Blog
Antique, Vintage & Period Jewelry is very often hand made by craftsmen, and has been designed to stand the test of time, and to last, which when compared to most modern jewelry which is so often mass produced seems only to last only for the fashion cycle that the jewelry was manufactured in. Having said... Read More
As I have said in previous blogs, to the Europeans, antique jewelry is considered to be pieces that are over 100 years old. Other pieces would be described as Period Jewelry such as Edwardian, Art deco and Retro Jewelry. Also as I have said previously many Americans lump this altogether with secondhand pieces, and call... Read More
When it comes to antique jewelry, in real terms USA is a very young country, and does not have the long history of most of Europe. And many parts of Europe do not have the ancientness of many parts of the East. When America was first colonized, making fine pieces of ‘antique’ jewelry was not... Read More
In my last Blog we looked at mainly Victorian Engagement rings. But rings were not just by lovers, they were also exchanged by friends, and back in the Victorian period both engagement rings and friendship rings were very often symbolic, or contained inscriptions. Many times engagements or unions were symbolized by the wearing of intaglio,... Read More
Love, Marriage & Friendship In this modern day and age, when a man is purchasing an engagement ring, the norm is to spend about 25% of the yearly salary. Well, I am sorry ladies, but for engagement rings, you are living in the wrong time period. During the early to middle part of the Victorian... Read More
In 1901, the Illustrated London News commented that “it is actually the fashion in Paris and therefore becoming so [in London], to wear a large ring on every finger, even two or three stacked on some fingers.” This was the onset of the “dress ring” that we now think of it. Before the Edwardian period,... Read More
Whenever prospective buyers come into my Beverley R Jewelry shop and ask about vintage jewelry, my first question is, “What do you mean by vintage jewelry?” The term “vintage jewelry” has come to be viewed as synonymous with “antique jewelry”, which is not the case. The word “vintage” originally was always connected to wine, and... Read More
Among the many and varied personal adornments, rings are unique, and no other piece of jewelry carries so many different symbolisms. Rings can be enjoyed purely for themselves, as just works of art, and objects of beauty, but they can have their own fascination simply from the many meanings they can have attached to them.... Read More
The most popular stone in an engagement ring, whether it be an antique or contemporary ring, is a diamond. Diamonds are gemstones that go with any other gemstone, and any other piece of jewelry, whether it be classic or costume. As the owner of Beverley R, Chicago’s premiere antique jewelry shop, I am often asked... Read More
In this day and age of modern technology, when people want to find a specific product like an antique engagement ring or antique jewelry of any kind, they Google it. But the problem is that Google most often finds ‘reproductions’ or ‘antique inspired’ or ‘modern copies’ of antique jewelry and none of these are antique... Read More