Tuesday trinkets 17...

I opened another magic box today filled with mixed bits and pieces so here we are.

This pretty bracelet is marked Judy Lee. I am unsure what vintage this is.

Pretty goldtone bracelet, nicely made but unmarked. Not it's original box and I am again unsure what the vintage is.

Tiny bar brooch, not much more than an inch long. It looks like an older piece but is marked Avon and could well be a vintage styled design. It has shades of art deco design to me but I believe Avon only started selling jewellery in the early 1970s.

This gorgeous demi parure looks like it has never been worn. Drop necklace and clip on drop earrings featuring blue and clear diamantes. It is set in goldtone metal and is a quality piece yet unmarked. I am unsure what vintage this is.

This pretty green demi parure of brooch and screw on earrings  is reminiscent of the designs of Van Dell. Van Dell produced quality lines in the 1930s and were well known for their gold filled and vermeil pieces as well as sterling.

This brooch is also possibly a Van Dell and likely to be from the same era as the green set above. It is unmarked.

This lovely set of clip on earrings is marked W. Germany. The colour of them is much deeper and more muted than it looks in this photograph.

Odd bird brooch. Doves? It is unmarked and rather large. Approx 2 and half inches across. I have no idea of the vintage.

This lovely goldtone bracelet and necklace set are unmarked but very well made. The style of them suggests they are a more modern piece perhaps from the party plan type jewellery that was so popular in the 1970s and 1980s. (Emma Page, Tiffany, Sarah Coventry etc) I could however be completely wrong and they could be an unmarked designer piece from an earlier time.

I have no idea about this pretty sparkly brooch but suspect it comes under the cheap and cheerful category. Although the stones sparkle well in this photograph, in real life they do not look like quality stones.

This simple goldtone bracelet is such a classic style it is hard to guess what vintage it is. I suspect it is a more modern piece and wonder if it is Avon or Sarah Coventry. It is unmarked.

This beauty has me guessing as well. The chain looks quite old and the stones seem to have dulled with age and yet the style would sit quite comfortably among many of my 1950s pieces.

Lucky last today is this lovely old extra long necklace with glass beads of various interesting shapes along a chain. Vintage I'm guessing could be anything from the 1920s (long necklaces were fashionable) to the 1960s or 70's. (think the bohemian look)
I enjoyed delving into todays treasure chest and I hope you did too.
wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen

Spring has sprung! ...

I know it's not officially Spring yet but Spring has definately arrived at our place. The garden is filled with birds. We have birds with babies nesting in our eaves. I have been watching momma bird dash to and fro to feed her little ones. Birds abound in our garden all year round but at present we are blessed by the prescence of honeyeaters, finches, willie wagtails, magpies, plovers,doves and a pretty blue fairy wren and his mate. Of course we also have our quota of pesky sparrows and starlings.
I get great pleasure watching the garden change it's clothes with the seasons. The trees bud and blossom and the orchard is bursting with new life at present. Flowers on the plums and quinces and buds appearing on some of the other later blooming fruit trees. I wandered out to the garden earlier this week and took a few photos to share.

I hope Spring is bringing you joy at your place too.

wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen

Tuesday trinkets 16...

Some diamante loveliness to share with you all today. Diamante's are difficult to photograph well so I apologise for some of the less than perfect photos.

Pretty in pink! This brooch is probably 1950s vintage, note the aurora borealis finish to some of the diamantes. (Aurora Borealis coating was not invented until the early 1950s and was hugely popular as a finish to jewellery in this era)

1950s brooch

 I love the green in this 1950s beauty. This one is smaller than most of the time measuring approx one inch across.

 This is one of many 'star' brooches I have in my collection. It is marked Danecraft. Danecraft was founded in the 1934 . The company was known for it's quality sterling silver and vermeil jewellery. (vermeil is gold metal over sterling) This star brooch has aurora borealis stones which dates it to at least the early 1950s. Danecraft jewellery was sold in finer department stores. You can visit the official Danecraft website here.

This little bar brooch is just a bit more than an inch across and looks vaguely art deco in design to me. Vintage 1930s?

Pastel blue 'snowflake' brooch. Probably 1950s vintage.

Star or snowflake? You decide. The aurora borealis coating dates this to at least 1950s vintage. It's a tiny brooch barely an inch across. It is beautifully finished front and back and I'm pretty sure it's an unmarked designer piece. You can't see detail in the photo but the dogtooth claw setting of the diamantes makes me wonder if it's a Weiss design.

This brooch is set with plain blue glass and is smallish, a bit more than an inch wide. It is set in what appears to be a cheap metal. I'd guess it's vintage to be from the 1930s or even before then. Cheap and cheerful! Apologies for the reflection of my camera in the centre stone!

This brooch is unmarked. I believe it is possibly a knock off of a designer piece. It has 'shades' of Weiss design but does not have the high quality finish on the back of a genuine piece.
Vintage 1940s?

This is a beautifully finished little brooch. It features emerald green diamantes and what appear to me to be lustre glass beads. I'm unsure of when lustre glass came into usage in jewellery making so am hesitant to guess the vintage of this piece. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say late 1940s or early 1950s but I could be quite wrong! Ann can you shed any light for me?

This is the second time I have tried to get a good photograph of this adorable brooch. It is unmarked but beautifully made. the large centre stone is foil backed. Vintage unknown but I would guess 1930s or early 1940s perhaps.

