Vintage Jewelry Contest on Our Facebook Page

It's that time again! Time to give away some gorgeous jewelry! Don't miss it. 

Join and follow our Facebook page for details and your chance to win!

Vintage Jewelry Display: Ideas From An Outdoor Market

Recently we had the opportunity to participate in an outdoor market!

Fun!

I hadn't done a market in YEARS, so given that I had two weeks to prepare, I think it turned out alright! But with more shows planned on the near future, I thought I'd share some ideas and tips for anyone else out there planning on attending their own market or show. And speaking of markets and shows, make sure you visit our Alberta Market Guide For Vintage and Craft Fairs.

Ok, on to the good stuff! 

(above) A DIY step display made specifically for brooches. Made from strips of foam clued together into "steps" and covered with black velvet fabric. Also, a cute sign quickly fashioned from a bit of paint on a couple of pieces of Saskatchewan barn wood.

I LOVE a good display, don't you? Something that grabs someone from a distance and pulls them in. Something with levels, style, color, and of course...sparkle!

This is what I tried to achieve with my display.

Now, I have to preface this by saying that I only had two weeks to prepare and I had nothing ready (including pricing) prior to this. Plus, I have a job...and a baby...and a house...and yard to maintain so there is potential for much more here! Also, I unfortunately forgot an entire box of display items at home including beautiful vintage china and silver that was supposed to take my display over the top. Oh well, I have another show coming up to make those revisions. Make sure to follow this blog for updates and more photos! :-)

The event was the Big Rock Brewery 30th Birthday Bash in Calgary, Alberta. Not something you'd expect to find vintage jewelry at but they graciously hosted a farmer's market with vintage inspired, true vintage, and handmade items. It was such a cute market with so many really talented vendors! Shopping, beer, and live entertainment...what a fun way to spend a Saturday! 

On with the photos!

 Photo by Stephanie Arsenault 

Photo by Stephanie Arsenault 

(above) A basic spinning earring display with clip earrings. It was difficult to find way to display them without having them fall off. I used plastic and velvet earring cards. I cut the bottoms so the clip part would grip the velvet. An even better idea would be to glue some spongy black foam to the cards for the earrings to grasp.

 (above) Photo by Stephanie Arsenault 

(above) A vintage book (The Book of Golden Deeds) with pages folded in to create an attractive ring display.

(above) An old wooden case made into a jewelry display. 

So, all in all, not bad for a first shot at it with very little time to prepare and having forgot an entire box of display items at home. More posts planned for the future including vintage jewelry display inspiration and tips for jewelry shows.

Do you have any good jewelry display ideas? Share them in the comments below!

Grand Opening of Vintage Jewelry Girl Dot Com!

We are SOOOO excited to announce, that after a long summer of toiling over WordPress, our new vintage jewelry store is officially OPEN for business!! AND, it works Thank Goodness)!! ;-)

The new site offers a beautiful clean design with large photos of items and an easy to use picture lightbox for each image. The new Vintage Jewelry Girl site also features a new blog and jewelry information and tips. It'll be continually updated and provide fun vintage and contemporary fashion information as well as valuable identification, historical, and treasure hunting information!

SO . MUCH . FUN

In addition, we are offering a grand opening discount of 20% on all orders for a limited time with coupon code VJG20)! Stop by today to get a great deal on a unique, quality piece of vintage jewelry. The Christmas season is quickly approaching! Wouldn't it be fabulous to get something special for those on your list this year? Stop by and check it out and please comment on this post with any feedback you may have. If we find it especially useful, we may just send you something pretty for free!

See you at the shop! :-)

5 Great Reasons To Shop Vintage This Holiday Season!

There are so many reasons to shop vintage this holiday season! 

Here are our top five:

1. Give Special and Unique Gifts

Seriously, who else in your circle do you know who is going to go out and get someone some cute 1960's Christmas ornaments or (obviously I'm biased) a beautiful1940's Christmas brooch?

Shop: http://www.rubylane.com/item/693657-brchrefl-178/Brilliant-Vintage-1940s-Ruby-Red

2. Invest in Quality Lasting Treasures

You can go ahead and spend money on something that was mass produced in China in under a minute or you can give a mini investment to someone you love. Give them something that was produced by hand and has been around for decades. If they get sick of it, the value won't plummet off a cliff the moment it leaves the hands of the seller. There will always be someone who would be interested in a piece of the past.

