One of the trickiest things to photograph are silver objects. Since silver is extremely reflective it acts like a mirror and your pictures show the camera, your hands, and whatever is behind you.

For example here’s a photograph of a sterling silver bracelet. You see both the camera and my fingers being reflected in the bracelet. The problem gets even bigger when you are photographing larger objects such as silver teapots or trays.

A Return To Splendor – Photographing Jewelry: Light It Up!

You have a beautiful object to sell. You believe it’s going to command a good price. You spend a lot of time taking pictures of it from various angles. You’re excited. However when you look at the pictures you took something doesn’t quite look right. The colors are off. What you saw with your eyes isn’t what you’re seeing in your pictures.

What happened?

This is a common problem in photography and it’s known as White Balance.

I’ve always been a dog lover though my friends think my taste in jewelry is better than my taste in dogs. My elder daughter has always loved dolphins, perhaps because as a one-time competitive swimmer, her dream was to swim with them (and yes, she did do that on a vacation in Cuba one year). My best friend, on the other hand, is mad for cats. She has four of them at any given time and I have to load up on antihistamines every time I go to visit her. Then there’s my 6-year-old grand-daughter who wants, chatters and acts like a monkey 24/7!

The term Niello is used to refer to a method of decorating metal objects, using engraving techniques. In this technique, silver, copper, sulfur or lead are rubbed into an indented pattern in the metal and then the whole object is fired. When the finished product is polished, darkened areas remain which cause a decorative effect. This technique is often used in Siam Sterling jewelry or Thailand Sterling jewelry, and there is a whole collecting area of vintage jewelry referred to as Siam Sterling Nielloware. Here is a lovely example of a Nielloware demi-parure:

I wear reading glasses. Sometimes I don't remember to carry them with me. This is a major downfall of mine. Oftentimes, I find a wonderful piece of jewelry. I check it over and would swear that it has all it's stones and pieces only to find, when I get it home and put my reading glasses on, that there are stones missing or parts broken on my wonderful find. I always resolve to make sure I have my reading glasses with me the next time, only to find that I have forgotten them once again.

Since last month was July, and the ruby is the gemstone for that month, I thought it would be intertesting to write about a particuarly famous ruby - The DeLong Star Ruby.

This fabulous Ruby, which is over 100 carats, was discovered in the Moguk mines of Burma, in the early part of the 20th century. It is one of the largest and finest star rubies in the world, second only to the Rosser Reeves Star Ruby.

POCKET WATCHES

I never thought we would see a day when a simple wrist watch would seem an oddity! Today many people refer to their cell phones to see what time it is and fewer people are wearing wrist watches.

The photos below are of a very special gift that I personally own. This gift was the beginning of my strong interest in the vast world of pocket watch collecting!

One doesn't necessarily think of a bracelet’s fit when considering vintage and antique jewelry – not that is until a person has made a purchase only to discover that the bracelet is too small or too big. We think about look and style and the condition of a bracelet, so why not ask the right questions to determine if it’s really the right style? What does style have to do with it? In vintage jewelry it’s everything. What style of bracelet is best for you?

I can’t tell you how many times I have read the following on well-intentioned websites: Heat a needle until it is extremely hot, and then touch the needle against the object you are testing. A hot needle will pass right into plastic. A hot needle can not penetrate real ivory. Please do not subject your beautiful jewelry and collectibles to this destructive test.

Treasures of the Earth & Semi-Precious "Gems"

Agates can be found all over the world, one of Nature's Treasures "no two Agates are alike. When you buy a piece of agate jewelry, you know that you will never see the identical piece anywhere! Agates have been found in the United States, Africa, Asia, Brazil Egypt, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, and Nepal. The most famous areas where agate is mined in Scotland and Idar-Oberstein in Germany. In Germany, there are records that agate has been mined since 1548.