Susan Boyle isn’t a size two, and she hasn’t had a face-lift. Most likely, she doesn’t have a personal trainer or a massage therapist. She doesn’t shop at the Scottish equivalent of Bergdorf’s, and she isn’t spending hundreds of dollars at a fancy hair salon to have her hair dyed—until recently, that is.

In my last blog I discussed the importance of pictures and how a few good costume jewelry books would help you spot those valuable clues to identification and dating. Now I would like to share with you some of my personal favorites.

Many people mistakenly would designate the style of both rings as Art Deco. However while the ring on the left is Art Deco indeed the style of the ring on the right is called Retro (perhaps even early Fifties).

Last month, my partner, Victoria, blogged about that rare, highly prized and often high priced genuine gemstone, Alexandrite. If you missed that blog and are interested in real alexandrite, you owe it to yourself to read it. You'll find it here: http://blog.rubylane.com/node/778

Now, in light of the information in that blog, this month I'd like to focus on another form of "alexandrite", that which is often found in designer vintage costume jewelry, and which I've come to call "faux alexandrite". Why faux? For the obvious reason: these crystals are not real alexandrite. If they were, that Sherman or Kramer parure with the huge stones that change color would be pretty unaffordable.

A lot of the vintage and pre-owned jewelry I have collected has been purchased at flea markets, yard sales and online but every now and then, I have the opportunity to acquire some very special pieces for my growing  collection.

Reverse carved intaglio jewelry are miniature works of art. "Intaglio" means carved down into a material and in this case carved from the back. The materials used were usually Lucite, crystal, transparent glass, and celluloid. When a piece of intaglio jewelry is mounted or set with a back, it is difficult to see the actual carving without removing the back of the piece. The carvings were usually enclosed under a clear geometric dome. The two necklace and earrings sets you see here are set without a frame or mount and you can turn them over and see the actual carving.

Diamond is the birthstone for April, and Ruby Lane presents you with the opportunity to buy diamonds which have been cut in many different shapes, and in different styles.

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!