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Posted on April 16, 2021October 24, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Is Rhinestone Jewelry Worth Anything? Rhinestone Jewelry Value

It sparkles, it glitters, it’s glamorous and full of glitz, but is your rhinestone jewelry worth anything? Maybe you inherited a rhinestone bracelet, necklace, or brooch from Grandma. Perhaps you were searching through your jewelry box and discovered a rhinestone pin you purchased long ago. How do you know whether or not Grandma’s Jewelry has any value?

It should be as easy as 1, 2, 3, to know, but it’s not because all you know at this point is that the jewelry piece, shimmers, and glows.

Is It Rhinestone?

Swarovski from Austria introduced rhinestone jewelry in the late 1800s, and his crystals are still one of the most popular and sought-after crystals in today’s marketplace.

Sparkle and shine are not all the same, and if you want high-quality crystal, you want to remember the Swarovski name. Swarovski’s hand-cut the crystals. They weren’t mass-produced. They weren’t all the same. You can recognize Swarovski crystals by the swan logo, on the backside of bracelets and brooches. Same as the following picture.

Gold Vintage Swarovski Brooch with Sparkle Crystals Jumbo Show Stopper Estate

By the time the 1900s arrived, crystals were machine cut, but Swarovski kept its high-quality manufacturing style, even though the crystals moved from hand-cut to machine-cut works of art.

Initially, crystals were all clear in color but as machinery changed the jewelry manufacturing field, the crystals became a juxtaposition of colors. Dazzling jewels and sparkling colors lined the marketplace.

What should you look for in evaluating Rhinestone Jewelry value?

Look at the bubbles or cracks in a rhinestone piece. You want to find sparkling clear crystals, that glitter in the sunshine. You don’t want bubbles and you don’t want cracks. Smooth clear rhinestones are best.

Look at the prongs

Crystals and rhinestones set in prongs should be evenly spaced. Are bends in the prongs? The facets in rhinestones should be perfect points, with even spaces, and, unique shapes.

Look at the name

Some designers are known for high-quality rhinestone jewelry because extraordinary care was taken in crafting designs. Names like Eisenberg, Coro, Boucher, Hobe, are some of the highest quality rhinestone jewelry manufacturers you can find.

Look at the time period

Art Deco designs are very popular today. These were costume jewelry designs, where the Rhinestones were cut into geometric shapes.

Art Deco was very popular in the 1920s. It’s really the time period when rhinestone jewelry had a huge boom in the marketplace.

Shimmering colors, floral motifs, geometric lines, and abstract designs popularized the art deco times.

Check out the Internet

Some rhinestone jewelry value can be less than 25.00, but many of the high-quality names will cost significantly more money. Look at what has been sold on eBay, Etsy to get an idea of what your rhinestone jewelry piece will sell for.

Browse great range of Rhinestone Jewelry on eBay

Consult Price Guides

Jeanene Bell has written an excellent book on pricing old jewelry, called Old Jewelry.

I highly recommend this book. Beware that printed price guides can be out of date before they hit the marketplace, but they do provide a guide to evaluating rhinestone jewelry prices.

Bottomline

Rhinestone jewelry prices vary depending upon the name of the designer, the quality of the rhinestones, and the time period when they were produced. You can be sure that if the rhinestones sparkle and shine, they have market value, but the amount of value depends upon quality, name, and time.

Posted on April 10, 2021April 12, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — 2 Comments

Vintage Classic Jewelry Designs

There are vintage classic jewelry styles and designs that have lasted through the test of time. Your Grandmother wore them, your Mother wore them, and You wore them too. They are the designs you pull out as your fashion accessories and wear them everywhere.

Many women reach into their closets and look for the same outfit, time after time. Whether it’s a classic pair of blue jeans, a simple black dress, they are your go-to clothes.

You accessorize the same way; they are your basics. You have your go-to bracelets, rings, necklaces, earrings. They match most of your clothes. They won’t go out of style. They may be yesterday’s designs, but you wear them today. They are your classic jewelry pieces. They are special classics, because they are your special classic jewelry designs, not because they are unique or different.

What are classic jewelry designs that match every outfit?

What are the basics that every women needs?

Diamonds or Cubic Zirconia Earrings.

Nobody will ever know if the diamonds you wear are real genuine diamond stones or cubic zirconia. Nobody will know if they are vintage classics or brand new.

Don’t expect a jeweler to reach for the loupe, and check out your ears! Nor will your friends.

If you can’t afford diamonds, cubic zirconia sparkles just the same. And they look the same. The only one who will know that they aren’t real will be you.

“Diamonds are a girl’s best friend”. Marilyn Monroe popularized that line, and that was back in the 1950s, and nothing has changed. Diamonds are still a girl’s best friend. That’s why they are offered as diamond wedding rings. They last over time. They are a classic jewelry design.

Diamonds can be worn anywhere. You can wear them on a job interview. You can wear them on a date. You can wear them with your husband. Diamond earrings can be worn at any time. They match the simple blue jeans. They can be worn with the formal long evening gown. Whether you need a fashion accessory for the casual, formal, or someplace in between, outfit, diamonds offer a classic jewelry design, that can be worn anytime, and with any outfit, day or night.

Also explore a wide range of vintage jewelry here on this website.

Diamonds are a piece of basic classic jewelry. Every girl needs a pair. They don’t have to be expensive or even new. Vintage classic diamond jewelry works the same.

Pearl Necklace

Former first lady, Barbara Bush wore her strand of pearls with nearly every outfit she owned. They were classic jewelry necklaces. A strand of pearls might be freshwater, or cultured pearls. They might be copies or even real. Doesn’t really matter. Pearls may have a touch of color, as if from the South pacific sea, or a basic cream color recognized by you or me. Pearls are classic and worn as a necklace, they will match every outfit in your closet. The pearl necklace is a classic piece of jewelry that can be worn anytime. Every woman needs a strand of pearls.

Bangle Bracelets

Bangles are a classic jewelry design that has stood the test of time. From the flappers of the 1920s who decorated their arms with these classics to the modern women of today, bangles are a “must-have” jewelry design. They can be worn for day or evening wear. They can be worn in the summer, winter, spring, and fall. Bangles are a fashion accessory classic.

Long Beaded Necklaces

Every woman needs a long beaded necklace as a basic wardrobe accessory. They can be worn as a long single strand, or double wrapped. They can be layered with more strands of necklace, or worn as just one. They are a classic jewelry design, that stands the test of time. Whether you are seeking colored beads or black and white, start with the first long strand of beads.

Look through your closet at clothes you commonly wear and choose a color that fits most. You can always add other necklace strands to dress it up or down, but start with the long beaded strand to wear around town.

Vintage Silver Toned Necklace with Large Silver Medallion Vintage Jewelry

Rings

You spend time polishing your fingernails, manicuring them to look the best. Rings are a basic necessity to be worn in any fashion. They are a great and classic jewelry accessory. Rings with single gemstones are basic classic accessories.

