Easter Brooches - Less fattening than chocolate

Its Easter egg buying time again. Easter is on Sunday April 4th this year and as usual I am suggesting that a piece of Vintage Jewellery is less fattening and longer lasting than Chocolate and does not have to cost any more.

Whilst you could choose any pretty brooch there are many which have an Easter related theme which would be particularly relevant. How about an animal brooch , a chick, a bird, rabbit or duck? Flowers are always a popular gift and you can get eggs in the shape of eggs, young children and for those who wish to stick to the traditional religious side of Easter a brooch or pendant in the shape of a cross.

Here is a nice selection of vintage brooches with an Easter Theme.

Jelly Belly duck brooch vintage Lucite and silver


This cute duck brooch is made out of silver ( impressed sterling) , It is set with a clear lucite "Jelly Belly" and has a diamante eye. Measuring about 4.9 cms from head to toe wide this sought after vintage brooch is in excellent

Pretty bird on branch costume jewellery brooch


A lovely costume jewellery brooch featuring a long tailed bird sitting on a branch. This brooch is made of gold toned metal and is set with clear and pale blue diamante. It measures about 6 cms long and is in excellent wearable condition. This brooch is thought to be about 20 years old, a quality piece of costume jewellery sure to be collectable in the future

vintage flower brooch lucite three flowers

Brooches made from Lucite date from circa 1930s /1940s. These are carved from behind intaglio style and filled with colour to depict three flowers, I think these are roses. This vintage lucite flower brooch measures up to 5 cms wide. This is an up and coming form of collectable vintage jewellery.



Are you choosing Vintage Jewellery instead of Chocolate this year? Please do leave a comment and tell us about it.

Vintage brooches news March 2010

Here is the March update from AntiquesAvenue.co.uk including a look at the lovely antique and Vintage brooches which have recently been added to the site .

Blog News
Over on my main blog at http://www.antiquesavenue.com/ I've been taking a look at the A-Z of antique and vintage jewellery materials and have just completed the letter A for Agate, Amber, Amethyst and Aventurine.

Have you seen my Vintage Jewellery Videos yet? They are all shown in the previous post here or you can pop along to You-tube and view the AntiquesAvenue channel


Vintage Jewellery Shop News
As always I've been adding lots of fresh stock including Vintage Brooches. Vintage Brooches have been a popular gift fro Mothers Days again this year and I am selling quite a few which are to be given as Easter gifts. Much less fattening that Easter eggs and  much longer lasting too.

Vintage Brooches recently added
Taking a look at a few of the lovely antique and Vintage brooches I've added recently:

Rare gold Mizpah brooch:
Victorian Mizpah brooches are always sought after and even more so when they are made of gold like this one.


Mizpah: The Lord watch between me and thee when we are absent one from another.

This piece of antique jewellery measures about 4 cms long


Jelly Belly duck Vintage Brooch

Jelly Belly duck brooch vintage Lucite and silver
This cute duck brooch is made out of silver ( impressed sterling) , It is set with a clear Lucite "Jelly Belly" and has a diamante eye


Coming Soon:

I've a few nice Victorian brooches to be added over the next week or two including a Whitby jet cameo brooch and some sweet Victorian sentimental silver brooches. Do check back soon.

I'm going to try and update this blog a little more often to show the wonderful variety of vintage brooches available.

Vintage Jewellery Videos

Have you seen my Vintage jewellery Videos ? Here they all are:

Mothers Day vintage brooches

Mother Day is one of my favourite gift occasions for giving vintage jewellery and I think the best piece of jewellery you can give Mum is a vintage brooch in the shape of flowers. A lovely vintage brooch can cost as little as a bunch of real flowers and is going to last much much longer. This year mothers day falls on March 14th in the UK so there is still plenty of time to choose your perfect pin.

There is a huge variety of antique and vintage flower brooches to choose from: gold, silver or costume. You can still find some lovely Victorian silver flower brooches, a porcelain brooch which was hand painted with flowers in the early 1900s or a showy flower spray set with diamante from the 1950s or 1960s.

Here are a few favourite vintage flower brooches from antiquesavenue.co.uk

Castlecliff - huge 1940s cocktail era flower brooch silver

A stunning Castlecliff brooch dating from I believe the 1940s. This is made of silver ( sterling is impressed on the reverse). It is huge measuring about 9.5 cms long and 5.5 cms wide. This is in excellent wearable condition. Castlecliff were an American Jewellery company. Here is what I have been able to find out about them:
Founded By Clifford Furst And Joseph Bobley In New York City, Castlecliff Was A Highly Respected Name In The Jewelry Industry, And Its Beauty Was Just As Highly Prized By Women Then As It Is By Those Lucky Enough To Find A Piece Now. Sold In Only The Finest Departments Stores, Castlecliff Was Impeccably Produced In Bold Yet Startlingly Intricate Designs

Antique brooch Pietra Dura Lily of Valley Victorian

Antique brooch Dura Lily of Valley Victorian

This wonderful antique Victorian brooch made of white metal ( tests as silver) and set with a Pietra Dura panel with a picture of a Lily of the valley. The leaves of the flower are made of malachite and the flowers in white agate. This really is a superb piece of antique jewellery.

