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!

Jewelry and Astrology - Pisces

This blog post is another in my series about choosing jewelry suitable for individual star signs. Pisces is the star sign for those born between February 20 and March 20.

Those born under the sign of Pisces are said to be compassionate, devoted and imaginative. On the negative side they can be seen to be a bit oversensitive, indecisive and somewhat of an escapist.

To get a clue about what sort of Jewelry to choose for your Pisces friend let's have a look at some of these Zodiac facts:

• The primary color is Lilac or purple
• Gemstones associated with the sign are diamonds, amethyst and bloodstone
• Lucky numbers are 5 and 8
• Best locations are the seashore or coastal cities

Combining these ideas gives me lots of possibilites for choices for a jewelry gift for your Piscean friend. How about this lovely purple banded glass stone in lovely amethyst colors with a pretty filigree heart pendant? It is available in my Carolina Collections Vintage Jewelry store for only $10.75.

Since Pisces loves the water, you couldn't go wrong with any seaside themed jewelry. Does she like vintage sweater guards? Look at this sweet seahorse sweater guard with creamy faux pearls and cute little seahorses on either end. It's available in my Vintage Jewelry Mall store for only $12.99 and is just adorable.

If you are looking for something a little more extravagant for your friend, consider this stunning vintage cameo brooch. It is handcarved from genuine shell cameo and is marked 800 for its silver content, so it uses her lucky number too. This exquisite shell cameo brooch is available in my Vintage Jewelry Lane store for $96.99

Check back soon for the next chapter in this series, when I will discuss jewelry ideas for your Aries friend.

Zodiac Logo courtesy of zodiac-signs-astrology.com/