May New Goods

Marion has just returned from a European buying trip…with some beautiful new things!!!

Visit our New Arrivals page or pop into the shop for a little look-see.

There is a lot in the shop that isn’t on the website yet! If you send us an email and tell us what kind of things float your boat, we are happy to send you a personal preview via email if you can’t get to the shop.

Reproduction Target Rings, Part 3

So about the crazy case full of target rings…

This man (who was perfectly nice) pulled out some of his trays loaded with reproductions so we could take a look.  We love to look when we have a chance - it helps Marion keep her eye “trained” and is a good opportunity for me to learn.  These rings had great looking tops – a center stone with an old cut (old mine or old European) diamond with calibré and diamond surrounds.  The shanks were all thick (a dead giveaway) and the shoulders (where the top meets the shank) were plain (in an old ring the shoulder would be delicately decorated).  Some people would be thrilled to own these rings.  More power to them; they won’t find them at Past Era.  We have also seen reproductions that have lovely wire shanks.  These are pretty; however we have seen them many times and know that they are being manufactured somewhere.  For us, much of the appeal of an antique ring is that it is UNIQUE.  Not just well made and gorgeous, but individual.  These rings had millegrained edges (which you often find in an antique) but the millegraining was so rough and new you could have sawn lumber with it.  I guess my point is that these things are like a Monet – look good from far away but up close it is a mess (I am quoting the movie Clueless.  Great flick).

The target rings I saw at the show were like this.  Pretty enough, I think.  But Marion pointed out that instead of a beautiful shank the rings had “extras” on the tops.  An extra scroll, heavy engraving, whatever.  An antique has exquisite detail but it also has restraint.  A lot like when you read a fashion magazine and they tell you that if you want to look great for a fabulous night out you shouldn’t wear a dress that is short, tight and showing too much cleavage.  The restraint is what makes it elegant.  I guess that is what I see in many reproductions- they kinda pull all the tricks out of the bag.  Too much of flash and not enough concern about the make.  It is the proverbial short, tight, low cut dress.  Plenty of people want to buy that.  But if they want appeal that is about fit, quality and fun, they shop at Past Era.   You know, Paris Hilton versus Audrey Hepburn.


- Cristina

Target Rings and Reproductions, Part 2

Recently I was at a show with Marion looking for jewelry to buy.  We were flitting from case to case, dismissing most things and taking a look at the odd piece, when I came across this spectacular site.  It was a case FULL of target rings. 

Of course they were reproductions.  There was no way they weren’t.  Fresh from China.   Or the “Far East” as the dealer reported (*snicker*). 

Now these rings looked good.  Target rings are extremely hard to find.  Another Holy Grail, if you will.  “Now, what is a target ring,” you ask?  Well, I am happy to tell you!

During the Edwardian, and continuing into the Art Deco period, there was a taste for larger, but still delicate rings.  Jewelers fulfilled this trend with target rings.  They began with a center stone and added concentric circles around it (a “target” if you will).  The center stone is often a diamond but occasionally a colored stone.  The first perimeter circle usually features a contrasting color (for example: if the center stone was a diamond the next row could be calibré-cut emeralds) and the last circle will mirror the center stone, though there are variations on this theme.

The most traditional shape of a target ring is a cushion, but we find targets in circles and occasionally other fancy shapes (I wear a ruby and diamond navette-shaped target ring).  The top of the ring is generally quite large and the shank is very delicate.  The tops manage to be delicate in spite of their size due to the design.  Antique jewelers took the time to craft delicate channels and fill them with perfect calibré-cut stones.  The diamond perimeters were set with tiny bead-set stones, while the center is always a masterpiece in color and form with a gorgeous stone set in perfect delicate metalwork.  Between the circles of stone and metal, the jeweler often left a tiny gap with a purpose.  This tiny space is extremely difficult to achieve (a modern jeweler would fill it up with metal because it is much easier).  These tiny spaces are hallmarks of antique jewelry.  The antique jewelers knew that these labors would create a piece that would feel more comfortable on the finger and look more beautiful to the eye.  This is true of most antique rings, not exclusively target rings.  Many times the beauty is not just what is there, but what is NOT there.  No big prongs, no ugly solder, no hulking metal, no filler. 

Now I will show you the most beautiful target ring ever:

 

Ha ha!  It is my ring.  So you see, I don’t just talk the talk, I walk the walk.

But truly, Marion has the quintessential target ring on her finger.  It is a center cushion-cut diamond with an emerald and diamond perimeter.  Yum.  As she says, if she had a dozen she could have sold them all.  People trip over themselves to look at this ring.  From sophisticated society ladies to the bell hops at hotels; people don’t know what they are looking at but they know they are responding to beauty with a visceral reaction. 

We have a killer target ring on our website:

So you see, target rings come in a variety of shapes and styles.  They tend to feature contrasting colors (white and green, for example) with a center stone.  A target ring won’t have “sides” (a pair of matching side stones) but will have a framework all the way around (hence the “target”).  They have delicate shanks with a “plaque” on top.  If it is a center stone with stones all the way we would call that ring a “cluster”.   And that, my friends, is a completely different ball of wax.

- Cristina

The Temptation That is Reproductions, Part 1

I just went on a buying trip with my boss, Marion Glober.  Now, now, it’s actually a lot of hard work.  I can feel you rolling your eyes as you read this, thinking “How hard can it be to spend someone else’s money on jewelry?” I would have to tell you that you are right; it’s so easy!  The hard part is saying “No”. 

We see a lot of neat stuff.  Some of it is right for our shop.  We are looking for beautiful, truly old jewelry that fulfills Marions’s aesthetic sensibility.  The hard part is finding the right variety of goods.  For example, we need to find earrings and necklaces and bracelets etc.  We need them to be in a variety of metals with a variety of designs and gemstones.  They need to be in a variety of price points.  You can imagine what a juggling act this is.  Sometimes it is very tempting to do the unthinkable…

Buy reproductions.

Yeah… reproductions.  How soulless is that?  I know other “antique jewelers” do it.  But we don’t want to be “antique” jewelers.  We are ANTIQUE jewelers. The problem is that certain categories that we need to buy are very difficult to fill.  For example, finding Edwardian or Art Deco earrings is almost impossible.  Earrings get split up and turned into other things.  It is hard to keep a pair together for a hundred years.  So when we go hunting, to find a pair is truly the Holy Grail.  But we see plenty of reproductions.  Some dealers are honest and tell you they are reproductions.  Some dealers are unscrupulous and lie (thankfully we are savvy enough to tell the difference).  Some dealers are selling jewelry as antique that is reproduction because they themselves are fooled.  It is a tricky business.

Marion is extremely particular.  When she examines a piece of jewelry she looks at it carefully with her loupe to check the stones and make sure they are old.  She looks at the prongs to make sure they are delicate.  She examines the findings to make sure they match the age of the piece.  She touches the piece all over, front and back, with her finger to feel for any sharp, new points.  If anything raises a red flag, she starts questioning the dealer.  Sometimes there are satisfying answers.  But many, many times she smiles and regretfully declines the piece.  She is simply not interested in selling reproductions.  So, off we go to hunt again. Eventually, our patience paid off.  We found the loveliest pair of Art Deco Emerald and Diamond Earrings.  Truly old, truly exquisite.  One of a kind.  Just our cup of tea.

- Cristina