Material:Silver and hardstonesSize:5.5 x 4.3 cmsAge:Mid Victorian Condition: Excellent

Exquisite flower brooch pansy bouquet

A very pretty enameled flower brooch - a bunch of pansies. This brooch was made by Exquisite and dates from circa 1950s. I believe that this was made as part of the birthdays series and I think that this one is for May. This brooch measures about 6.5 cms long


Or you can view all of my antique and vintage brooches together.

Vintage brooches for Valentines

Have you chosen your Valentines gift yet? Here are a few suggestions from antiquesavenue.co.uk where there are lots of brooches, pins and clips with a suitable Valentines theme. Hearts, flowers, cupids and Victorian sentimental jewellery would all be suitable.

Flowers;

How long will a bunch of flowers last? A few days at the most where as a vintage flower brooch will last a life time. Here are a few pretty flower brooches:

A wonderful vintage brooch , Pietre dure brooch which will date from the Victorian era. Pietre dure is the term given to the technique of using small, exquisitely cut and fitted, highly-polished colored stones to create what amounts to a painting in stone. Here we have a typical stone painting of flowers set into a silver mount. This brooch will date from the Victorian era. It measures a little over 4 cms long and fastens with a simple C catch. This Victorian brooch is in excellent condition

A brooch from the mid 1900s:

Vintage flower brooch

A pretty vintage flower brooch made from an early creamy coloured plastic and moulded with flowers and leaves. This brooch measures about 4 cms long and dates from circa 1920s / 1930s

Large Royal Crown Derby porcelain flower brooch

Made by Royal Crown Derby in fine porcelain, this is a wonderful brooch. It measures about 5.4 cms diameter and in in excellent condition. Very delicate and very beautiful. There are full Royal Crown Derby makers marks on the reverse. This brooch will date from circa 1950s

Vintage brooch sale on antiquesavenue

As January is traditionally the time of the Sale, I am drastically reducing the price of one piece of vintage jewellery each day between now and January 10th.

Here are the the two vintage brooch reductions from Yesterday and today:
Silver brooch scottish thistles vintage
This vintage silver brooch is in the form of three Scottish thistles each set with a citrine coloured stone. This brooch is impressed WBs Sterling in the reverse. This brooch measures about 7 cms wide and is in good wearable condition. It fastens with a simple C catch
Deal of the Day 30 December reduced to £15 one day only. Was £26

Unusual vintage enamel brooch vintage jewelry

A very unusual vintage enamel brooch - I've not seen one quite like this before. The main part of the brooch is circular and domed. It has a small clear diamante at the center. There are three hanging bars each with a diamante at the end. The enamel is in shades of blue, green and a pinky mauve colour. This brooch fastens with a simple catch and measures about 2 cms diameter and 4 cms long. The enamel is in excellent condition

This vintage brooch has been reduced from £30 to £20


Check back on antiquesavenue.co.uk for more vintage brooch and vintage jewellery bargains.

Still time to buy Vintage Brooches for Christmas

Have you bought all your Christmas gifts yet? There is still time to buy vintage brooches and have them delivered ready for the big day . The last posting day for airmail to the USA to ensure Christmas arrival is Fridays this week ( 11 December) . Orders travelling within the UK can be ordered up until December 22nd and will be dispatched up to December 23rd by Special Delivery during tha last few days.

Here are a few lovely brooches you could buy for a lucky lady in your life:

Antique brooch banded agate Victorian Jewellery
Antique Brooch dating from the mid to later 1800s when Queen Victorian popularised all things Scottish. This antique brooch is made of gold toned metal and set with a central banded agate panel in a decorative surround. This antique brooch measures about 5.4 cms wide

Antique brooch Diamond pearl turquoise snowflake brooch pendant


A superb antique brooch in the shape of a snowflake. This brooch is made of 18 carat gold ( tested not hallmarked) and set centrally with a real diamond. Pearls radiate along the arms of the snowflake and there is a turquoise on alternate points. This brooch has a hook on the back so that it could be worn on a chain as a pendant.

Material:Gold , Diamond, Pearl, Turquoise Size:Just over 3 cms diameter Age: Victorian Condition: Excellent

antique brooch rock crystal in silver mount


This antique brooch really sparkles. It is made from a faceted rock crystal gemstone set into a silver mount. The stone has been cut to show off its beauty and clarity.
Measuring about 4 cms wide this antique Victorian brooch is in excellent condition.

Antique brooch silver and paste


A superb antique brooch made from silver and set with clear paste stones and a central faux citrine. Paste stones are an early type of imitation gemstone - these are set into the silver with their backs covered and sparkle wonderfully under artificial light. This antique brooch dates from the Victorian era and measures about 3.5 cms long.

