It's not just about the jewellery ...

Swansea High Street Today

Elysium Cinema

I figured since my last post was a hasty affair, I'd make the effort this time round. Like most people who are vintage and antique enthusiasts. I'm no different, and find myself drawn to the history of items we find and the places we find them in. I'm not sure that everyone shares my enthusiasm, so I generally tend to keep some of it to myself. A prime example was yesterday. A simple trip to the hospital had me enthralled, as it does every time. (Not the hospital but the bus journey) While the bus travels through quirky little welsh villages, some a little rough around the edges. I'm admiring the quaint windows above the modern shops. The old advertising signs that you can just about read on the walls of closed down pubs and cinemas. I have, however, stopped commenting to my husband about the lovely shaped windows above the closed down pubs, as he thinks I'm missing a few screws. So in my minds eye I try to piece together a mental image of what stories these places could tell. Who constructed these buildings? Who put the quaint little windows and doors in place? Who were the first people to live and work there?  Swansea centre, as most may know, was bombed heavily during the blitz and lasted for three days. Lives of course were lost along with many traditional buildings. Swansea was reduced to rubble. The castle as it stands today, or rather the ruins, can be missed in a blink of any eye. The town centre had to be rebuilt from scratch. So the few buildings that were left standing are of some significance to a 'wannabe historian' like myself.

That's exactly why I love vintage items so much. It's more than just buying and selling. It's preserving history and passing it on. Those little clip on earrings you see on my website are not just earrings. They are someone's concept. Someones company name. Most of which was made before I was born and turns up 50 years later in our auctions boxes.

As well as the story of it's manufacture. It would have had a very first owner. Maybe passed down, as things often were, to family members. Then many years later, someone comes along and does a house clearance. And hence an elderly ladies possessions end up in our local auction. As sad as that sounds. It's rather exciting to delve into auction boxes not knowing what you're going find. Being able to rescue these wonderful vintage items and research their history is far more rewarding than I can put into words.

The Egyptian Obession

Victorians were obsessed with Egypt and many jewellery designs of that time represented this obsession. Craftsmen were creating scarab rings and pendants from semi precious materials and colourful enamels to satisfy the passion of the Victorians. Whilst our collection doesn't have an original Eygptian revival piece. We do have several 'Victorian' revival pieces inspired by Egyptology and aptly created by the British designer Sphinx around the 1960's to 70's.

Victorian Revival Brooch by Sphinx circa 1970

The Sphinx company was founded in late 1940 to 1950 by S. Root, in Chiswick, London UK. They specialised in making high end quality costume jewellery, so well made it had the look of the real thing. Sphinx produced pieces for Kenneth Jay Lane, Butler & Wilson, 5th Avenue,Bloomingdales to name just a few. The sphinx signature can be found on many of their pieces with the word 'Sphinx' inscribed on an oval plaque. Other pieces were left unsigned, or will have design numbers only or a letter and numbers.

Production ceased in the 1990's - 2000 however Sphinx jewellery is very desirable and has become highly collectible more so very early pieces.They made a huge range or jewellery in various designs and styles and were mostly associated with their statement pieces.

Dear Vintage : Junk or History?

Dear Vintage : Junk or History?: Welcome to the first blog post of Dear Vintage.    Art Deco Ring from a friends ETSY store. 'Dear Vintage' was born from...

Junk or History?

Welcome to the first blog post of Dear Vintage. 

 

Art Deco Ring from a friends ETSY store.

'Dear Vintage' was born from our life long passion of antique and vintage items. Four years ago my husband set up his business selling antique and vintage china online. During those four years I've become quite knowledgeable in this field. So much so, that now I see a pattern or a cup shape and can correctly attribute it to it's rightful maker. (most of the time anyway)

We have attended many an auction and walked our little feet off finding treasures to fill up our vintage shelves. More often than not hubby's auction boxes have included job lots of vintage costume jewellery. Since then I've been collecting the best pieces and researching the ones with signatures. Slowly but surely, I've accumulated enough sparkles to finally set up my own website. 

I know there are many people who simply adore vintage jewellery as much as I do. Others might say junk, I say history. That vintage brooch you see in grandma's jewellery box could well be an Art Deco piece. Which would have been made during the reign of King Edward, the son of Queen Victoria. Smooth lines, geometric shapes, streamlined forms and bright colours were popularised during this era and eternalised in the form of jewellery, some of which command high prices today.

Langani Deco Revival Brooch

Every vintage item has a history regardless of being signed or not. We like to think that we are keeping history alive by sourcing these wonderful forgotten treasures and finding them a new home and an appreciative new owner.

Our new website is still in it's early days. But we aim to bring you genuine vintage jewellery and accessories. Where possible we will give you a brief history to boot. There has never been a better time to invest in your history, whether it's a simple piece of jewellery or an antique tea service.