It’s that time again! We are giving away another antique here at Ageless Heirlooms. From now through April 1st, anyone can enter to win the ring pictured in this post. All you have to do is fill out the form! Share with your friends and be sure to like us on Facebook to stay up to date with all of our giveaways. Ring is a solid 18K white gold and genuine emerald ring c. 1920. Retail value: $248.
Chemical Formula: Silica (Silicon Dioxide, Si02)
Mohs Scale Hardness: 7
Modern Birthstone: February
Treatment: Heated (It’s safe to assume that any modern Amethyst gemstone has been heated to enhance color unless otherwise stated)
Mined: Brazil, Uruguay, Sri Lanka, Siberia, Canada, India, Bolivia, Argentina and some African countries.
Care: Store out of direct sunlight. Clean your Amethyst with warm, soapy water and a soft bristle brush. Keep away from strong chemicals and avoid sudden temperature changes.
*UPDATE as of 1/17/12: And the winner is… Heather Marshall! New giveaway will be posted soon so stay tuned.
Well, we are onto our next big giveaway here at Ageless Heirlooms, and this time we are trying out a different format. From now through January 15th, anyone can enter to win the ring pictured below. All you have to do is fill out the form! Share with your friends and be sure to like us on Facebook to stay up to date with all of our giveaways. There will be some that overlap one another. Ring is a solid 14K yellow gold synthetic ruby ring c. 1910. Retail value: $368.
So we picked the Amethyst ring to giveaway at 4,000 facebook likes, and it is a beauty! This is a solid 14K yellow gold and genuine amethyst filigree ring. The gemstone has a very unusual cut – cabochon polished top and a faceted bottom. Ring is a size 6.75 and has a retail value of $400.
** All you have to do to be entered into this drawing is ‘like’ our facebook page. However, sharing our page with your friends helps us reach our goal faster — so share share share! Facebook giveaway winners have 7 days from the winning announcement to claim their prize before a new winner is picked. 
Family is so closely linked to sentiment that sometimes it is hard to separate memory with objects, emotion with objects… that bitter sweet feeling in a moment of loss and a moment of remembrance. We all deal with these correlations in our own way.
This week I was asked to appraise some family heirlooms for my mom and her seven sisters (yes, all girls… eight of them). Last May, we dealt with the loss of their mother, my grandmother. She was “mom”… that is how I addressed her, how she signed her heart-felt and frequent e-mails to me.
I guess one of the things that made appraising these pieces difficult was the fact that “mom” was one of my biggest fans. I would come home with a new acquisition… an exciting antique jewelry find, and there she would be, asking me questions about the age, history, value… her eyes completely fascinated, as fascinated as mine were.
It is no surprise then that I took great interest in the jewels she wore (a few pieces which I will save for another blog post). But this time it was different… my mind did not turn to business at all – to the condition / value / resale or all the other things I consider when I examine a piece. It was so wrapped up in my family, my history.
Here I have had the honor of appraising her most prized pieces… her wedding set. I also appraised her Mother-in-law’s engagement ring, my great grandmother. When “mom” got engaged, her rings were all the rage… the style had transformed from the 1920′s /30′s filigree to the sleek and classic white gold sets of the 1950s. My great grandmother admired “mom’s” set so much that she got her diamond reset. Her diamond cut was an older Transitional Cut, but equally as stunning. No matter the monetary value I have placed on these rings for these appraisals, they are priceless to me.
Priceless. Even the two modern emerald bands I appraised. My grandmother got these bands on a cruise her and my grandfather (popooze) took. Emerald is my grandfather’s birthstone and a gemstone “mom” loved. She wore these bands with her set everyday. The memory of them on her hand is vivid… they were so striking together. When she passed last May, I got a check from the estate and decided to buy the ring below in memory of both “mom” and “popooze”… an emerald. I wear it often and though it wasn’t owned by my grandmother, though she did not give it to me herself… it is just as sentimental to me and helps me keep their memory alive.
Retro period jewels (c. 1935 – 1950) tend to take on a very Americanized look and feel that balances sheer artistry and mass production. During this era, war devestated much of Europe, and jewelry designers fled to the US while overseas jewelry firms were shutting their doors. As the European economy plummeted, America was bouncing back from the Great Depression with incredible perseverance.
Despite America’s thriving market, the war wasn’t without influence on the decedent jewelry of the period. Rose gold was common due to the amount of platinum needed for the military. Likewise, it was a time for distraction in America and a time for Hollywood. Actresses like Vivien Leigh, Joan Crawford, and Ava Gardner are only a small sum of women from the Golden Age of film, and admit it… there is something so whimsical yet so crisp and geometric about the incredible machine-age heirlooms these ladies wore. The gemstones were extravagant: Rubies, Citrine, Aquamarine, Amethyst to name a few…A bit ostentatious, maybe? I prefer the word glamourous.
Our etsy shop combines both Retro and Mid-Century periods into one category because the pieces blend nicely into one another. The Mid-Century period, otherwise known as the Fabulous Fifties, is designated by the re-use of platinum, white gold, and diamonds post WWII. See if you are able to distinguish one period from another based on what you have read here.
I absolutely love what I do… though sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day. I am constantly searching for a balance between hunting for new heirlooms, shipping sold pieces, listing new pieces, tending to our B&M shop, attending GIA (to become a graduate gemologist), updating our social sites/website… the list is endless, and oftentimes accomplishing even a fraction of these things in a day makes me feel like wonder woman. Today I focused on a lovely Victorian acquisition… here is a sneak peak at what is to be listed in the coming weeks… and trust me, there is more amazing-ness to come.