Every wardrobe needs these basic accessories for dressing up day or evening wear. Whether you are looking for vintage jewelry from the past, or for modern times, these classic bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and rings, stand as classics that will withstand the test of time.

You can shop vintage classic jewelry from our eBay Store.

Posted on April 8, 2021October 24, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — 1 Comment

How do I know How much my Costume Rhinestone Jewelry is Worth

Every person selling or buying vintage jewelry begins as a newcomer. Sometimes we are drawn to vintage jewelry because we inherit some, and we want to know the value.

I was once a newcomer. I inherited some jewelry when my mother passed away, that had been her mother’s, my grandmother’s.

I didn’t know if it was real, or vintage. I didn’t know if it was a gold or gold plate. I didn’t know if it was rhinestone or real jewels. I didn’t know if it was antique jewelry. When I look back, I knew very little about vintage jewelry. I wanted to know how much this bracelet was worth.

How do you find out what Vintage Jewelry is worth?

I researched and investigated. This is my story in investigating a vintage bracelet that I inherited that was Grandma’s bracelet. I share it with you so that you can see the process I went through in the investigation.

Evaluating Grandma’s vintage Jewelry should have been as easy to research as 1,2,3.

It wasn’t. It took time. It took education. It took investigation.

Evaluating Costume Rhinestone Jewelry takes time

The bracelet was pretty. It had beautiful rhinestones, patterned in a floral design. They were reds and blues, and the bracelet looked well made. The rhinestones sparkled. The gold had real shine. Maybe this wasn’t rhinestone, costume jewelry. Maybe I owned a bracelet, with real ruby gemstones, and real gold.

If it was real, it would be worth a fortune. It was a heavy, wide-band gold bracelet, with red and blue stones. Were they gemstones? Were they rhinestones? I had no idea.

My mind raced. If I cashed in this bracelet, I would fly to Paris and spend these inherited funds. Gold was over a thousand dollars an ounce. This bracelet had to weigh over an ounce, maybe it weighed two ounces. I didn’t have a scale. I was counting the dollars. Maybe it was worth 1000.00, maybe 2000, or even more. I was boarding an airplane, ready to fly.

I imagined I was sitting in Paris, France at an outdoor cafe. Grandma’s Jewelry was funding the trip. Mentally, I had spent the money before I knew what I had.

Begin with Experts

I rushed to a jewelry store in the shopping mall. I needed a trained eye. Jewelry store personnel attend training to teach them how to recognize real stones versus rhinestones. Most of the time they are trained in studying diamonds, but they do learn about other stones.

Did I have rhinestones or was I looking at ruby? It took less than 10 seconds to tell me I had red rhinestone jewelry.

My trip to Paris, was beginning to disappear, before it even began.

Generally speaking, the people working in jewelry stores know about new jewelry. They aren’t trained in vintage, jewelry pieces.

At the time I believed that rhinestone jewelry had little value outside of personal appeal.

That wasn’t true.

How much is Costume Rhinestone Jewelry worth?

Vintage Costume Rhinestone jewelry can command a pretty penny. Some of it costs more than jewelry made with real gemstones and real gold.

The front side had huge appeal. It was a beautiful rhinestone bracelet. It sparkled and shined

I studied the back of the bracelet. That is where you find the facts. There were no markings for silver, no markings for gold. It didn’t say 18k, 22k,14k,10k, the markings for gold used in the United States. It didn’t say GF, the marking for gold fill. It didn’t say anything about gold

That doesn’t mean it’s not gold, just because you don’t see markings. Most of the time gold is marked with markings indicating its gold, but not always. It’s not difficult to find 10k unmarked gold.

The gold on this bracelet was shiny. That’s a clue that the gold is plated and not real gold. If the gold is shiny, and it doesn’t have markings, you are looking at gold-plated costume jewelry.

My trip to Paris, was looking like it might disappear.

Tools to Evaluate Rhinestone Jewelry

I pulled the magnet out of my pocket. And it stuck right to the gold bracelet. That means that it wasn’t real gold. If the magnet attracts the bracelet, it’s not real gold, It’s a gold plate. The artist used metal to craft the bracelet and finished it with a gold plate.

Gold plate is common in costume jewelry. But don’t think for a minute that just because the piece is a gold plate, it has no value, it just might.

I was looking at rhinestone, red rhinestones set on a gold plate. I had rhinestone costume jewelry. It didn’t have real gemstones. It didn’t have real gold. Was it new, or was it old?

I took the loupe out of my pocket and examined the name. It was signed, with the word Coro. Who was Coro?

What was the history of this Rhinestone Costume Jewelry Piece

I began thinking about the person who owned the bracelet to give me a clue about the jewelry history.

Grandma had been born in Sweden, raised in Canada, and lived most of her adult life in Massachusetts, until retiring to Florida.

Maybe Coro was an artist. Maybe Coro was a jewelry manufacturer. Maybe Coro was a friend of Grandmas or a relative in the family that the bracelet had been made for? Maybe Grandma had a secret boyfriend named Coro, and he had given her the bracelet.

Maybe Coro was a person in Russia and this had been Grandma’s mother’s bracelet. I didn’t know. This vintage rhinestone bracelet looked pretty, but it was rhinestone costume jewelry, it wasn’t gold. It wasn’t ruby. Was it old? And who was Coro?

Coro and Rhinestone Costume Jewelry

I did some research on the internet. Coro was a costume jewelry manufacturer in New York, that later moved to Providence, Rhode Island. Coro produced high-end, high-quality, rhinestone costume jewelry designs, between the years 1901, and 1979. They produced rhinestone costume jewelry, that the commoner could afford.

Coro used the names, Coro, Coro Craft, and Vendome. This told me that the rhinestone costume bracelet I had, had been made before 1980. I figured that anyway because Grandma passed away in the middle of the 1980s, so I knew this vintage, costume rhinestone bracelet, had to be older than 1985.

Figuring out age, took some thinking skills, coupled with research.

Review trademarks on Rhinestone Costume Jewelry

I looked at the trademark. The name said Coro in script font. A winged horse was by the name. It said craft in print by the name. It didn’t say Corocraft, as if it was one word and it wasn’t the words Vendome, which was the name used by Coro to produce a high-end costume jewelry line.

This told me it was an older piece of jewelry made by Coro, but I still didn’t know how old. How would I find out?

What is the age of the Rhinestone Costume Jewelry

I researched the evolution of the names Coro used, and that would tell me the age of the rhinestone costume bracelet, I had inherited, that had been Grandma’s Jewelry.

Coro used artisans, and crafted quality rhinestones into jewelry pieces and made them affordable for people who wanted to wear jewelry that looked like gold, but didn’t want or couldn’t afford the high price of gold. They sold high-end costume rhinestone Jewelry designs. It was a little like their sales were geared towards the middle class, who wanted a piece of jewelry for a special occasion.

How old was my costume rhinestone bracelet made with gold plate signed by Coro? Was it an antique?

What is the signature of the Rhinestone Costume Jewelry

I looked at the signature style. Coro changed trademarks and styles of signing jewelry over the years. That often gives you a clue.

Coro began using the name Coro as a trademark in 1943 in trademarking jewelry designs. That told me that the bracelet was produced between 1943, and 1979 when Coro closed its doors.

This rhinestone costume bracelet had a script style of letters with a picture of a winged, pegasus horse by the name. This was a style used by Coro in the year 1945.

I could make a pretty good guess that this bracelet was produced shortly after the war ended, probably in 1945.

I had looked at the rhinestones. I had evaluated the gold. The age didn’t really matter. The greatest value in this bracelet was its name and the winged horse beside its name.

Rhinestone Jewelry has Unique Value. Find it.

Every piece of old, costume rhinestone jewelry, will have a unique feature. Sometimes it’s the metal or stones, other times, it’s the age, and or the craftsmanship. In this bracelet, the value was the name and scripting of the name. and the winged horse beside the name.

At the end of the day, you will need to investigate the uniqueness of each piece, but what matters most is the demand.

Rhinestone Costume Jewelry has Market Demand

Coro Jewelry is in demand. You can find many vintage pieces selling online. The winged horse beside the name made this a very collectible bracelet. The winged horse wasn’t used very long as a signature style.

Research Price Guides

I went to the library and researched price guides for Coro Jewelry designs. I went to book stores for more research.

It turns out the winged horse next to the name, made this bracelet in high demand. And here I thought it was the gold and rhinestones. It turned out it was the name and the image by the name.

Old Jewelry by Jeanenne Bell, G.G is a very good guide. This author has written several books on old jewelry and is an excellent resource.

Review Company Catalogues

Old catalogs can tell you a lot about the time period and the original cost of the jewelry you are looking for cost. It doesn’t tell you today’s value.

How much was my Rhinestone Costume bracelet worth – Conclusion

I couldn’t find an exact picture of my bracelet, but I did find comparable pieces. They were priced between $300.00, and $500.00

Take these prices guides with a grain of salt They are guides. Prices change with market demand. They can be higher or lower. They should be viewed as guides. At the end of the day, it depends upon what a buyer is willing to pay.

Grandma passed over 30 years ago, and I decided to keep her beautiful rhinestone bracelet. I packed it up and placed it in Grandma’s Jewelry box. I took it out and wore it on special occasions. It was priceless to me. It wasn’t for sale. It had been Grandma’s Jewelry, passed on to me.

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Posted on April 8, 2021October 24, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — 1 Comment

How to Clean Vintage and Antique Jewelry

Detailed article on “How to Clean Vintage and Antique Jewelry”.

Cleaning Sterling Silver Vintage Jewelry

There are some clever tricks you can use to clean sterling silver, that are quite effective. Grandma might have removed the polish, and applied old-fashioned elbow grease, to make vintage jewelry shine. Today, there are easier and faster ways, using less effort and time. They are as simple as 1,2,3.

I call it Grandma’s Jewelry 1,2,3 plan. Three simple steps to bring back the sparkle in vintage sterling silver jewelry. You can clean grandma’s jewelry in no time. You are going to spend most of the time soaking those vintage jewelry, necklaces, rings, bracelets, and brooches, using ordinary household items, you already have at home.

You can clean vintage jewelry, while talking on the phone. It’s that easy. Grandma couldn’t do that!

First, let Grandma know that she is old, and she cleaned jewelry the hard way, back in olden times, and she needs to listen to the modern way to make vintage silver, glisten, and shine.

Step 1.

Line a bowl with Aluminum foil, shiny side up. Vintage Silver tarnishes because silver contains sulfur, and sulfur turns black. The aluminum foil creates a reaction and helps pull the tarnish out.

Step 2.

Add a couple tablespoons of baking soda, two tablespoons, of salt, a little dish washing liquid, and add warm water.

Step 3.

Add vintage sterling silver bracelets, necklaces, and rings, and soak for 15 minutes. Rinse the jewelry with cold water, and use a soft towel to dry.

Cleaning Grandmas Jewelry is as easy as 1,2,3. And that is all you need to do, to make your vintage sterling silver jewelry shine.

Ok, there is one more thing… If you want scientific expertise, to tell you why that method works, call Dr. Fauci, while waiting for those vintage silver jewelry pieces to soak and ask why aluminum foil, baking soda, and salt work when cleaning vintage jewelry. He is the expert and the Mr. Go To Clean guy .

Then let me know what he says.

If your vintage sterling silver jewelry is extra black with tarnish, repeat this process one more time. Use a new piece of aluminum foil. You will get shine!

Silver and silverplate jewelry clean the same way. Costume jewelry works the same way cleaning Gold Vintage Jewelry.

Beautiful 14K Yellow Gold London Blue Topaz Pierced Earrings Estate Sale

You might have inherited an old piece of Gold jewelry from Grandma, that needs to be cleaned. Vintage gold jewelry is delicate and precious. It’s an expensive metal to buy. You want to handle with care, when cleaning vintage gold jewelry.

Don’t use this method when cleaning vintage, gold jewelry with gemstones. It’s not that it doesn’t clean them, its that the stones may loosen while cleaning, and you risk loosing them.

There are some gemstones that you don’t want to use dish washing soap to clean, so while most can be cleaned with ordinary household items, some cannot. Just apply this technique cleaning gold vintage jewelry without gemstones.

Cleaning 18K and 22K Gold Vintage Jewelry

When cleaning 18K, or 22K Gold, use a mild dishwashing soap, and warm water. Don’t make the water so hot that you can’t handle the jewelry piece. You don’t want to drop and damage it, 18K and 22k gold is soft, and needs delicate hands, to remove dirt and grime.

Add a couple drops of dishwashing soap first into a bowl, before adding water. Don’t do it the other way around. You want the dish washing soap to spread evenly.

Don’t put the jewelry into the sink without a covered drain. You don’t want to risk losing it, because the water was too hot for you to handle. Don’t let your gold, wedding ring slip down the drain! I know that there are days, but really don’t risk that. Use a bowl.

Apply a soft bristle toothbrush, to remove particles stuck in between links. You don’t want to scratch gold, while cleaning. Gold is soft. You can get creative and use an eyebrow brush to reach into crevices, so the vintage jewelry you are cleaning doesn’t scratch.

Jewelry stores sell soft bristle brushes, specifically made for cleaning jewelry.You may want to purchase one of them.

After, rinse with water. Then, dry the gold with a soft cloth, and rub it dry. Dry with a soft cloth, rather than a towel, so that you don’t get shreds of material from the towel into the vintage jewelry.

Cleaning 14K and 10K Gold Antique Jewelry

14k and 10k gold jewelry is not as soft as 18k and 22k gold. You are going to clean that vintage 14k gold bracelet, by making a paste. Take one quarter cup of baking soda, and some warm water. Mix them together. Not too thick and not to thin, and as Goldilocks said, the “porridge needs to be just right”

Then using a soft bristle brush, either toothbrush, or eyebrow brush, spread the paste over the vintage gold, and remove particles of grease and grime.

