Changes to Jewels & Finery UK for July 2012

Good morning, now the sun is out so everything is bright! This month my husband and I have finally decided about making some changes to our websites. So it is with a heavy heart that we have closed our craft site and information one. It was just too difficult to keep up with adding new products or information as well as running our main website Jewels & Finery UK for vintage jewellery. There are just the 2 of us and we wanted to expand, so this was our final decision. Jewels and Finery will continue to sell genuine vintage jewellery as well as antique Victorian jewellery, pre owned and brand new jewellery. But we do have plans for the future that we are very excited about. But much more of that at a later date.

Just some of the latest additions;

Genuine black vintage bead necklace with graduated beads of glass. Complete with a brass screw clasp. Long necklace circa 1930s.

Vintage cameo brooch by Sphinx. The cameo is on a mock carnelian background with a rope decorated frame. Signed designer jewellery from Sphinx of the UK.

 Butterscotch coloured vintage clip on earrings. Love these as so vintage in style of the 1950s.

You will not see a lot added over the next 2 weeks as we are having a redesign. But watch this space for more exciting news. lets just hope the sun continues to shine down on all of you this week.
   

Huge and big clip on earrings

Now you either wear clip on earrings or not. Useful if you have not got pierced ears but also can be worn if you do. Clip earrings first came into fashion in the 1930s and enjoyed about 50 years of popularity before a gradual decline in use. Many people still use clip earrings, although finding them is difficult as many jewellery companies no longer make them. 

Before the clip mechanism was patented, ears were pierced usually using a needle heated to sterilize. Then pushed through your ear with a cork placed at the back to stop the needle going too far! Now you had to trust your friend, sister or mom to make the hole in the right place and you had not to move.
So in came the clip earring that did not require surgery, although some pinched your ears and you had to make sure they stayed on. But help was at hand in the shape of earring accessories of pads and pillows. Pillows fitted over the paddle and not only cushioned but helped keep the earring on. Then pads fit into the hole on the clip paddle and again cushion and help to hold the piece of jewellery in place. 

In the late 1970s an new way to pierce ears came in - the piercing gun which revolutionised piercing ears. Well lets face it now days, everthing seems to be pierced!!

So back to the big and huge clip on earrings - very popular in the 1980s and 1990s when everything was over sized.

In the photographs are big pink plastic clip earrings, diamante delight earrings also quite big. Huge blue diamond vintage clip on earrings.Then above Peta Lure earrings circa 1960s by Sarah Coventry.  Below are copper and gold tone floral clip earrings circa 1990s that are also bigger than average.

  Of course there are more vintage earrings to wear on Jewels & Finery for pierced ears. 

My Own sparkling Jewellery for a spectacular evening

This weeks COW for the jewelry ring is what would you wear for a spectacular evening. Well this is the sparkling jewellery and not so vintage, that I would choose? As this fantasy evening calls for the full works and opportunity to dress up in everything that sparkles and glitters. This are a few of my favourite few pieces.

For a start it has to be all clear rhinestone and diamante, as this would go with any colour dress. Long ball gown dress and high heels I think - though the last time I tried to wear high heels I had to come down our stairs on my bum!

This is my selection of jewellery that range in age from the 1950s to a couple of years ago.

 In the middle is my rhinestone vintage necklace worn when I was in my twenties with jeans and '70s cheese cloth shirts - just a few years ago now!! It dates to the 1950s and is still fairly bright and clear. In the very middle is my 1960s stretch bracelet of rhinestones from the Empire. It has been owned by me for about 15 years now. The clip earrings are again about 1950s/1960s and I acquired them around 10 years ago.

 Here are two large "Evening Snowflake" brooches with a matching pair of clip on earrings. All from Sarah Coventry dating to the 1960s. One of the brooches belonged to my grandmother and came into my possession about 30 years ago. The other vintage brooch and clip on earrings was a set I brought last year. Really only wanted the earrings, but thought the other brooch could be for my daughter who shares my costume jewellery. The brooches can be worn on a dress either side and the clip earrings can double as shoe clips. Now I could wear one of the brooches in my hair, if I pulled it up high into a glamorous bun, but what would I do with my tiara?

This is a fairly new tiara at about 11 years old, brought by my husband for a New Years Eve party - for me not for him to wear I hasten to add, though I think he tried it on. Just a simple inexpensive tiara of mock pearls and diamante, but priceless to me.  My daughter has one also which she has kept. (Must run in the family)

Found the tiara difficult to photograph as kept getting a blurred photo and didn't have a model handy.
Last but not least my newest accessory for the evening - a beaded evening bag in a gun metal silver brought new a couple of years ago.

  
   So when I get that ball invite (hint hint) I am readyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

We do have some similar jewels available on Jewels and Finery. Check diamante jewellery and rhinestone jewellery collections. 

Summer time jewellery and brooches

Now I know it is suppose to be summer time here in the UK. But with rain and rain and more rain, not to mention the hail stones we have had recently this week. You could be forgiven for forgetting that it should be warm and sunny! But we have some vintage jewellery and brooches to cheer any dull day up.

These are some of the latest additions this past week.

Starfish jewellery set - New Age 1990s

A little bit of the seaside with this pretty starfish-shaped brooch and clip on earrings vintage jewellery set. Silver and gold tone 1980s/1990s matching set for wearing together or separate.  Pin the starfish brooch to a bag or hairband and believe that its summer!

Embroidery vintage brooch with pretty pink pansy flowers.1950s/1960s vintage jewellery that is not only collectible but wearable. Very popular to embroider your own jewellery in Victorian times and again post war to about the 1970s. With crafts coming back and more people sewing and embroidering, are we soon to see this relaxing pastime re-appearing in our jewellery?

 Now this is a superb vintage necklace in gold tone. Attributed to Coro with textured links and a knot at the front. This type of necklace can be found by many designers around the 1960s era, especially about 1963/1964 period.

These are just 3 genuine vintage jewellery pieces that we have as new additions this week. Lots more to come with many new lines of vintage inspired and other gorgeous jewellery.