Category: jewelry

??Before the invention of the internet, collectors would visit garage sales and estate sales in order to find quality vintage jewelry. Today, buyers can shop on-line to find all sorts of different types of estate jewelry that they are searching for.

Estate jewelry is sometimes not seen as very valuable. It can be hard for people to determine if Great Aunt Sally’s necklace is actually collectable or just a memento. Jewelry can be divided up into categories to try and help decide if something is valuable or just a family keepsake.

What Is Vintage Jewelry?

Vintage jewelry is classified as jewelry that is over 30 years old. Antique jewelry is jewelry that is over 100 years old. Vintage jewelry can also be made from real or less desirable stones, and often the designs are so unique that people can’t tell if the jewelry is real or fake.

The term costume jewelry can also be used in conjunction with a type of vintage jewelry. As during the early 1900’s costume jewelry was all the rage in Europe. The trend caught on in the United States after the First World War. Costume jewelry is very collectable, and that s why so many buyers flock to estate sales.

Trends and styles change in jewelry just as in clothes. Many collectors have a specific time period or designer that they are interested in. For buyers visiting estate sales and looking for estate jewelry, it can be exciting to find that one piece that exemplifies a time from the past.

On-line Selling

Many are beginning to see the power of selling estate jewelry on-line. Not only does this medium allows for more shoppers to view pieces it can ignite bidding wars that will build the price. Estate jewelry can run the gambit from broaches worn during the 1950’s to more modern pieces. Estate jewelry is considered that category if it is a piece of jewelry that has been worn, that can include a 10 year-old necklace to an engagement ring.

Estate jewelry can also be purchased by companies on-line that then intend to re-sell it. There are many companies that are interested in this type of business and they can be found by searching the web. Make sure that it is a legitimate company and finding companies in your area can help ensure that it is a real business. Often these companies will buy the estate jewelry to pull out the stones and then re-set them in other pieces.

??If you are one of those people who are fond of collecting different pieces of jewelry, you should learn how to store and clean your jewelry to prolong their lifespan. Always remember that even precious stones tend to become dull and stained over the years. If you do not use the right jewelry cleaner to clean your jewelry, your precious stones and metals will not last long.

Bad Chemicals

You see, some types of jewelry cleaner contain harsh and harmful chemicals that can damage your jewelry. You should be very careful when using jewelry cleaner. When shopping for jewelry cleaners, go for those products that do not contain ammonia or any abrasive substances.

Ammonia and abrasive substances bad news for your jewelry so read the labels of jewelry cleansing products carefully before you buy them. Moreover, you should also avoid that jewelry cleaner that uses citrus based ingredients. Some citrus based products are so acidic that they tend to promote discoloration in some types of precious metals.

Cleaning Your Jewelry Collection

Avoid using any soap based or chemical based jewelry cleaner as much as possible. If your jewelry does not really appear to be very dirty, just use water and a soft cloth to clean it up. Wet the soft cloth and then gently rub it on the surface of the jewelry. If you can remove the dirt by simply using water, try using some toothpaste.

Wet the jewelry and apply some toothpaste on its surface. Rub the surface of the jewelry with a soft cloth to remove the dirt. You may also use a soft brush to gently brush off the dirt from the jewelry. After brush the jewelry, rinse it with warm water. You should be able to remove most if not all of the dirt from your jewelry through this process.

On the other hand, if your jewelry is badly stained and no amount of washing and scrubbing can remove the stain, use water based jewelry cleaner first to clean your jewelry. If does not work, go for those chemical based products.

A word of caution, though — chemical based jewelry cleansing products are more suitable for studier types of materials so if your jewelry is made of less study materials, think twice about using these chemical based products. Chemical based jewelry cleansing products are certainly not designed to clean most types of fashion jewelry, so forget about using this stuff to clean your favorite fashion jewelries.