Rinse off with white cooking vinegar, and then rinse away the vinegar, with tap water. Rub dry with a soft cloth, and ooh la la, watch your antique gold jewelry sparkle and shine.

Visit our one-of-its-kind Vintage Jewelry Store.

Cleaning Antique Pearl jewelry

Pearls are delicate. Each pearl has a layer of “nacre”, that gives it, its luster. Pearls can be easily damaged if not cleaned or stored properly. Take extra care when caring for pearl jewelry.

Each time you wear that vintage, pearl necklace, you want to wipe it down after wear. This will remove any oils, perfumes, lotions that you might have worn with the pearls. You don’t want to wear pearls in sunshine. Don’t lay on the beach, soaking up the hot sun, wearing your pearl necklace.

Barbara Bush was famous for wearing her vintage pearl necklace. I bet she knew better than to sun up at Kennebunkport wearing that necklace!

The sun will damage the “nacre” Don’t take a shower wearing pearls. They are too delicate for that.

You don’t want to soak vintage pearls in water to clean them. You want to use a damp cloth and wipe each pearl. If they have yellowed and need extra boost of cleaning, use a damp cloth with soap and water and wipe.Don’t soak vintage pearls!

Apply, the wipe and swipe method when cleaning vintage pearl jewelry.

Do not steam clean pearls. Do not soak them in water. Wipe and swipe. Easy does it.

Cleaning Vintage Gemstone and Vintage Rhinestone Jewelry

Many antique gemstones, and vintage rhinestones can be cleaned with soap and water, but some cannot. The first step in identifying what can be cleaned using soap and water is properly identifying the gemstone.

If you are unsure of the gemstone, take it to a gemologist, for evaluation, before attempting to clean it. You do not want to take the chance, that you might destroy it using improper cleaning methods or techniques.

According to the Gemology Institute of America, (GIA) some gemstones have different properties. This means they can react differently to chemicals, acids, heat, and light, and scratching.

Although most gemstones can be cleaned with a mild dishwashing detergent and water, some cannot.

Properly Identify the Vintage Jewelry Gemstones

The gemstones with the greatest hardness on the Mohs scale are diamonds, rubies and emeralds, with diamonds being the hardest stones of them all.

All this really means is that these are the gemstones with the greatest resistance to scratching. This is one reason diamonds are a great stone to wear every day.

These precious gemstones can be cleaned using a mild detergent and soap and water.

Diamonds have inclusions, and dirt and grime can get into the cracks in the stone. A toothpick can help remove some of the grime from the inclusions. Be patient, when using a toothpick too clean in between prongs. You don’t want to damage the prongs, resulting in losing stones.

Some Jewelers have used oils to clean emeralds, to remove grease and grime, but this can add harm to the emerald, according to the Gemological Institute of America.

After you have cleaned diamonds and rubies, blow them dry to remove excess water. One tip that jewelers often use is to place the jewels in a bed of dry maple wood chips to dry. This can help you get rid of excess water spots, without leaving a film, on the gemstone.

Any gemstone that you clean at home, needs a soft bristle for cleaning. You don’t want to scratch antique gemstones or any gemstone.

Bottomline

Cleaning antique and vintage jewelry, that Grandma left behind is as easy as 1,2,3. You have all of the products that you need in the kitchen. Just take care with each precious vintage piece, as you restore those old antique jewelry treasures back to life. Give those old classic jewels some brilliance, and they will glimmer evermore.

Tammy Pinkerton

Based in the United States, grandmasjewelry123 has been an eBay member since Sep 30, 1997

Tammy Pinkerton

Posted on April 6, 2021April 6, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — 1 Comment

How To Buy Vintage Jewelry Online in 2021

Why I buy Vintage Jewelry?

When I first began shopping for vintage jewelry, I was looking for the unique, the different, the one-of-a-kind bracelets, necklaces, earrings, brooches. I was searching for jewelry, impossible to find in retail stores. I wanted the memories of old lovers, and new ones too, the memories of parents and grandparents, and special people who had been linked into the tapestry of my life.

Shopping for vintage jewelry is fun. The reason it’s enjoyable is that it’s one of a kind. It’s not the costume jewelry bracelets, necklaces, earrings, brooches made in China, and sold in Walmart stores.

Costume Jewelry isn’t real sterling silver or 14k gold, and it might not have genuine gemstones, but vintage jewelry is a selection from the past. Purchasing it is a little like stepping into the movie Back to the Future. You rev up the time machine, turn on the flux capacitor, and fly towards relics from the past, then return to today, bringing fashion designs from yesterday, into today.

Sometimes I purchased vintage jewelry to accessorize, the simple summer dress. Other times, it was the choice, for the dinner, anniversary, or special occasion. Sometimes I bought, a special jewel for the GrandmasJewelry123 store to resell to another.

Why do you want Vintage Jewelry?

If you are like me, you are buying vintage jewelry for the same reasons. You might choose a ring or bracelet, that reminds you of somebody special. You may need a fashion accessory, a beaded necklace, for a special outfit for day or evening wear. You might be searching for a simple sterling silver design, that you can wear many times. You might just be seeking a design to capture a slice of time.

You know that mass produced jewelry doesn’t encapsulate the differentness of one of a kind pieces crafted before.

You are looking for vintage bracelets, costume rings, vintage necklaces, and antique brooches that speak to the heart, that are fun to wear, and that aren’t in stores that sell new jewelry everywhere.

You are looking to wear special pieces from the past. They will show some.

Mostly the selections evoke curiosity. Who owned this? How did they get this? What is the story of this jewelry piece? The odds are you might never know, but exceptional jewelry makes you wander off into Lala land and think about who wore this before?

They don’t make vintage jewelry like this anymore. It’s not made in China. It’s no t mass produced. The vintage jewelry that you are looking for, is one of a kind, it’s a special piece that touches you, and evokes curiosity, about its history.

Is Vintage Jewelry a Good Investment?

Vintage jewelry is an excellent investment. Before our marketplace became a collection of made in China specials, artists crafted jewelry by hand. Many companies spent time and money, using rhinestones, and gold plate and silver plate, to make jewelry affordable for people who wanted to wear elegance, but couldn’t afford the expensive cost.

Find a pair of Miriam Haskell Earrings, and you have a real collectible piece. Famous for the large chunky stones, artistically designed, her pieces are quickly increasing in value, not to mention very difficult to find.

Nolan Miller, costume designer for the television show Dynasty, passed in 2012. His jewelry considered works of art and has been on the upswing.

Sara Coventry jewelry was once a household name, along with Avon Jewelry designs. Both are still relatively affordable, but a great speculative buy destined to increase in price. Avon, developed an amazing brand, and not only sold fantastic costume jewelry, Avon was a huge supporter of economic empowerment for women in the marketplace.

