One of my very own – an stunning ultra chunky Lucite bangle which had gorgeous pearlized confetti Lucite pieces encapsulated within. I picked it up in a thrift shop, and have no idea who made it. Anyone any ideas?
Made from a mix of Mother Of Pearl inlay and hard plastic, this vintage harlequin bracelet dates circa 1980s.Often called Persian Storybook bracelets, these very old antique beauties have individual pictures painted directly onto the exquisite Mother Of Pearl panels. Each painting was done by hand, and then the panels linked together using wire. They date from around the early 20th Century, and vary in quality from quite crude to outstandingly detailed. PURCHASE TIPS: Study the pictures carefully, as the enamel work is very prone to wearing off, and this affects value. Also, the wire work can snap with age (as seen in the photo), so make sure everything is intact (or nicely haggle down the price if you are able to fix it yourself)Real art deco costume jewellery is actually quite rare – a lot of what is advertised as deco actually dates circa 1960s to 1970s (when there was a big deco revival going on). This beauty dates from that later period, and has a gorgeous and very unusual deco inspired loop design – it’s one of the best 1970s deco revival pieces I’ve seen.Forecasting future costume jewellery collectables is hard, but I honestly hope that cloisonne jewellery from the 1990s onwards becomes a must have in 30 years time. Why? The workmanship on these pieces is stunning, the colours and textures exquisite, and the subjects are so varied (eg, birds, animals, fish, flowers, insects, even unicorns!). I LOVE cloisonne enamel jewellery, and this bangle has to be one of my favourites 🙂Eloxil is a type of very lightweight, almost featherlight pot metal, and was a popularly used in 1960s and 1970s jewellery as it contained alloys which didn’t tarnish nor rust. West German jewellery makers of the 1960s and 70s were experts in using it to its best effect, as seen in this gorgeous German vintage bracelet – the panels are Lucite (with a mother of pearl effect), while the sparkling stones aren’t actual marcasites – they are molded Eloxil onto the Eloxil panels.One from my shop, I handmade this bridal bracelet using a mix of 1950s glass pearls and modern crystals. The focal is pure vintage 1960s, making this bracelet one of a kind. I wish I could find more of those vintage focals as they are sooo beautiful!
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