Vintage Jewelry Collecting - Vintage Jewelry Care and Tips

With over 50 years of experience in collecting vintage jewelry, we share tips and teach our customers how to take care of it.

We have a little gift shop in Hubbard, Ohio where we have quite a bit of vintage jewelry out on display in showcases. We have so much that only a small portion is out on display at one time and put more out as it goes.

We also have quite a bit of it online.

...so there is a huge selection.

Collecting vintage jewelry is a hobby (obsession?) of ours. We love to go through old jewelry boxes looking for that rare find that we "...just have to have!" for one of us or for one of our regular customers.

We specialize in antique-estate-vintage jewelry most of which is in excellent condition -a few have a stone or two loose or gone..., but this is to be expected. This just means that it was a deeply loved piece of jewelry.

We have usually have some Florenza, Trifari, Coro, Kramer, Swank, Monet, Emmons, Sarah Coventry, Vendome, Weiss, Eisenberg, B.S.K., (some marked) Western Germany, (some marked) Czechoslovakia and many more brands and/or designers available.

We also have rhinestone items, aurora borealis rhinestone items, & some gemstone jewelry pieces or sets (like an opal set, a jade ring...). There is some sterling silver, some gold,... and other antique-costume-estate jewelry that is either unmarked, has an unknown mark, or has an unreadable mark.

We are always getting in more jewelry to add to our collection and/or to offer to our customers.

There is also a nice array of unusual, trendy, and-or handcrafted.... jewelry at our Hubbard Ohio Gift Shop at 6177 Youngstown-Hubbard Road in Hubbard, Ohio.

Jewelry collector - Addict perhaps ?
Know someone who craves jewelry ?
Want "New York style" on a teeny-tiny budget ?
Do you need a great gift for someone ?
* If any or all of these describes you,
- then you've come to the right place !

In addition to antique-estate jewelry, we also have some Italian charms; one-of-a-kind handcrafted jewelry; & trendy new jewelry too.

Did you know that you should NEVER soak any of your rhinestone jewelry ?

The extra sparkle comes from a special foil that is applied on the back of the stones.

The foil on the back of those old crystals is delicate and if you soak or scrub them, you could damage or dislodge it.

It is this foil backing that makes a "rhinestone" a rhinestone.

Without this, at best, it is just a crystal -very pretty, but not a rhinestone and, at worst, it will be a "dead" stone that doesn't look very nice.

This would greatly devalue your rhinestone jewelry - not to mention it would lose much of its beloved sparkle.

Jewelry that must be cleaned, should be treated very gently.

Try this: Spray an ammonia-free jewelry cleaner or window cleaner onto a microfiber cloth, only until slightly damp. Take this barely dampened cloth and softly wipe off your non-rhinestone/gemstone jewelry pieces and the tops of the rhinestones. *Make sure the jewelry pieces are completely dry before you put them away.

Aurora Borealis Jewelry was most likely made in the 50's.

It is the coating applied to the crystals that make them Aurora Borealis Crystals that show all of the colors of the rainbow.

Again, use the same cleaning method as above so that you do not scratch off any of the coating.

Please do not just throw your jewelry into a jewelry box because it can get all scratched up and prong-set stones can be pulled loose if the piece gets tangled with another piece of jewelry.

Instead, please use the ring sections of your jewelry box to keep your rings from damage.

Wrap (and label) each piece of jewelry in some soft tissue paper if you do not have jewelry bags or a jewelry pouch - to keep it clean and safe from being tangled or scratched.

Here are things to ponder before buying her a gift.

Does the person for whom you wish to buy a gift tend to be flashy or subtle in her dressing style ?

What does her social life consist of, dinner and dancing -or a video and microwave popcorn... ?

Is there anything that she collects such as daisies, frogs, stars... ?

Are her ears pierced, does she wear chokers or "choke at the mere thought of one" ?

Does she LOVE wearing a pin/brooch on her jacket or to decorate her hat... ?

The answers to these questions and others could give you a hint about what kind of jewelry she would most appreciate getting.

Also, ask her friends if there is something special that she has been wanting, but probably would never buy for herself.

The key here is to do your homework. Get to know her style, her needs, her dreams... because every woman needs to feel special.

There is some here:
http://organicgiftsbydiana.ecrater.com/

Getting vintage jewelry (or anything) shipped usually also has a small handling fee to cover the packaging materials and Delivery Confirmation... added to the cost.

The Postal service is to be contacted if they damage or lose a package.

If you would like postal insurance on your package, it will cost extra - just ask your supplier to add and they will invoice you for the difference.

Please note:

Due to the nature of most products being hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind, and/or vintage - there will be NO refunds/exchanges/returns so please read the product descriptions very carefully, look at the photos and ask any questions to be sure of your purchase beforehand.

This is just one of the many beauties that was in my Mom's vintage jewelry collection:

Vintage, almost antique, Pitman & Keeler overhand bracelet stamped "sterling" with an etched floral design and stones

Late Art Nouveau era design expansion Pitman & Keeler sterling overhand bracelet that starts at just over 5" and fits up to 9 inches, but of course would be more comfortable on a 5-8 inch wrist.

This pretty bracelet is about 1/2" wide.

The decorative, floral themed plate is about 1 1/2" long and has one diamond like stone and 6 sapphire like stones set into the sterling silver.

I am not a gemologist so I am listing this as just a pretty piece of jewelry history.

If, by chance, the stones are the real thing, then you are very welcome - enjoy the extra bonus. ...

http://vintagejewelrybygramz.ecrater.com/p/19735132/pitman-keeler-overhand-bracelet-in-sterling

So exciting, our hard work in the Vintage Jewelry field has been noticed !

I have been honored to have this very lens about Vintage Jewelry collecting, care and tips... featured on the facebook page of the vintage jewelry collector's group - Vintage Jewelry Collectionary !.

Thanks again.

Organically Yours,

Diana

If you are local, or will be in our area, stop by our little gift shop to say "Hello !" as we like to meet other collectors.

Hubbard Ohio Gift Shop

6177 Youngstown-Hubbard Road

Hubbard, Ohio 44425

closed Monday and Tuesday

Open noon-5 on Wednesday and Sunday

Open 10-5 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday

...mostly vintage, but some new as well.

This one is a vintage owl pin by - Coro - lavender blue Aurora Borealis rhinestones on body - cabachon eyes - approx 2 inches high.