No matter what you think the value might be in the future, don’t buy jewelry just for the increase in price. Buy vintage jewelry that you like. You don’t want to invest money in a bracelet, only to have it packed away in a box.

Antique Vs. Vintage Jewelry

Any jewelry that is 20 years old or more is considered vintage jewelry. If it’s 100 years old, its considered antique. This means the Art Deco designs worn by the flappers of the 1920’s, are antique relics. The Jewelry worn in the past wasn’t always expensive, some of it affordable costume designs. They are becoming very difficult to find, and increasing in price.

They may or may not have real gemstones. It may or may not be sterling silver or 14k gold.

Vintage Jewelry is a Good Investment

Buy what you like. Buy what you will wear. Don’t purchase jewelry you will shuffle away in a box, hoping someday it’s worth more.

You can find vintage Jewelry on Etsy, Ebay, Craigs List, or even here at www.grandmasjewelry123.com store.

You can also find vintage jewelry at jewelry trade shows, and at auction houses.

And of course you can find it at estate sales. This is my favorite place to find old pieces, because these are pieces that people didn’t want to part with when they were alive, and then the heirs don’t care or know anything about it, and are willing to let it go.

I love finding pieces where women who died, only had sons. The guys often don’t have a clue, and they aren’t attached to it. You can find some great buys. They are willing to let it all go.

What should you look for?

Patina

Look at the patina. Vintage jewelry will have some signs of wear. There are many copies and places putting out new jewelry pieces that are new, designed to look like they are old. Vintage jewelry will have signs of wear. Some of the pieces may have slight tarnish, some signs that there was some wear.

Reputation

Search for reputable dealers of vintage jewelry. If the dealer is selling multiple pieces of the same item, it’s doubtful that it is old. It is more likely new, designed to look as if it’s old. You want the one of a kind piece of jewelry, that nobody else is wearing.

Clasp

Review the clasp of the jewelry, as it can tell you quite a bit about the actual age. If you find a special vintage brooch that you like, always look at the back of it, as well as the front.

Brooches with pins that extend past the edge of the brooch, are probably antique brooches. The reason for this is that women’s fabric was heavier 100 years ago, and the pin extended past the edge of the brooch so it could securely attach to the fabric.

A Long pin extending past the edge of the brooch is an antique brooch.

Helpful Tools To Bring With You

Loupe

Invest in a jewelers loupe when investing in vintage or antique jewelry. This will allow you to see writing on the back of the bracelet or necklace. Any markings such as signatures, stamps of sterling or 925, or 14k gold are easier to see with a jewelers loupe.

A Magnet

While Silver is usually marked 925, or sterling, gold is not always marked with 14k gold, or 10k gold. You don’t have the ability to do an acid test on the spot, but you can bring a magnet with you. A magnet won’t attract silver or gold. It’s a first step to telling you if you are looking at silver or gold.

What Should you look for?

Signatures

Look at the signatures on the back of the vintage bracelet, brooch or necklace. It’s an excellent way to date jewelry.

Goldette Jewelry located in New York, made fine vintage jewelry from the 1940’s to the 1980s, when it closed its doors.

Goldette had signatures, and signature styles that changed with the decades. These signatures can help you date a piece of jewelry. You might not ever know the exact year it was produced without the catalogue but you can get an approximate age of the piece.

Hobe jewelry was produced in Providence Rhode Island. Hobe used rhinestones carefully cut and placed that are so finely made, that they practically jump off the jewelry brooch. Hobe had styles of stamping their trademark on the back of a brooch or pair of earrings that varied with the decade it was produced.

Markings for silver and gold

Always look at the backside of the jewelry piece. Silver is usually marked. Sometimes you can find an individual who crafted with sterling silver and didn’t mark it, but the hallmarks have been required by law for hundreds of years.

The silver markings can tell you the country where it was made, as countries often used hallmarks specific to that country. England stamped silver with a lion.

In the United States, silver is marked with 925 or the word sterling. If the piece says sterling, instead of 925, it’s an older piece of vintage jewelry.

Countries use different numbers for marking silver. Check out the silver markings to learn more about markings. There are places online that will help you learn the silver markings found in various countries in the world.

Vintage jewelry is an excellent investment, and it’s a lot of fun to purchase. Whether you are seeking to capture a piece of time from the past or wear it for a special event, you can find a complete selection of vintage earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and rings at www.grandmasjewelry123.com

The following list will guide you on how to buy Vintage Jewelry

1. Examine the jewelry from all sides, thoroughly.
2. Vintage jewelry must look old. Confirm it.
3. Evaluate on the base of price. If something is very cheap it is for some reason. Compare and contrast the products & prices of multiple stores.
Checkout: Vintage Jewelry Store
4. Read out about vintage jewelry before you go to purchase it. This is a good article on this topic.

Tammy Pinkerton

Based in the United States, Tammy Pinkerton has been an eBay seller since Sep 30, 1997.

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Posted on March 29, 2021October 24, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — 2 Comments

Grandmas Jewelry: Best Store for Vintage Jewelry

Stroll on over to our eBay store at Grandmas Jewelry 123 or just click above, and see our collection of unique and interesting pieces of jewelry. You will find many antique pieces from the Edwardian Era. Some are museum quality, such as this double strand pearl necklace with genuine peridot gemstones.

We have a antique black onyx carved, Indian, cameo brooch made before 1900. It’s unusual and rare.

We aren’t limited to just luxury at an affordable price, we also have many costume designers signed earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.

If I list down, at Grandma’s Jewelry Store you can buy:

Miriam Haskell, a renowned designer graces our store with a classic Haskell-designed chunky, clunky, pair of clip-on earrings from the 1950s. Haskell jewelry is very in demand, and I only have one set of earrings from her. They are typical Haskell with large amethyst-looking gemstones.

Goldette closed shop in the 1970’s, but I have found a pewter Aladdin lamp necklace from the 1950’s.

What would a vintage jewelry store be without diamonds, 14k gold, or sterling silver? When you want to be the center of the universe, or make somebody else the center of the universe, you want sparkle and light.

grandmas jewelry on eBay — Click the Image to go to Store

Posted on March 24, 2021October 24, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Hobe Jewelry: Jewels of Legendary Splendor

It was the father Jaques Hobe’, a master Goldsmith, and Silversmith, who founded the Hobe company in 1887, in France, but it was the son William who put the Hobe’ company on the map and transformed Hobe’ into a recognized name, that people still view as a high-quality Jewelry maker, even today.

Hobe Jewelry History

It took 40 years between 1887 and 1927 to change the direction of the company, where costume jewelry collectors think of those tasseled and beaded necklaces, and those sparkling floral, rhinestone pins, as a symbol of the finest costume jewelry, to reach the marketplace.

It is rumored that Hobe’s Jewelry was so exquisite, and recognizable that the term “Costume Jewelry” originated from the Hobe company. The tagline for Hobe’s Jewelry was Jewels of Legendary Splendor.

