads to go with the flapper dresses.
The style became more abstract, angular and linear in shape, created to echo the new machine age of the twenties.

Both the above pieces of jewellery are from the Art Deco period.

Vintage cameo brooch and perfume container from Avon

Just added a vintage cameo brooch with perfume container by Avon produced in 1970.
The cameo was one of the first vintage brooches produced by Avon in the seventies. Originally Avon began their jewellery range with glace brooches and then moved onto producing normal jewellery without perfume containers.

The perfume is unusable today and I wouldn't recommend smelling it!

Mirella Vintage Brooches

Good morning, I have wrote about vintage jewellery signed Mirella before. W A P Watson the company who produced the Exquisite brand also produced Mirella. Named after an employee, the brand was for fancy goods and mirrors. However I discovered a short time ago that they also produced a few pieces of jewellery under that name - well two brooches it seems!

This was the purple vintage brooch that I brought a while back.

I have seen this brooch not only signed Mirella but also signed Exquisite.

This is the other brooch (below) that I have just brought signed Mirella. It is the only other one that I have seen under the Mirella brand. Both brooches are in my own collection but we source Exquisite and Mirella jewellery that will be added to the page on the above link regularly.

Both pretty floral designs and hand enameled with mock marcasite. Would say they date to the 1960s.
We have added more vintage brooches over the last few weeks in floral designs as well as with many other looks.