See what I mean?

Source: http://showautoreviews.com/embrace-the-diversity-of-the-classic-car-market/

3. Vintage is Eco-Friendly!

You know the three R's? Which one isn't covered by buying vintage? EXACTLY!

You can create a greater market for things and stuff and fill our world with more items and plastic packaging which contribute to the Christmas carbon footprint....or you can buy something that was produced years ago and is likely better quality than anything you could buy today for the same price! If it makes you feel more modern and hip, go ahead and call it "eco-chic".

This piece? Produced in the 1930's. It's totally unique and still cool today. What's not eco or chic about it?

Shop: http://www.rubylane.com/item/693657-neceln-177/Vintage-Nut-Necklace-Celluloid-Chain

4. Support Small Business

Do you really want to give the executives at Nike a bigger Christmas bonus this year? Or maybe you'd like to boost the income of someone who has built up a small niche business from scratch and has spent the last year investing 12+ hours a day in their passion. Do you really want pad the bank accounts of those already living well beyond the average and increase the widening gap between rich and poor? You can encourage creativity and uniqueness in the world and strengthen our economy by supporting those who build something from scratch. Doesn't that sound nice?

5. Inspire Nostalgia and Good Memories

And finally, on our list, but certainly not the final reason to buy vintage, is for the memory. Ever walk around an antique mall listening to people's conversations about the items they see? If you have, you have no doubt heard people's voices raise in excitement when they see a toy or game they used to have or a piece of jewelry like their grandma used to wear or a glass candy dish like the one they gave their mother as a young child. Nostalgia and memories of loved ones and times past is nothing short of priceless. Jog old memories and create new ones by buying vintage this holiday season.

Source: http://www.mylearning.org/toys-through-time/images/2-1053/

And here's one additional bonus reason to shop vintage comfortably online from home or at the relaxing antique mall during the mall's busiest time of the year:

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078991/Big-High-Street-names-collapse-days-despite-2-5bn-day-sales-boom.html

So go forth! Buy vintage this season...and have a HAPPY HOLIDAY! 

Vintage Sherman Jewelry Gallery: Identification via Example

Vintage Sherman Jewelry Information and Gallery: Identification via Example

2023 UPDATE! Click here to see our updated Sherman Jewelry Gallery!

**2023 UPDATE: Click here for our newest article on Sherman Jewelry History!**

So, you think you have a Sherman piece and you want information to confirm or deny that. Or perhaps you're a collector and you know the jewelry well and you just want some eye candy. Or maybe you're just interested in what makes Sherman jewelry so special anyway? (scroll down for pictures)

This post hopes to give you either the answers to your questions, the eye candy you desire, or the information you're looking for. It's a big one so sit back and enjoy this gallery of past pieces from Vintage Jewelry Girl and my analysis of what makes Sherman jewelry what it is.

First, I am not a Sherman expert. However, I have been selling vintage jewelry in Canada since 1998 and consider my "Sherman eye" fairly refined. Your comments are welcome and encouraged!

Sherman Jewelry

Sherman was a Canadian (Montreal) company that produced costume jewelry of exceptional quality most commonly in Austrian crystal, either of the rhinestone or bead variety. According to Illusion Jewels, it was in existence from 1947-1981 and bore at least 3 signatures. SHERMAN in all caps, Sherman in script, and Sherman with STERLING in all caps underneath it. The company logo, “made to last a lifetime,” was evident in the heavily gold-plated, rhodium-plated, and japanned settings with the highest quality crystals which were sometimes ordered according to Gustave Sherman's exacting specifications. Because of this, pieces are recognizable by the brilliance of the stones as well as the components commonly used in the jewelry. Sherman pieces were expensive in their day and remain so through the collectible market. Sherman jewelry ceased to exist in 1981 and Gustave Sherman passed away in 1984. Please see Collector's Weekly for more information.

The following is a gallery of vintage Sherman jewelry I have had throughout the years. I hope you enjoy the show of the beauty that is Sherman! Click each image to make it bigger. It's worth it!

Sherman Gallery

People collect jewelry for many different reasons. Here is one of mine. This is my Grandma's jewelry box complete with vintage Sherman brooch and earring set and necklace. This started my love for shiny things and the connection to my grandma started my love for vintage items which are connected to people and times gone by.