Hobe’s Jewelry Reaches Broadway

Hobe’ reached the stars, literally and figuratively. In the 1920s, Hobe’ was commissioned to create jewelry pieces for Flo Zeigfield for theatre work on Broadway. Soon, many theatre and movie productions commissioned Hobe to produce more Hobe pieces, for the stars.

Many of the Broadway stars of the 1920s embellished their on-stage fashion with custom-designed pieces of Hobe Jewelry. Hobe became known as the originator of high-end costume jewelry. Gemstones that sparkled and dazzled with glitz became trademarks for Hobe designs.

The Hollywood stars of the 1940’s and 1950s glamoured fashion with Hobe pins and brooches. Betty Davis and Ava Gardner were two of the most famous stars of the post-war era to wear Hobe’s Jewelry. Marilyn Monroe was known to own several dazzling, Hobe Jewelry pieces in the 1950s.

Hobe’ High End Quality Designs

Hobe’s Jewelry was sold to high-end retail stores. Sometimes the artistic quality was crafted from glass that looked like rhinestones, and other times he used semi-precious gemstones and integrated them with glass. Often the jewelry pieces were encased in silver, and sometimes sterling silver. And always, Hobe’s jewelry featured the trademarked Hobe’s name.

In the 1940’s many of the Hobe designs were patented, and many of these designs originated from William Hobe’ or his wife Sylvia. Many were considered expensive for the time and sold to boutiques featuring expensive jewelry.

While Hobe first crafted costume jewelry in Germany, and France, when he immigrated to the United States, Providence Rhode Island became home. Museums exist there today, exhibiting the works of William Hobe’, his wife Sylvia, and his father Jaques.

As the decades passed, the Hobe family continued designing and making jewelry. After the 1950s the designs became broader in style and appealed to the masses. Williams, late son Don moved to Florida and established operations there.

Bottomline

Today, Hobe’s Jewelry is highly collectible. Amazing brooches and earrings with finely cut glass stones are very much in demand as vintage jewelry designs. Hobe created many pieces with an Asian theme in design in the 1940s. After the 1940s Hobe designed more jewelry for the masses, and the most collectible pieces are prior to the 1950s, although Hobe is a symbol of the finest costume jewelry in the world, and all of it is increasing rapidly in value.

If you are a collector of vintage jewelry, this is one designer name, you want to find:

Vintage Jewelry

Posted on March 5, 2021October 24, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — 1 Comment

Aquamarine Gemstone: Stone for Tranquility & Energy

Aquamarine Gemstone Vintage Jewelry Store

You can buy Aquamarine Gemstone ring by clicking on the following link:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Aquamarine-Gemstone-Ring-Vintage-Estate-Sale-Sparkle-Tested-Birthstone-for-March/323695142705?hash=item4b5dbbe731:g:X8EAAOSwS15fynlt

Aquamarine Stone is a light blue gemstone, that sparks like it’s shimmering from the ocean sea in the summertime. This beautiful gemstone is the birthstone for the month of March. Aquamarine is also the gemstone for the 19th wedding anniversary.

Aquamarine GemStone Benefits

When you want tranquility and need calming energy, Aquamarine is the gemstone for you. It has a long history as a soothing stone. Rumor has it that ancient sailors carried aquamarine stones with them to ward off dangers from the sea. When turbulent waters hammer against a ship, grasping onto an aquamarine stone offers comfort.

This stone is about calm, peace, soothing the soul. When you seek relaxation and serenity, aquamarine is the gemstone to wear.

Aquamarine Gemstone History

Aquamarine was discovered in Brazil and is the most abundant place for finding aquamarine stones. Aquamarine stones aren’t limited to Brazil, they can be found in Russia and Vietnam. Just in case you don’t get an opportunity to visit there, you can always find Aquamarine stones in California.

Also checkout our Gold Hoop Earrings Pierced

Ascendancy of Aquamarine

Aquamarine is from beryl which is a colorless beryllium aluminum silicate. The iron gives rise to the greenish-blue color of aquamarine, simulating the color of the ocean. Add some heat, and Aquamarines becomes a clearer blue color that adds appeal to modern jewelry.

It is a hard stone, making it ideal for wear on a daily basis. It is often used as a center stone in cocktail rings, because it is hard, and can endure daily wear without chipping or breaking.

When you need calm and serenity, and seek a ring to wear regularly, that glimmers and shines, that can be worn in winter, spring, or summertime, it’s time to turn towards aquamarine.

Aquamarine Ring

You can buy aquamarine ring by clicking on the following picture.

Posted on December 30, 2020April 9, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Taxco Silver: Quality Craftsmanship, Exquisite Artistry

About 100 miles south of Mexico City, is a quaint charming town, with winding, cobblestone streets, known as Taxco, Mexico.

Today, Taxco Mexico is a tourist attraction, visited by many worldwide travelers, and its main attraction is silver. Some of the most exceptional silver jewelry pieces in the world can be found in Taxco, Mexico.

The earliest mining of silver in Taxco, Mexico happened before 1500. The Aztecs decorated the Gods in silver. One of the most well-known Aztec emperors, Montezuma, was embellished in silver jewelry.

Silver had a plethora of applications. It was used in ceremonies, and rites of passage. It decorated statutes and buildings, and It adorned the body.

While some view decorating the body with precious metals, a relatively modern custom dating back a hundred years or so, the practice actually dates back to ancient times.

A review of early Mexican art shows piercings in ears, noses, and other body parts. Many of these piercings were decorated with silver.
Tammy Pinkerton

History

Between 1500 and 1700, silver mining in Taxco waned. There were more popular places in the world to mine silver.

That changed dramatically in 1717, when two brothers from France, rediscovered silver in Taxco Mexico. Their mining exploration and discovery created a jumpstart in the local economy, and silver in Taxco became popular once again.

Turquoise, Obsidian, and Jade were integrated into statutes and carvings, and jewelry pieces, and were natural gemstones to blend with silversmithing.

In the 1920’s, William Spratling, an architect from New York, decided to retire in Taxco Mexico.

Spratling had been fascinated with pre-Columbian and Aztec works of art.

Inspired by these artworks, and his knowledge of art deco, Spratling merged both styles and created a new innovative style of silversmithing jewelry. He is considered one of the most influential designers of jewelry in Taxco, Mexico. He figured out how to integrate the old with the new in jewelry design.

Find one of his signed pieces and you not only have a one-of-a-kind, finely crafted piece of jewelry, but you also have a collectible piece that will bring a hefty price.

Over the next three decades, many artists from the United States relocated to Taxco Mexico and set up shop. Some trained local artisans in their models integrating stones and metals into fine works of the art design.

Artists and Taxco Silver

Artists like Margo De Taxco, Castillo, Gomez, and Pineda created some masterpiece models using silver and black onyx, opal, turquoise into their jewelry pieces. They crafted animals, floral, designs from ancient days with the modern use of gemstones. These signed pieces of jewelry are rare finds.

