We are pleased to announce that recently Ruby Lane added its 2,000th shop to our community. This is a timely milestone as we celebrate our 10th year in business. We want to take this opportunity to thank all shop owners for choosing Ruby Lane as your online venue. As always, we will continue to strive to further improve the buying and selling experience as the online marketplace evolves.

One of the giants of the jewelry industry, Krementz may also be in the running for the longest lived family-owned jewelry manufacturing business in America.

Krementz was founded in 1866 by George Krementz. The company developed the high quality finish known as Krementz Overlay in the 1880’s. This laminated finish was a variation of the basic gold-filled manufacturing process. Krementz used 14 karat gold in the process, while many other manufacturers used 10 karat gold or 12 karat gold in the process. Krementz also added a layer of nickel plating on their items, coating the base metal with nickel before adding the gold finish, which was put on the base in sheet form, under great heat and pressure. The result was a finish which maintained its color. Krementz pieces did not get the “brassy” look which many other gold filled pieces acquired over the years.

I sell information about the antiques and collectibles trade, not the objects themselves. I am a collector, not a dealer. In my role as a “neutral” observer within the trade, I am in constant communication with participants from all facets of the trade, especially sellers (dealers). Here are my observations from several recent conversations.

True Fire Agate is a unique and beautiful stone, a variety of chalcedony that has an opalescent play of color. It is only found in parts of the southwest United States, California, and Mexico. It is thought that the stone, which has a large iron oxide component, builds up in layers, from solution. Silica, the component which gives opal its wonderful play of color, is a factor in the formation of true Fire Agate.

The fifth postcard era is called the White Border Era since a common trait of these cards was a white border around the image. This era began after World War I ended the "Golden Age of Postcards" and ran from 1915 to 1930. World War I in Europe ended access to the high quality printers in Germany and the rest of Europe and American publishers fired up their presses to fill the void.

The third era I will discuss is called the "Undivided Back Era 1901-1907" but just keep in mind that the two previous eras I discussed also were undivided back eras. On 24 December 1901, the United States Congress granted permission to use "Post Card" on the back of privately printed issues and allowed the regular size postcard of today but still limited the back of the postcard to just the address.

Even if not in the business of buying or selling antiques and collectibles many people in the world at large are aware that Sevres is the name of an important maker and decorator of porcelain in France. What they may not know, however, is how widely faked and copied Sevres has been throughout the centuries.

A Brief History

This question is fraught with danger. No matter what shows I pick, individuals will argue with my choices. Well they should. The right antiques and collectibles show for me is most likely the wrong show for you.

The question needs to be examined in tiers, from the high-end shows to the antiques and collectibles flea markets. Further, the continual growth of the one dimensional show, i.e., a show focusing on a single collecting category from advertising to dolls to firearms to toys, makes it extremely difficult to answer this question in a general way.

The American postcard history is generally divided into seven eras spanning 1893 until the present day. The first picture postcard originated in Europe in the 1860s and the US began flirting with them during the civil war with envelopes and letterheads with patriotic designs and trade cards. The US government issued their first official postcards in 1873 with a postage rate of one cent while letters required 2 cents postage. This half price rate insured their quick acceptance by the public and businesses which printed their sales pitch on the back of the government post cards.

Determining the age of a postcard is a task that can range from easy to impossible and requires knowledge, a keen eye, research and lots of luck. If we are talking about a used post card, many people will just use the postmark date or the date written by the sender in the message. Postmarks are great for determining a postcard is at least "X" number of years old but it is really only good for determining the latest date it could have been produced.