Sunshine in my shadows

Welcome to sunshine in my shadows. This blog is my space to share all the stuff that makes up my every day life. Family, friends, crafts, recipes, books and all the little things that add 'sunshine to my shadows'. We all have a sprinkling of sunshine and an equal sprinkling of shadows in our lives. Hopefully you will find more sunshine than shadows to read about here and on the days when shadows fall, know that the sunshine is peeking just around the corner!


Copyright allthingschristmas.com

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Tuesday trinkets 13...

I have some real lovelies for you all today but I apologise in advance for some of the photos not being the greatest. Diamantes are VERY tricky to photograph and I only have a little point and click camera.
Despite taking all these photographs outside in natural light there was still an issue with reflections in some of them.
This gorgeous pink brooch and clip on earrings set is unmarked. Sadly the brooch is missing one of the pale pink marquise shaped diamantes. I have no idea of the age of this set or of it's origins.
This 'flower' is made up of clear marquise shaped diamantes and a couple of small round diamantes set among the 'leaves'. There is a layer of small aurora borealis coated diamantes making the circle of the floret in the middle. A large borealis coated diamante takes centre stage. The photograph doesn't do justice to this lovely brooch. Although unmarked I believe this is a designer piece. It is high quality and the back of the brooch which I believe is rhodium plated looks as new today as it probably did the day it was made. The use of aurora borealis dates it to at least the mid 1950s.
A similar brooch but I believe from an earlier time. No aurora borealis this time but this brooch is beautifully layered. It is hard to see from the photograph but the stones are set in 3 distinct layers making the flower centre and the 'branches & leaves'. The branches are also set with a row of tiny diamantes down their centres. Unmarked and smooth plating on the back this brooch is definately a high quality piece. The diamantes are beginning to show some signs of dulling with age.
I bought this pretty 1950s brooch because I was taken with it's unusual shape. I have lots of ring or garland brooches but had not seen many square ones. Although many of the diamantes appear lilac in the photograph the larger ones are clear aurora borealis diamantes. The little ones between are lilac and of course the four feature stones are pink. Not an expensive brooch but oh so pretty I think you will agree?
Another 1950s aurora borealis beauty this snowflake brooch is among my favourites. The photo unfortunately does not do it justice. The entire centre of the brooch is made up of clear AB coated crystal beads and the points of the snowflake are AB coated diamantes. I will be sad when it begins to lose it's sparkle as it is just so amazingly beautiful.
Another crystal bead 1950s treasure. Hard to photograph but the pink beads are AB coated and ever so sparkly.
Multi blue diamante brooch by Weiss. I own several Weiss pieces and the quality is unmistakeable once you learn to recognize their designs. Once again a 1950s piece, probably originally part of a set. If you would like to read a brief history of Weiss you can do so here.
Gorgeous clear diamante brooch by Weiss. I believe this to be an earlier than the 1950s piece given the clear diamantes and the design of the brooch. I bought this for the less usual baguette shaped diamantes used to edge the brooch. The back is smooth and perfect and the diamantes still have amazing sparkle.
Another set by Weiss. I fell in love with the lovely lemon colour of the diamantes and had to add this to my collection. The larger stones are all open backed which allows light to reflect through them. I'm unsure of the age of this set but given it's pastel colour I suspect it may well be from the 1950s.
Another earlier brooch by Weiss. Notable for the variety of shapes of the rhinestones used in the design. All the rhinestones in this brooch are clear suggesting an earlier time than the 1950s (when the use of aurora borealis rhinestones was huge) Sadly they are beginning to show signs of dulling with age.
Pretty pastel green brooch and earrings by Weiss. 1950s. Another set I treasure very much!
Finally today an older set of Weiss earrings. Poor photo but note the baguette shaped diamante's used. I am unsure of the age of these but the diamantes are beginning to dull.
Hope you enjoyed todays trinkets and have a wonderful week everyone. :)

wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen

9 comments:

  1. You must let us know if any are heirlooms and have a story I do love an heiloom story.I love all your treasures and salivate every time I see them lol xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nelly sadly most of my pieces came without any history. I do have a couple of pieces that I haven't rediscovered yet that I was told a little about the ladies that had originally owned them. I wonder all the time about who owned them, who gave them to them etc etc. I wonder too what they would think of someone treasuring their jewellery many years on.I have a piece somewhere that was given to a lady by her french lover according to the lady who sold it to me. (It was her grandmothers...I don't know how she could bear to part with it)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Helen they are beautiful treasures and thank yu for sharing them with us.

    Love and hug,
    Linda.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your Tuesday trinkets should be called Tuesdays treasures, everything is divine and sooo pretty.
    The pink brooch, and the lemon and green sets are my fave's. Have you been collecting jewellery for long Helen cos you just never see these beautiful pieces around much anymore, especially the designer pieces. Any way thanks for sharing more of your wonderful collection, it's so enjoyable.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your brooches are beautiful,I do like the square one as well.People don't seem to wear brooches much anymore,shame.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Again very very hard to pick a favourite, but I do like the snowflake shaped one a lot. I think it would look lovely pinned to a winter beret.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like to think about the original owner, was it a gift? Did they save it for a special occasion? You have so many lovely pieces!

    E :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks Linda

    Bron I collected most of my jewellery between the years of 2004 and 2009. Nicer pieces are getting harder to find and becoming more expensive to buy. The US is a bigger market place I suppose but the sellers from there seem to have much more to offer in my experience.

    simmone thanks and yes I am hoping brooches will make a comeback! I always check out little old ladies down the street as they are about the only ones that seem to wear them anymore.

    Thanks Lyndel - I do love that little heart at the end of your name!

    Lakota the snowflake would be stunning on a beret! It would be lovely on a velvet coat too.

    Thanks Em. Yes if only our vintage lovelies could talk to us! What interesting stories they could tell I am sure. :)

    ReplyDelete