Vintage Jewelry Mall

Do you love turquoise jewelry but wonder what sort of clothing to wear with it?   Turquoise is not only this season's hottest color but also one of the trendiest accessory  choice. It is very earthy and has long been a favorite of vintage jewelry collectors who love Native American, Mexican and Southwest Jewelry.

And right now, turquoise is seen in all of the trendiest boutiques and on many of the fashion runways too.

Turquoise is such a dramatic color and the richness of the gemstone fits right in with so many earthy shades as well as plain colors, both dark and light. This means that it will translate well with fall colors too, so the piece of turquoise jewelry that you purchase today will also keep you in style for several seasons.

I've been playing around on Polyvore again. If you haven't tried it, have a go.   It is such a fun site to get an idea of how to use jewelry (and clothing styles) to their best advantage. The set that I've put together here shows how well turquoise earrings and a single strand of turquoise beads look with tans and browns. It's a real winner.

Vintage jewelry lane has a huge range of genuine turquoise jewelry right now. Most of the styles are brand new with some exciting choices in necklaces, bracelets and earrings.  We have items at very affordable. Here are a few examples to whet your appetite:

Love the styles as much as I do?  Grab one today!

Garage sale hunting can sometimes produce real finds but this treasure didn't turn out quite as well as this Ohio woman hoped it would.

Vaneisha Robinson, a 20-year-old amateur boxer, paid $5 for a box of "junk" at a garage sale about four years ago. In the bottom of that box was a pendant in the shape of James' jersey decorated with his jersey number 23 and nickname, "King."

Robinson thought the pendant was just plain costume jewelry but she later decided to have it appraised.  Ist was certified by International Gemological Institute, which said the diamond-studded, gold jewelry was real and valued at nearly $10,000.

The amateur boxer decided to put the pendant up for sale on the popular auction site eBay. hoping to use the proceeds of the sale to open her own gym.

Robinson's dreams came to an abrupt halt when she got a phone call from Katherine L. Powers, the mother of Maverick O. Carter. Carter is the CEO of LeBron James' marketing company, LRMR. Ms Powers said that James was at her house and wanted to make her an offer on the pendant that she couldn't refuse.

She went to the Powers' house and discovered that James wasn't there but eight or nine other people were, and their Godfatherly like "offer" was that they were going to get the pendant back anyway they could. A neighbor heard yelling coming from the house and called the police and 911.  Sgt. James Elchlinger examined the pendant in question and was able to determine that it was a one-of-a-kind item and it did actually belong to Mr. Carter.

Robinson maintains she could not have had the jewelry certified by the I.G.S. if it were stolen property and is vowing to get back what she considers her property. Imagine eBay's distress at discovering this news and the loss of their final value fee on the sale of the piece!   The case is currently under investigation.

The Jonette Jewelry Company, or JJ for short, is famous for its whimsical figural pins. The designs are made from pewter and brass, as well  as the normal gold tone and silver tone designs and very well made with above average quality and detail. Plus they are just so darn much fun!

Collectors of figural pins will be aquainted with their cats and dogs designs, but by no means are these the only motifs featured on the lovely pins. All sorts of figurals are included in their jewelry lines

Here are a few recent additions to my Ruby Plaza shop - Jewelry Lane. Prices are very reasonable - from $12 to $34.   Vintage Jewelry Mall also has a huge range of many of the popular JJ designs.  Snag one today from one of my shops!

I love the look of Murano glass.  The richness of the colors and interesting shapes make it a type of glass which is very different from other forms.

Most Murano art glass is made by using a lampworking technique. The glass is made from silica.  When heated to very high temperatures, it becomes liquid.  Then, as it cools, there is a time when the glass becomes soft and pliable so that it can be worked into interesting shapes.

Often, Murano glass  has layers of contrasting colors, which are formed by dipping the object into the molten glass and the outer most layer, called the casing, is clear. Sometimes, the designs  be seen with swirls of gold through it called adventurine.

Another type of Murano glass is called "millefiori."  This is formed by making glass canes or rods with multi colored patterns which are visible when the ends of the canes are cut and inserted into a jewelry setting. The word comes from Italian and means a thousand flowers in Italian, since the finished process does indeed look like tiny flowers.

Vintage Jewelry Mall has a nice range of both styles of Murano Glass.

