Tuesday trinkets 3...

Soon after venturing into the collecting of vintage jewellery I discovered there was a range of brooches available featuring almost anything you can imagine with animals being very common. I have among my collection spiders, dragon flies, bees, dogs, cats, elephants and many others. Today I thought I would share a few of my butterflies with you all.

This little fellow has been well loved yet most of his diamantes are still sparkly. Circa 1950s Note the aurora borealis effect on the clear diamantes. This commonly used jewellery finish was not invented until 1955 and is an indicator when estimating the age of a piece of vintage jewellery.

Black and white - no finish on the diamantes. Possibly a slightly older piece.

Beautiful silver tone butterfly. I'm not sure what era this one is from.

This lovely piece was hard to photograph due to the reflections. The glass making the body of the butterfly appears to be coated with aurora borealis which dates it to the 1950s. I'm surprised as it looks like an older piece. Of course it is always possible a stone has been replaced at some time. It is a solid and quite heavy brooch and one of my favourite butterflies.

A beautiful orange diamante butterfly.

I couldn't resist the pretty colours in this gold tone beauty. I am not sure how old this is but I suspect it is newer, perhaps 1960s or later. The brighter coloured diamantes suggest it is from a more recent era and it is in beautiful condition.

I believe this lime and teal green enamel butterfly is probably from the 1960s or 1970s. Like all fashion items colour may sometimes give a clue to the age of any given item.

This rather large fellow was made in Czechoslovakia who are world renowned for their diamantes and crystals. This has to be from at least the mid 1950s - see the aurora borealis on some of the stones?

I tried and tried to get a good photograph of this lovely old red glass butterfly. Obviously I was unsuccessful but I'm sharing it anyhow because it is just gorgeous! It measures approximately 2 inches across and I believe it to possibly be from as early as the 1930s.
I hope you enjoyed todays trinkets and as always

wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen