You've heard it time and time again...a picture says a thousand words. Yet time and time again I see costume jewelry listings online with only two or three pictures and sometimes even those are blurry. Sadly, online buyers fall prey to fraudsters or to sellers who are lax in their descriptions. As a buyer, I need several clear photos to properly examine the jewelry that's not in my hands. If these are not provided I move on. I'm certain most of us have made a disappointing purchase online. I hope I can help you avoid some of those bad buys in the future.

The finest handcrafted jewelry often begins with the highest quality components. This quality however generally comes at a higher cost and that can create a real challenge for jewelry designers trying to provide attractively priced jewelry in these tough economic times. To help our artisan jewelers face this challenge, Ruby Lane has teamed up with Artbeads.com which is offering a special discount to Ruby Lane shop owners.

A month or so ago, I bid on a locket. Even though I sell antique jewelry, I often see pieces that I want all to myself. This locket was just such a piece. Yes I am greedy for lockets. The seller was selling the locket for the heir of an estate. The heir, decided not to keep the locket after having it tested for gold content. The seller said he did not deal in such pieces. Lucky me!

The word Paste as it relates to antique rhinestone jewelry is the term that came to be used to describe manmade or natural rhinestones of the 18th and 19th Century. Natural rhinestones of this period were fashioned and faceted from clear rock crystal quartz.

As a collector and dealer of costume jewelry, I am
surprised at the amount of fake WEISS jewelry that is
being bought and sold as genuine vintage.  It is showing up all
over online markets and I have recently found a piece
photographed and misrepresented in a jewelry book I have.

From the colorful rhinestone encrusted butterflies and
Christmas Tree brooches to the most basic gold or silver tone

10. Listing items that are not jewelry pieces or which are specifically excluded from the Artisan Jewelry Lane, such as key rings or table top jewelry boxes.

9. Listing items which do not exhibit a significant contribution by the shop owner. The requirements for the Artisan Jewelry Lane state that the artist’s contribution must be at least 50% of the final product. Attaching a pre-made charm to a pre-made bracelet or a pre-made pendant on an existing chain does not meet this criterion.

10. Listing items that are not jewelry pieces or which are specifically excluded from the Antique and Vintage Jewelry Lane, such as key rings or table top jewelry boxes.

9. Listing jewelry items as Jewelry: Antique that are not definitively dated as being at least 100 years old.

8. Listing jewelry items in Jewelry: Collectible that are not 20 years old and not yet listed in any price guide that can be mentioned.

Have you ever wondered what event or special occasion inspired the original owner of your vintage jewelry to purchase it? Through many years of collecting wonderful pre-owned jewelry, I hadn't really given it much thought. Acquiring this vintage B. David set would change that.

When thinking of a Sapphire, one generally pictures a deep blue gem--a blue that resonates in the sunlight and is unsurpassed when it comes to color and beauty. All gemstone color breaks down into three components: Hue--color of the gemstone; Tone--highlight or lowlight of color; and Saturation--brightness of color in a gem. Blue sapphire in general, is a various mixture of all these components with the primary color being blue.

So you've spotted an "Alexandrite" ring on that ever popular auction site: the stone is huge, the price is affordable but climbing, and ooh, you've wanted a real alexandrite for so long! You're thinking "maybe this is the one you should go for.?" Well, before you dive in and bid or buy, here's some information that might stop you from making an expensive mistake.