The hinge and general construction of the brooch indicate the Victorian date however the original catch has been replaced with a modern one which makes the brooch much safer to wear

Vintage Brooches fresh in stock

I'd thought you would like to see the fresh stock of vintage brooches which have been added to http://www.antiquesavenue.co.uk/ this week. There are some wonderful brooches below are just three examples , A victorian brooch, an art deco brooch and a lovely trifari elephant brooch.
Look in the shop and you can also find wonderful original victorian scottish brooches, an amazing garnet lizard brooch and some wonderful scandinavian silver brooches. Later this week I am adding diamante brooches and a lovely old Ruskin arts and crafts cabochon silver example.

Antique brooch Dura Lily of Valley Victorian


This wonderful antique victorian brooch made of white metal ( tests as silver) and set with a Pietra Dura panel with a picture of a Lily of the valley. The leaves of the flower are made of malachite and the flowers in white agate. This really is a superb piece of antique jewellery.

Material: Silver and hardstones Size:5.5 x 4.3 cms Age:Mid Victorian Condition: Excellent

 

 
Crown Trifari elephant red crystal brooch


A really cute elephant brooch or pin made by Trifari with the Crown Trifari makers mark. This is gold toned metal set with cranberry coloured stones.

Size: 2.4 cms long

Condition: Excellent

vintage art deco enamel silver scarab brooch


Amazing original art deco scarab beetle brooch dating from circa 1920s. This is made of 800 silver mad decorated in red, green, blue and white enamel colours

Material:Silver and enamel Size: just under 3 cms long Age:Art Deco 1920s Condition: Excellent - no damage to the enamel Maker, Designer, Origin:European

Vintage brooches for Christmas

Of all the types of vintage jewellery you can give as a Christmas gift this year an antique or vintage brooch just has to be one of the most versatile and one with the widest range for you to choose from.

There are antiuqe brooches suitable for most folks too from the youngest baby to the oldest grannie. And dont forget the men too, just call the brooch a badge, a lapel pin or a tie pin and you could find a brooch suitable for most men.

Here are a few I think would go down well as presents:

A brooch for a young girl:

Shell cameo brooch fairy & swan 800 silver vintage

An unusual hand carved shell cameo featuring a fairy holding a swan. She is set into an 800 grade silver frame ( impressed 800)
Age: mid 1900s
Approx Size: Just over 3 cms long

( conversion note: 1 inch = 2.54 cms) Approx Weight: 5.9 grams
Condition:  Excellent


A Brooch for Grannie:
vintage brooch enamel violets flowers



A pretty vintage brooch in the shape of a bunch of violets. The flowers on this vintage brooch have been enameled in shades of violet and green. The brooch measures about 4.7 cms long and fastens with a roll over catch. A lovely piece of vintage costume jewellery


Discount on Brooches:
Today only there is a 10% discount on all vintage jewellery including antique annd vintage brooches over at Antiquesavenue.co.uk. If you have missed this then please do sign up for my newsletter where you will get details of special offers in the future.

Vintage gold brooches, a good investment?

Have you seen the price of gold recently? It seems to be going up every day. You will be amazed at what a vintage gold brooch you purchased a few years ago is worth today. The average price increase for gold over the last five years has been well over 15%. This is particularly favourable to the prices of houses, stocks and shares or the interest you can make on your money in the bank. Now I dont know if this increase will continue or not and I am certainly not qualified to give investment advice. I am just looking at what has happened in the past and posing the question: Are vintage gold brooches a good investment?

We do not buy vintage gold brooches purely as an investment of course, most of the joy of owning vintage jewellery has to do with the craftsmanship, the design and the pure joy of wearing a piece of style or history.
But what, just if, this lovely old brooch you are admiring was to go up in value too? Wouldnt that be wonderful.

So what factors should we look for in a vintage gold brooch?
As with all vintage jewellery these are important ( in no particular order):
1. Condition
2. Style
3. Maker / designer
4. Age
5. Size/ weight
6. Materials
7. Price

I will look at each of these over the next week or so and examine what makes a vintage brooch desirable. For now lets look at a couple of vintage gold brooches which might just be an excellent investment as they are hallmarked gold:
vintage brooch black Opal oval gold 1980s

There is a super oval black opal set into this 9 carat gold brooch. The hallmarks date it to the 1980s. The opal is a doublet. A very collectable piece of vintage jewellery
Approx Size: 2.2 cms long ( conversion note: 1 inch = 2.54 cms)

Approx Weight: 3.2 grams
Country of origin: England


Vintage brooch gold pearl garnet leaf spray

A vintage brooch made of fully hallmarked nine carat gold in the shape of a spray of fern leaves ties up with a bow. This vintage brooch is a lovely piece of jewellery being set with three garnets and three pearls. This brooch measures about 4.2 cms long