Must Read Lines

Taxco silver is exceptional in quality not only because of its beauty, but because most of it is heavyweight. When you purchase Taxco silver, you are buying quality craftsmanship, exquisite artistry, and a unique blend of old mixed with new, in a solid, one-of-a-kind, piece of jewelry.

Buy Now on eBay

Posted on December 18, 2020April 9, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Amethyst Gemstone: Calmness and Tranquility

Amethyst Gemstone: Kings decorated crowns with amethyst. Religious leaders wore the stones on robes and headwear. Up until the 19th-century amethyst was considered a rare stone and was just as expensive as emeralds and diamonds. It became associated with royalty.

Not only was the amethyst rare because it was hard to find, but because it was purple. Purple was a challenging color to dye, and amethyst was purple. Prior to the 1900s, the purple color and scarcity made amethyst a rare gemstone, and affordable only for the very wealthy.

Amethyst was found abundant in Brazil and Uruguay, and Amethyst became affordable for the masses. The highest quality amethyst gemstones with the deepest purple colors are found in Uruguay.

Today amethyst, a quartz crystal is frequently crafted into beautiful jewelry pieces. Whether you are looking for a necklace, bracelet, earrings, or brooch, you can find an amethyst gemstone. Designs using amethyst gemstones can be found in high-end solid gold pieces or in high-end costume jewelry.

Amethyst is always purple in color but the deeper the purple, the more valuable the gemstone, and the higher the price. Amethyst is more than a stone to capture beauty. It has metaphysical meanings as well.

Amethyst Stone meaning

The word “amethyst” originates from the Greek word amethysts, meaning sober. It is said, that if you wear amethyst close to your body, you will not get drunk.

Characteristics

Our world could use some amethyst today, as amethyst is a calming stone. When you need clarity of mind and tranquility, wear amethyst quartz crystal close, or keep it in your pocket. The mystical powers of amethyst will calm you down and give you peace of mind.

Amethyst is also symbolized with courage. It is rumored that in days gone by, Egyptian soldiers carried amethyst stones to battle.

Amethyst gemstone is for birthdays in February. It is often gifted as the stone for sixth, 17th, and 33rd wedding anniversaries.

Whether you want to emulate royalty, or need calm and tranquility, or just need to stay sober, amethyst is a great gemstone to wear.

Victorian Sterling Silver Ring Faceted Amethyst Cubic Zirconia Stones Cocktail

Click to Buy These on eBay

Posted on December 15, 2020April 9, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Chariot Necklace

I brought this purple and pink beaded necklace to Patrick, a geologist working at Jareds jewelry store for identification, and for a moment, I thought I had struck gold!

“ I can’t believe you found a necklace with an entire strand of the chariot“

Cherry what? I had never heard of the gemstone, let alone knew what it was. He began explaining. “Tammy, this is a very rare gemstone. It is found in one river in Siberia.” “It is relatively newly discovered.” He repeated it…” only one river in the entire world has this gemstone.”

Patrick was mesmerized looking at this stone. Chariote is purple with lilac and violet swirls. It is so perfect, that it’s hard to believe that it could be natural from the earth. When you wear it, it will be noticed immediately.

Chariote was discovered in Siberia in 1948 in the Chara River. In 1977 it became scientifically identified.

It’s the purple strand at the center of this featured necklace.

https://thesecretofthetarot.com/charoite-crystal

He rattled off the gemstones. “You have a necklace with strands of Crazy Lace Agate, Pink Pearl, and Chariote.

In spite of its rarity, its relatively inexpensive, especially since it can only be found in Eastern Russia. Not many people are traveling to Siberia to find it!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Designer-Crazy-Lace-Agate-Chroite-Swarovski-crystals-Pearls-pink-Necklace/323816038135?hash=item4b64f09ef7:g:89wAAOSwTStfXGxI

The Chara river means the river of “charm”. Perhaps that explains why this gemstone is known as a stone of enchantment. Maybe that is why Patrick, a geologist was in awe studying it.

It is known as a transformative stone. Transform sickness to health, poverty to wealth, and improve self-esteem, when wearing this stone. When you are in the process of change, or just need a change, Choirite is the gemstone to wear.

Posted on December 15, 2020October 24, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com

How to Clean Sterling Silver Jewelry

Tammy Pinkerton

When Grandma cleaned tarnished sterling silver, she reached for polish in a container, applied elbow grease, and hours later she was done, grime had disappeared.

There are easier ways to restore the brilliance in sterling silver, and bring back the sparkle. Just use good old fashioned soap and water, but purpose it in a special way.

First retrieve a bowl from the cabinet, and line it with tin foil. Then add a cup of warm water. Add a dash of salt, and a sprinkle of baking soda, and a few drops of dishwashing soap. Mix it up. Don’t drink it!

Drop the classic necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings , and pins into the bowl and let them soak for five or ten minutes.

Locate an old toothbrush and brush away dirt and grime. You are about to witness brilliance and shine.

Don’t brush your teeth with that toothbrush again.

Empty the bowl of warm water, and fill it with a cup of cold water. Soak the vintage sterling silver jewelry pieces there. Then dry the silver with a towel, and Grandmas Jewelry will once again twinkle with that old fashioned dazzle.

Posted on December 12, 2020March 31, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Courage

Tammy S. Pinkerton

You would expect a tin man to need a heart, and a scarecrow a brain, but it’s surprising to learn that a lion wants courage. A lion is big and burly, and evokes fear in many. The lion in the Wizard of Oz, begins as a bully, but when Dorothy smacks him on the nose, his vulnerability appears.

“My what a big fuss your’e making.”” “When you go around picking on things weaker than you are.” “Why, you are nothing but a big coward”, says Dorothy. The lion responds crying, “Your’e right. I am a coward. I even scare myself”.

“Look at the circles under my eyes. I haven’t slept in weeks.” The tin man asks, why don’t you try counting sheep? “That wouldn’t do me any good, I am afraid of them”.

After the long journey along the yellow brick road, the lion is ready to tackle the demons, inside the castle, and accept courage from Oz, as if it is going to be packaged in a box.

Oz is a fraud, and the lion is looking outside for what is inside him the entire time.

All he had to do was keep moving forward, and moving through each obstacle along the yellow brick road. He faced evil witches, bats, and demons on the path. Many times he wanted to quit, but he didn’t turn around. He tackled each dangerous ordeal, until it had moved out of the way.

Dorothy, the scarecrow, and the tin man gave him support to keep moving toward his goal.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201208/the-six-attributes-courage

Throughout history, there have been many people identified as courageous. They found themselves in situations that tested their values, morals or principles and they persisted. It is lonely to be courageous. It is also scary.

Courage and fear walk together. You cannot be brave, unless you have some fear. When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, she wasn’t seeking to be a hero, or to begin the civil rights fight. She was tired, and asked herself, why should I give up my seat, because of the color of my skin?