This brooch is also a bit of a puzzle. It looks well made on the back, is unmarked but the stones have lost their sparkle and are quite dull with age.It is made in layers suggesting it is a designer piece. If I had to hazard  a guess I'd say 1940s vintage or earlier.

This pretty pastel brooch looks like it might be 1950s BUT it has a clasp of a much earlier era on it suggesting it is much older. Early 1900s perhaps? The stones appear to be faceted glass.

A lovely large snowflake brooch this piece measures just slightly more than 2 inches across! The finish on the back suggests it is a Made in Czechoslovakia piece. It looks cheap and cheerful and the aurora borealis finish on the teardrop stones dates it to at least early 1950s.

This little red snowflake brooch is just lovely. Note the beautifully detailed pressed metal pointy bits. The stones are plain glass, sadly I have just noticed one is missing since I took the photograph. Vintage 1930s or earlier.

More cheap and cheerful. I'm not sure what vintage this silvertone snowflake is. It is unmarked and such a classic design could be 5 years old or 50! It is quite large measuring approx an inch and half wide.

More 1950s aurora borealis sparkle.

Star or snowflake loveliness. 1940s?

This one is tricky to date. It looks in great condition and is beautifully layered. The stones are very plain. I can't even venture to guess what vintage it is. It may be quite modern or it may be older and just have been very well looked after.I have seen some vintage pieces that look like they have never been worn.

Another glamorous brooch. 1940s

Another cheap and cheerful piece for last today. This one is pretty tacky but I went a little mad on snowflakes and stars for a time and bought everything in sight LOL! I'm unsure of the vintage but suspect this one is more modern. I hope you've enjoyed the sparklies I've shared today. If anyone can help with dating any of the jewellery I am always happy to have input.

wishing you sunshine in your shadows (it's beautifully sunny here today)
Helen

Tuesday trinkets 15...

Some real beauties to share today. Hope you all enjoy them. I managed to convince my daughter to model for me this week. I'm not so sure about the pink background though! When she realised one photograph was going to include her face she grumbled that I could have told her and she would have brushed her hair LOL.

First up are these gorgeous vintage glass bangles. I'm not 100% sure what era they are from but I believe they may be from the 1920s-1930s. I love the colours and they have such a wonderful 'feel'. They cost me a lot more than I usually pay for my jewellery but I knew these were special from the moment I first saw them.

I think these two bracelets are more modern pieces. The blue one is marked Avon.

This glorious double strung choker is from the 1950s/1960s. It is made from cut glass beads and coated with aurora borealis. It has the most divine clasp at the back. When I first saw it I thought it looked older but the AB coating on the beads dates it to at least early 1950s.

Crystal drop earrings. Not sure of their vintage but who cares, they are so pretty!

Unusual multi coloured necklace. 1950s or later. Note the gorgeous brass findings on the ends of the beads. This necklace also has a pretty dangle.

More cut glass beads. This necklace is longer than many and I am unsure of its age.

Lovely violet coloured necklace. The beads are glass and aurora borealis coated. At least 1950s vintage but could be more modern.

A brooch I found in the box. Unmarked, vintage unknown. My best guess would be 1960s+

A little whimsical watering can brooch. Unmarked but beautifully made. The leaves are enamelled and the roses are just perfectly modelled in what looks like some type of ceramic. The can itself appears to be made of a pewter like metal.

This bracelet has the swan mark on it. (Swarkovski) I am unsure of it's vintage.

This necklace is a strange piece.It is beautifully made of pastel diamantes and pastel opaque glass. It is unmarked. The back is as beautifully finished as the front, a sign of quality.The pastel colouring suggests it belongs to the 1950s.

This pretty red necklace has me guessing. It looks old and yet I have a niggling suspicion it may be a more modern piece. A reproduction perhaps or simply a pretty piece from the 1970s post hippy era? Bron any thoughts?

This necklace and earring set is typical of designers such as Lisner and Coro. This set is unmarked and very worn. The lady I purchased this from said it had belonged to her mother in law. 1950s

Gorgeous yellow cut glass necklace. Even the tiny clear spacer beads are cut glass! I'm unsure of it's vintage but plain cut glass was very prevalent pre 1950s before the invention of aurora borealis coating.

My daughter Miss Kate playing ladies and pretending she isn't having a bad hair day! ;)

This necklace and earring set would have been something to see in it's hey day! My photographs do not do justice to the beads. They are cut glass and the remains of their gold coating can be seen in places. In the photograph they appear to be aurora borealis coated but they are not. The coating on the beads is plain gold which has worn off considerably. This probably would have been an expensive set in  it's time and has obviously been well loved. It is unmarked and I would guess it is from the 1940s or 1950s when Hollywood glamour was big.

A beautiful blue Simpson brooch. It was really difficult to get a good photo of this brooch due to the high sparkle of the diamantes! A genuine treasure!

This brooch is unmarked but for some reason I have in mind that it is a Simpson piece as well. Beautifully made and gorgeous quality beads certainly mark it as a designer piece.

I saved my favourite till last today. A beautiful pink parure (set) of necklace, bracelet and earrings. Cut glass and aurora borealis coated this set is undoubtedly from the 1950s. This also belonged to the mother in law of the lady I mentioned above. (How could you bear to part with such a delightful family heirloom?) I hope you have enjoyed today's trinkets. I love the cut glass and crystal jewellery almost more than any other kind. (perhaps except anything with diamantes) It seems so elegant and feminine to me.

wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen