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

I've been thinking about my pin collection for a very long time. I've also discovered lack luster sales for pins, not only in my Ruby Lane shop but when conferring with other Internet and retail sellers and customers alike. Everyone seems to be stymied by the reality of such gorgeous jewelry art having no esteemed place in today's fashion world. So, I decided to get creative, turning the Whys? into Why not?

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.

Like a lot of sellers on Ruby Lane, I am always on the look out for beautiful antique and vintage jewelry to offer in my shop. Most of the time, I make great purchases but recently I learned a very valuable lesson from my local goldsmith.

It’s so much fun to feature seasonal and holiday related jewelry in my shop, SuzansTreasures. In March, I often list Irish and Celtic jewelry (as well as anything green). I’ve recently added several Irish brooches with Connemara marble, and received this question from a customer:

“Please enlighten me. What is Connemara marble and why is it exclusive to Celtic jewelry?”