Do you have a lovely shell cameo jewelry item, but aren't sure how to care for it?  You aren't alone.  Hand carved shell cameos are lovely to look at and often can be a very good investment.  But the shells themselves have special needs in comparison to other forms of vintage jewelry.

I've just published a new resource article which deals with the topic of care and cleaning of shell cameo jewelry.  You can find the article on this page of the resource library at Vintage Jewelry Lane.

Our site also has a lovely range of cameo jewelry of all types and price ranges. Be sure to drop by soon and have a look.

Do you like to design jewelry? The website Shapeways is a site where you can design jewelry and home objects, and then have the designs made up in gold, silver or colorful plastic for yourself or as gifts to others.

The site is currently running a promotion called "Design your Own Earrings Sweepstakes." The rules are simple.

• Log into the site and download the sketch sheet
• Draw up your own special earring design
• Scan your sketch sheet or make a picture of it and mail it to the site

The first prize is to have the earrings that you designed made up in silver for yourself and a voucher to use on the site for $100. Other prizes range from 10% off your next purchase to your designs in gold tone. For more details, please visit this page of the Shapeways website.  The contest ends July 31.2010.

Tiime to show off.  Do you have a jewelry collection that you would like to share with others? My friends at Collector's  Weekly emailed me yesterday. They are particularly looking for interesting vintage jewelry items of good quality for their fine jewelry pages.

Show and Tell works in the following way: You upload up to four high-resolution photos, and then write as much as you want about the history or stories behind each item as you wish. You can also track your favorites, and post comments and questions. You can find more details here about uploading photos here.

This part of the site is not for those trying to sell jewelry. It's meant to be display only. Think of it as a shared virtual museum. Show and Tell is free and they make it very easy for you to sign up and upload your photos.

If you do upload your collection, please let me know here in the comments and I'll link to your photos in an upcoming post on my blog.

The Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will be holding a new silver jewelry exhibit set to highlight the work of the late Taxco silversmith Antonio Pineda. The exhibit will take place from June 4, 2010 through January 2, 2011 and is part of a traveling exhibition organized by the Fowler Museum at UCLA.

The exhibit will feature two hundred examples of Pineda's acclaimed silver work. It is called Silver Seduction: The Art of Mexican Modernist Antonio Pineda.

Pineda’s jewelry is especially known for its elegant association with the human form. It is often said that a Pineda jewelry piece fits the body perfectly - that it just feels right when it is worn. For example, a thick geometric necklace that might at first glance seem too weighty or rigid to wear comfortably is, in fact, faceted, hinged, or hollowed in such a way that it gracefully encircles the neck or drapes seductively down the décolletage.

For more information on the exhibit, please visit the Museum of International Folk Art's website, moifa.org.

For information on the works of Pineda, there is a paperback book, also called Silver Seduction: The Art of Mexican Modernist Antonio Pineda. It is available from Amazon.com or leading book retailers nationwide.

I don't normally promote other websites on this blog, but I found one recently that I think is really neat.  I'm fascinated by jewelry which has a recycled theme. Designers who can come up with new and exciting ways to use things that might otherwise end up in a trash heap are to be commended.

I was reading my latest issue of The Food Network Magazine yesterday, and found a link to a site which caught my interest. Food magazine was focusing on items made from soda cans, but the site also has many other interesting ideas.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Recycled Soda Can Cuff Bracelet

Recycled Map Bangle Bracelet

Blue Willow Broken China Bracelet

Half Dollar Daisy Pendant Necklace

Rolled Paper Bead Necklace

Vintage Typewriter Key Jewelry

C. S. Post & Co is described as being a general store. They feature a wide variety of items, including the the recycled jewelry styles shown here.

Whimsical figural jewelry, especially critter jewelry is very collectible. In my experience, cats, dogs and owls are the most popular, but there are collectors of all forms of figural jewelry. I wrote in depth last year on my google blog about a customer of mine - Melissa from the UK, who has a fantastic collection of fur cat jewelry.

Melissa purchased up a couple of cute fur kitty brooches of mine from my eBay store - Carolina Collections Vintage Jewelry, and then we exchanged emails about her collection. She sent another email today with  with new pictures of her collection. The menagerie has really grown. She says that she has lost her gray wolf, a happy panda and a blue eyed cat. But she's replaced them with others. I see a bunny and cute little dog are new, plus several others.

Here is a photo of her collection as it is now (You can click the photo for a larger look at the furry critters):

For those of you who enjoy sculptures and collages, Melissa has a website which deals in these mediums.