Anyone else loving vintage jewellery?

[countryroadsss]

I've recently been fawning over vintage jewellery on Instagram. In particular rings. Now the ones I love are wayyy too expensive for me just now. But I'm keen to treat myself, and have a budget of 200-300£. Anyone know of any good online retailers? Or Is it better to buy in a shop so you can see quality, check size etc? Keen to hear of others experiences and maybe see a few pictures to make me jealous!

Oooh! I’m a huge fan of antique jewellery; I particularly love old cuts.
Check out Carole Franks jewellery online and also CG diamonds on Etsy / eBay (no affiliation to me)!

I like to get mine mostly from auction - check out the sale room online. It can be a bit tricky though if you’re unfamiliar with the gemstones.

Here are some of my antique rings. I love them I trawl eBay and auction houses for them.
On my middle finger is a turquoise and seed pearl love knot made in 1890. On my little finger is a 1930s sapphire and diamond beauty.
The purple stone on my ring finger is a blue John stone it's either from the 20s or 50s the stamp isn't too clear.
I just love them.

My engagement ring is a Art Nouveau 1910 platinum filigree diamond ring. I won’t post a picture of my actual ring as it’s too outing, it’s that unusual. This is similar(mine isn’t hexagonal). Never seen another exactly like it, and I’ve looked everywhere! DH got it in an antique shop for a couple of hundred pounds.

Have a look in a pawnbrokers . They often have some lovely vintage pieces that people have pawned.

I LOVE those rings!

@CG1991 wow that's some collection. I've just spent the morning looking up the sale room online. A bit daunting to buy blind so to speak as very limited info on some jewellery. But I'm enjoying looking!

@gaggiagirl @PotatoFamily
Beautiful.
I think there is something so special and unique about pre loved jewellery and I love the face there's a history behind them!

Thank you! I totally understand. You can pick up some real bargains but if anything does catch your eye, do request a condition report and also factor in that there’s usually a 26% (ish) fee on top the hammer price.
With antique jewellers, I’ve found that there’s usually a bit of movement on price if you ask.
For inspo, Cavendish Jewellers in York, Aladdins Cave in Leeds and Friarhouse jewellers have some lovely stock. I find them all super expensive though.
Etsy is really good and most places have a 28 day return policy.

I love stones like aquamarine and tanzanite - they’re stunning - but too soft for everyday wear so that might be worth thinking about. Ruby, sapphire and emerald are pretty durable. Diamond is the hardest stone of them all :D

With sellers on Ebay / Etsy or an antique jeweller, do ask them to send you extra videos / images. Things to look out for with little pieces of history are worn shanks that can’t be resized, worn prongs, chips/nibbles to the girdle.

Whenever I buy something, I take it to the jewellers for a clean or to be valued for insurance and ask them to check it over. If it isn’t exactly as advertised then it goes back.

if anything catches your eye and I can help, give me a shout!

@CG1991 Thank you for such a detailed post. I love emeralds and diamonds. Will hopefully get to treat myself to something lovely someday!
Need to start looking around vintage shops and then will hopefully be brave enough to buy a bargain online someday!