WEC: Thoughts about Jewelry

Fish and sea creatures are a very popular motif in costume jewelry. I have so many fish pins that I'll devote an entire post to them at another time. This post is about the other creatures in the ocean.   WHALES Whales swim about 30 miles per hour The primary predators of whales are human Unsigned Pin Unsigned PinLes Bernard Pin Kenneth Jay Lane Pin Swoboda Pin DOLPHINS To prevent drowning while sleeping only half of the dolphin’s brain goes to sleep while the other half remains awake so they can continue to breathe. This is also true of whales A...

Ask someone to tell you the first thing they think of when you say Africa and I bet it's the animals. We've all been to the zoo, we've all sat through nature travelogues and the images of the large and varied animal population of the continent remains foremost in our minds. Animals are very popular motifs in costume jewelry and the variety of species in Africa lends itself to a jewelry collection. I'm going to focus on the mammals. Let's start the safari. GIRAFFES A giraffe has seven neck vertebrae A giraffe heart weighs approximately 22 pounds     Kenneth Jay Lane Bracelets...

Snowflake and Starburst designs are commonly seen in costume jewelry. The pieces are usually symmetrical in design. Not much to go on? Maybe not, but there are huge numbers of pieces available to collectors with endless variety of design. DEFINITION OF A SNOWFLAKEa flake of snow, especially a feathery ice crystal, typically displaying delicate sixfold symmetry DEFINITION OF A STARBURSTa pattern of lines or rays radiating from a central object or source of light DEFINITION OF STARa conventional or stylized representation of a star, typically one having five or more points SNOWFLAKES Swarovski Lapel Pin Sterling Silver and Turquoise Pin Silver Pendant by...

Taking a great photo of your jewelry is crucial if you want to compete as an internet seller. You can do a search on any website; eBay for example, for "butterfly pin" and you'll get hundreds of results. If you're like most shoppers, you'll scroll through the list looking at the photos. You probably won't even look at the listing title or price until you happen upon a photo of interest. Try it for yourself. Go on, I'll be here when you get finished. My goal here isn't to tell you what to do or what is best, but to...

Continuing my series on Color in Costume Jewelry with a collection of graphic black and white. Be sure to check my shop to see what's for sale.   Unsigned Necklace and Earrings Set Unsigned PinEarrings by Arne Nordlie Necklace and Earrings by Kenneth Jay Lane Unsigned Pin 4-Strand Necklace from Japan Hobe Bracelet and Earrings Unsigned Pin with Foiled Stones Galalith Necklace from FranceUnsigned Pin and Earrings Set Kenneth Jay Lane Earrings Pin and Earrings by Avon Unsigned Pin and Earrings Set Unsigned Necklace and Earrings Set Unsigned Bracelet  More from this Color in Costume Jewelry Series coming soon!

Elephant themed costume jewelry is a fun collectible category. Lots of designs are available on the secondary market, so finding pieces from the the past can be a fun afternoon project. ELEPHANT FACTS Elephants are the largest land mammals. An elephant can live for 60-70 years. Elephants are the only mammals that can not jump. Elephant skin is about 1" thick. The female's gestation period is about 22 months. Females usually give birth four times during her lifetime. Tusks are actually incisors used for defense and to dig for water. Each elephant has four molars weighing about 5 pounds each and about the...

Costume jewelry and fishing aren't often part of the same conversation. But, I have a friend who is an avid fisherman and a costume jewelry collector. Our conversations are peculiar. We'll be talking about an anchor shaped brooch and then out comes a fishing reference, "I lost my best anchor on a snag last summer." Huh? Say what? A conversation about finding treasures while out scavenging at yard sales may include, "I got a small freezer at an estate sale yesterday for my fishing bait." Norb, this one's for you! THE EQUIPMENT Silver Charm Beau Silver Pin          Collection...

Yellow is the color of sunshine, but according to Wikipedia's article on yellow it is also the color people most often associate with amusement, optimism, gentleness, and spontaneity, but also with duplicity, envy, jealousy, avarice, and, in the U.S., with cowardice. It plays an important role in Asian culture particularly in China, where it is seen as the color of happiness, glory, wisdom, harmony and culture. I think it's a happy color and it lends itself nicely to costume jewelry as seen in the following examples.  Detail from Bracelet by David Andersen, Norway Trifari Necklace and Earrings Set Dimensional Flower Pin; the Petals...

Rhinestones and semi-precious stones as seen in costume jewelry come in a variety of colors and shapes. But just when you think you've seen them all, you realize there's another world of specialty stones. These are the ones which catch my eye. They included bi-colored stones, foiled stones and art glass stones. Here I'll show examples of some of the semi-precious stones and specialty stones I've found over the years.  CABOCHONCabochon, Cab for short, refers to a rounded stone without facets. It can be natural or glass. FROSTED MARQUISE OR NAVETTE STONESMarquise or Navette stones are pointed at both ends with matching...

Last week I posted a blog about Fruit Jewelry and while researching it I found I had a lot of other foods. So I thought I'd present a menu of food in costume jewelry.  SHOPPING FOR INGREDIENTS         Vintage Food Product Charms (and a Cleanser Charm) Collection of Food Charms from James Avery      Farmer's Market Charm Bracelets BREAKFAST Egg in a Cup Charm by Anton Michelsen COCKTAILS AND APPETIZERS Unsigned Pin Silver Peanut Pillbox from Mexico  Silver and Enamel Cocktail Shaker Charm      Chianti Bottle Dice Holder Pendant VEGGIES Turnip Pin, Unsigned Carrot Pin by Art Carrot Pin,...