This set is in a highly collectible color called Siam red which brings some of the highest prices in Sherman jewelry. It's actually a darker and deeper red than the image shows.

This piece is a prime example showing the thin navette stones which Sherman so often used and cluster element at the top, also seen repeatedly in Sherman designs.

Here, you can see the back of the cluster which shows that the stones are open-set. This type of backing is also seen on pieces by Schreiner. 

This next piece is a flower design which is common to Sherman jewelry. This piece, however, has some unusual grey striped stones which I haven't ever seen in any jewelry before ever!

The next two photos show a light pink Sherman brooch and earring set along with the signature on the brooch. This would be considered a less desirable piece because of the less interesting design, however the crystals are still of the utmost quality.

 Next is a Sherman necklace in yellow. Even simple designs like this can cost upwards of $100 due to quality of materials and collectability of the brand name.

You can see by the image of the back, the heavy gold plating and the components used, including extender chain which makes the necklace adjustable. 

This piece, which has unusually brilliant crystals compared to other jewelry of this style, would be another lower valued item, however, still coveted due to its brilliance and quality. The center stone only looks dark due to my lack of photography skills.

The same comments about the last item can be made about these super sparkly clear crystal Sherman earrings.

Sherman yellow screwback earrings with "keystone" crystals.

An example of higher end Sherman earrings. Brilliant, big, and gorgeous!

Here you can see the heavy rhodium plating on the earrings.

Sherman brilliant topaz brooch with aurora borealis stones and little floret earrings. Little florets are common to Sherman jewelry designs. 

Sherman clear crystal necklace in super brilliant aurora borealis crystals.

Back of the necklace. Notice the elements on the end. These "rhinestones interspersed with loop elements" in addition to the "J" hook clasp are common to Sherman designs and serves to make the piece adjustable.

Here, you can see the same elements in another Sherman necklace.

The SHERMAN in all caps signature, on the earrings shown above, can be seen here.

And this is the script signature on the necklace with a close-up of the adjustable chain element.

Sherman brilliant clear bracelet with fold-over clasp and safety chain.

The crystals are amazing!

An example of a wider Sherman clear crystal bracelet utilizing many thin navette stones.

Beaded Sherman Jewelry

Beaded jewelry is something Sherman commonly made. Here is an exquisite example of a multi-strand bracelet with faux pearls and red crystals.

Signature on the bracelet.

This is what I believe was the matching necklace, although unsigned.

I had these earrings along with the bracelet. I'm not completely certain they were a match but they looked incredible together.

Signature on the back of the earrings.

Unsigned Sherman Jewelry

Which brings us to the discussion of the unsigned. There is plenty of reliable evidence that points to the existence of unsigned Sherman jewelry. If the piece didn't have a place for the signature to be added, one might be added by paper tag, making the worn vintage piece appear unsigned. Here are some examples to illustrate that point.

The academic consensus (as well as my own) holds that many Sherman pieces were unsigned, including smaller crystal necklaces like the one shown below. Elements that lead me to make the attribution to this as a Sherman piece are: 1. Brilliance of stones that are unmistakable to a trained eye in person, 2. Use of the same adjustable rhinestone and loop element seen in many pieces above, 3. Heavy rhodium plating and exquisite quality as shown in all three photos.

Another example is this brilliant green crystal set which bore a signature on the earrings only. Beaded necklaces are commonly unsigned because they only had a paper hang tag which was later removed.

I find this piece unusual because of the diamond-shaped element at the closure.

Here is another example of the same type of thing. The silver coated crystal earrings are signed but the necklace is not.

This next image shows the "J" hook clasp with a single crystal navette element decorating it which is common to Sherman jewelry. Also notice the three navette crystal element which connects the three strands.

Here is another unsigned piece that I believe is Sherman. First, the crystals are unlike any I have seen on other unsigned beaded necklaces (see other photos). Second. The piece is adjustable and has the crystal navette decorative element on the clasp. What do you think?

Also, these earrings appear to be unsigned Sherman. The crystals are incredibly brilliant, there is the use of thin navette stones, and the tall slender sprigs are signature of Sherman jewelry. Opinions?

Here is an old blog post with some other pieces I've had a long with a bit of additional information and some explanation regarding color. 

This ends today's lesson. 

I hope it was helpful and inspires some conversation on the topic!