VINTAGE JEWELRY IS LIKE VINTAGE CARS - RARE, SPECIAL, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S CARTIER OR TIFFANY

My daughter and her boyfriend are looking for their first car. Of course, what they like they can't afford and what they can afford isn't necessarily what they like or want.

It's a bit like that with jewelry, isn't  it. There's always newer, bigger, brighter and more expensive jewelry on the market. And women do so love to have the latest thing or follow the newest trend. But unless we're rich, we can't always afford what we want.

I suppose that's why I like vintage jewelry, especially designer signed. If it's a famous designer, like a Cartier or Tiffany, it's still going to be expensive, but comparatively speaking, it's affordable.

Just like today: hubby and I went out for a walk and stopped to look at cars. I spotted a Mercedes I liked. It was sold. Just as well. I couldn't afford it even if it wasn't. Then I saw another car I really liked, a BMW. It was a 2000 model but in nice shape, and being 10 years old, quite affordable. And for me, there was something so appealing about both cars: older but classy. Well made. Recognized names for quality. No, none of the fancy modern gizmos like GPS or something into which I could stick an ipod, but one lovely car. Again, a bit like that vintage 14k gold diamond Tiffany watch shown above: older, recently serviced but ever beautiful, elegant, classy and relatively affordable.

I wore that gorgeous watch to one of my daughter's shows last night (she's an entertainer). I don't usually wear something we purchase to sell, but I just had to have the experience of wearing a gold Tiffany watch for once in my life. It felt great! I kept looking at it, admiring it on my wrist, checking to see it was still keeping perfect time (it was) and secretly hoping every other woman around me might notice it LOL! Do  you ever do that?

Now on my other wrist, I wore the incredibly beautiful vintage 18k  Cartier Double C motif bangle/bracelet shown below (also a very new addition to our shops:

Yes, I really went all out! With the Tiffany watch on one wrist and this fantastic  rather rare Cartier diamond bangle on the other wrist, I felt, well, special! I could never had afforded them new when they were new, but now, being vintage, while they still cost a lot, they were far more affordable. For just one night in my life, I felt like the rich and famous ie.. wearing valuable designer pieces of fine jewelry. And it felt great! And boy, did those pieces look marvellous. It really helped me appreciate why owning a Cartier and Tiffany is so desirable. 

Well now, they're both back in their boxes where they will stay until some other woman who loves fine designer jewelry decides one of these is for her. They are both listed now in our RUBY LANE and RUBY PLAZA shops.  I've also been lucky to just today acquire the matching 18k Double C Diamond Cartier ring that matches that bracelet. It will be listed sometime in the next 3 -4 weeks. But what an incredibly valuable matching set that would be ie. an 18k Diamond Cartier Bangle and Ring in the tri-colored Double C motif. Gorgeous, collectible designer vintage jewelry. Watch for it!

BANGLES: DIAMONDS, CARTIER, ART NOUVEAU, SILVER ...

I've been looking over the stock in our SHOP AT RUBY LANE and realized we're almost overstocked in bangles ... if such a thing is possible. What I've also noticed is the diversity of bangles available. It's quite amazing how many different styles, metals, stones etc differentiate one bangle from another. Personally, I'm a bangle and bracelet person, more so than rings and maybe that's why I keep buying them for our shop, thinking others like them as much as I do. Am I wrong?

Well let me tell you ... and maybe tempt you ... with some of the gorgeous bangles we are currently carrying. That one at the top of this post is, undeniably, the most valuable, if not the most beautiful of all those we have. We just had it appraised in February, and to our delight, it came in at over $10,000. WOW! It's 14k and has 2.85cts of top quality diamonds, ranging from VVS baguettes to Si1 round cuts with superb color in all. The overall weight of the bangle is 25grams, but let's face it: that's all the technical details: if the beauty of the design itself doesn't speak to you, nothing will. This is just an outstanding piece of vintage jewelry being offered to you at 1/3 its appraised value. CLICK HERE to see more photos and learn more about it.

Alternately, maybe your taste in bangles goes well back in time, way before the dating on the bangle above, like to the early 1900's? In that case, take a look at this utterly charming Art Nouveau 14k gold bangle adorned with genuine angel skin coral cameos:

How pretty and dainty is that! The bangle is 1/4" wide and the coral cameos of the ladies' faces are 1/2" high. What's truly remarkable about this bangle is its condition: it looks nearly new and yet it's 100 years old. That's another WOW! 

Learn more about this one and see more photos at THIS LINK. 

While we're looking at really old bangles, here's a real beauty from the Art Deco period that has recently been appraised at $2850 and which we're again offering for about 1/3 of its appraised value:

This fabulous old bangle adorned with cultured pearls, sapphires and rubies, all set in 15 grams of 14k yellow gold, is for a smaller wrist i.e. 6.5.  This one is a designer piece, stamped JGJLRY. See more pictures & learn more HERE.

And since we're talking designers, how about this, our latest acquistion and addition to OUR RUBY LANE SHOP. We're really pleased and excited to be able to offer our shoppers this authenticated CARTIER set of bangle and brooch:

When you look at a set like this, it's almost hard to believe it's vintage: the look is contemporary and timeless. You can wear a set like this to the office during the day and out for cocktails or on a date in the evening and it'll never look out of place. This Cartier set is stamped 18k 925 Cartier on both the pin and the bangle. The 18k yellow gold is in those stripes you see. And adorning both pieces is a brilliant purple, trillion-cut amethyst. This set comes with the original beige/grey felt pouch with its satin ribbon stamped "Cartier" and the original red Cartier box, as shown below: 

So if you're into designer signed jewelry, and have always longed for a Cartier, slip over to THIS LINK and learn more about this one. It's affordable Cartier!

There are several more bangles in OUR SHOP AT RUBY LANE, along with some lovely diamond and other bracelets. And we have more arriving all the time. So be sure to check our shop regularly! Here's looking at Bangles!