How did your love for vintage jewelry start?

It's hard to say when I first became enamored by vintage jewelry. I think the actual beginning may have been in the 1970s when I purchased my very first carved shell cameo pin as a young student at college. I have always been a romantic at heart and the carving in the shell attracted me like a moth to a flame. I just had to have that piece of jewelry, even though I could hardly afford my rent. The style was similar to the one shown here, with the heart designed setting, but had no pearls.

Over the years, I picked up pieces here and there, but I was never a person who wore much jewelry. Most of my treasures just stayed in my jewelry box and I would take them out from time to time to admire.

I've always been involved in fashion as a business, and eventually came to settle on vintage jewelry as my main focus.

The years passed and I got married and had a daughter. My precious girl wore her first strand of pearls at the age of 12 months. (actually more like 7 or 8 strands all at once!) Such a far cry from her mom who love jewelry but rarely wears it. She has always been interested in anything glitzy and her babysitters used to play dress up with her. During these sessions, jewelry was always front and center. During her teenage years, I had a hard time keeping any jewelry to resell, since she always wanted first dibs on the jewelry I was sorting.

My tastes in jewelry kept changing, often in step with the styles she liked at the time. We would sit for hours sorting and cleaning jewelry. She opened the box and gave me a few "to consider", all the while stacking up a pile for "herself" as a payment for helping me. Those years are so special to me and are the main reason I'm in the vintage jewelry business today. Every time I sort estate collections that come my way, I am reminded of the special years I spent with Jess.

What is your story? Please share!

Collecting Vintage jewelry - Where do I start? - PART 1

If you are like me, you have normally bought your jewelry in retail stores but then you were at the flea market, or on ebay, and you saw a pretty vintage piece and bought it. Or you had an older relative die and you were given a few pieces of vintage jewelry from their estate.

Once that happened, you were hooked. New jewelry didn't seem as interesting or well made and you were off looking for more of the "past treasures." You are intrigued, but there is so much choice. Where do you even start?

Over the next few weeks, I'll be writing a series of short articles which will give you some advice on a step by step progression which will guide you in your new passion to put together a lovely collection of vintage jewelry that you will be proud to wear and (perhaps) pass on to a family member.

Today's blog will talk about the #1 reason to purchase a piece of vintage jewelry. Forget about hallmarks, age of piece, construction design and the like Your first question to yourself should be: "Does this piece appeal to me? Do I like it?" In my opinion, the overriding factor is...if you like it buy it. It doesn't matter if it is perfect. If you like it, it should become yours.

Most pieces of vintage jewelry can be repaired or cleaned and polished so that it looks more presentable. I have sold large collections of vintage rhinestone jewelry in my ebay store, Carolina Collections Vintage jewelry, time and time again, with lovely pieces that need to have rhinestones replaced, or that have small enamel problems. There is always someone who sees a piece or two in the collection that they just love and want and are willing to put some time into the problems with the a lovely piece of vintage jewelry.

Perhaps the piece is in need of a LOT of elbow grease to get the metal back into good condition. I've had pieces just covered with the dreaded green junk called Verdigris, which I have restored to like new condition with just a few steps and commonly found household materials.

Don't know how to repair vintage jewelry? See my website, Vintage Jewelry Lane, for a great article which deals with various aspects of repairing and restoring vintage jewelry.

In any case, whether the piece needs repair or is in perfect condition, the first thing to consider is: Do you like it?

Be sure to check back soon for the next installment of this article. Before long, you will have a collection of vintage jewelry which will reflect your own personal tastes. You may even be able to convince one of your friends to "get hooked" on vintage jewelry too!