She wasn’t trying to be rebellious, or stubborn. She had the backbone to stand up for what she believed was right. Her values guided her forward.

While many might have agreed with Rosa Parks, most were too afraid to openly say that they did. It’s easier to be a sheep and follow the pack.

Courage Takes Nerves of Steel

The first of anything new, begins with swimming against the tide, and that can be dangerous to do. It takes backbone and grit to create change. It is far easier to give up on our values, and our dreams, and just go with the flow.

When every ounce of your being wants to move away from the danger, sometimes it takes nerves of steel to move forward. It is our value system that keeps us on track, and it is persistence and tenacity, that helps us achieve our goal.

Winston Churchill said courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. Courage is both. Knowing when to move forward, and when to stand still, takes skill. Intuit is at the core, but heart and brains guide the tour.

https://albertmohler.com/2016/01/08/the-courageous-leadership-of-winston-churchill

Financial Social and Moral Courage

Any challenge has obstacles. We don’t know what we don’t know.

It is frightening to move forward when we are operating with missing pieces.

Being courageous is isolating. We are moving against the grain. There are lots of naysayers, “Forget it, just go with the crowd, this can’t change”.

You, Steve Jobs a little guy who made a computer in your garage are going to compete with IBM. Get real. Can’t be done.

You, Winston Churchill are going to warn about the onset of Fascism, and protect England. Pick a political party and stick with it. Forget this foolish nonsense.

You Rosa Parks, are a black women who won’t give up your seat on a bus. Who do you think you are?

They were people who had the courage to move forward against the grain, and each of them changed history because they did.

There is financial courage, moral courage, social courage.

Steve Jobs and Walt Disney took great financial risks to see their dreams materialize. They had financial courage.

Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela spoke out against injustice. They had social courage.

Winston Churchill warned against fascism. He had moral courage.

The next time you find something standing in the way of what you want or believe, or something challenging your values, be willing to stand up, and say

“No, this has to change.”

Keep moving forward, with a. willingness to face each obstacle standing in your way, and you will find nerve that you never knew you had. Courage is within each of us, it just takes extra muscles to find it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Bracelet-with-Heart-Shape-Army-Mom-w-Green-Rhinestones-Silver-Chain/324212846580?hash=item4b7c976ff4:g:PUQAAOSwxJVe-LL1

Posted on December 10, 2020December 26, 2020 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Hanukah: The little things matter

Tammy Pinkerton

Hanukah is a minor holiday, but offers major lessons in survival.

This small, itty bitty holiday, teaches huge lessons in survival, during turbulent times. When people of all religions are locked in our homes, due to a global pandemic, that has attacked worldwide, the story of Hanukah can help.

Historically, December is a time period when many experience depression and anxiety.

It’s cold, the holiday season is here, and we remember friends and family who have disappeared. While our world has been fragmented for a long time, this year, it’s worse.

Businesses have shut down. Many are hungry and cold. Numerous isolated from family and friends. Some afraid death will knock on another’s door. We are a world living in fear.

As long as I can remember, Hanukah a small, minor holiday, celebrated with a menorah, compared to Christmas, a big, major holiday, observed with a huge tree, has seemed insignificant.

The story of Hanukah is seemingly meaningless, compared to the birth of the savior of the world. An account about an oil lamp staying lit for eight days instead of one, is seemingly ho hum.

Or is it?

The menorah stayed lit for 8 days instead of 1. A minority defeated a majority in war. All the cards were stacked against the few, and yet they beat the many. The lights were supposed to dimmer out, but they stayed on.

We believed we had enough oil to last one day, but we lasted eight. We received more than expected. Lighting a candelabra each day reminds us of that miracle.

Did it really matter that we were given extra light? Ask the people who have been living in America this year with power outages, what they think about extra light. Then ask the people who can’t afford to pay the electric bill.

Retailers hardly get excited about the eight days of Hanukah to boost the bottom line. The majority of Jews are not rushing into the shopping mall purchasing the newest gadget. This year nobody is rushing anywhere. We are engaged silently in a war, against a silent virus calamity that has struck world wide. The virus is major. It has darkened the world. We the people are minor sources of light, barely flickering to stay on.

We need extra light. Each day that we light the menorah, reminds us that it is extra light, that keeps us alive, and helps us survive.

God granted us extra light, because the oil held in the container had been properly sealed. It wasn’t contaminated with dirt and grime. It didn’t leak. We protected what we had. We weren’t wasteful, and valued our resources. The lessons learned during Hanukah, can help us survive, coupled with a miracle from God.

Yes, the story of Hanukah, is about the miracle of extra light, gained through protecting resources, and a miracle from God, in a battle when a few beat the many in war.

Click here to visit my store and look for jewelry that has personal meaning for you.

Posted on December 3, 2020March 26, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Coral – Mysterious, Spiritual, and Energetic Gemstone

Coral has been viewed as a mysterious gemstone, gifted with spiritual, energetic powers. Thousands of years ago, Coral was traded between the Mediterranean and India, countries.

Historically Coral has been viewed as a gemstone with mystical powers. The Romans hung branches of coral around children’s necks, to protect against evil forces, that might harm.

In Italy, coral was worn to protect people from the evil eye, and to promote fertility in women.

Coral is often used to make jewelry. It can be polished and given a phenomenal shine. Coral is found at the bottom of the ocean and grows in dark places. Environmental degradation in our waters has destroyed much of the coral reefs, and the demand for coral has grown astronomically, while the supply has decreased, creating an increase in price for coral.

Coral once abundant is now in short supply.

According to the Gemology institute, red coral is the most valuable of coral gemstones, but you can find coral in shades of pink, and even black.

Protect coral jewelry, by storing it away from heat, as heat can fade the colors of coral.

Whether you want to wear coral to protect against evil spirits or raise your mystical powers, or just because you like it, coral is becoming scarce and your jewelry will increase in value.

Click here to see more coral jewelry in my eBay store.

Posted on November 5, 2020April 7, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Legalization of Marijuana – My 2 Cents

Tammy S. Pinkerton

For decades, the public has clamored for the legalization of marijuana. It has medicinal benefits, is less harmful than alcohol, and nobody has ever died from an overdose from smoking the plant.

Despite marijuana being deemed a federal crime for over 80 years, and a public clamoring for the legalization over the last forty years or so, it has remained a federal crime to purchase, and use it.

Over the past decade or so, that is beginning to change on a state by state basis. Half the states have legalized marijuana recreationally, and or medicinally.

A couple years ago, Massachusetts added its name to the list of places where marijuana is now legal, and has opened retail stores. Initially, people stood in long lines, eager to smoke a joint, or chomp on a chocolate pot filled brownie, all legal.

At long last, Massachusetts would no longer be referred to as “Tax-a-chussettes”. Marijuana provided a solution.

There was no question about it, the tax collectors were smiling. At 400.00 for an ounce of medical marijuana, the extra revenue would fill the coffers. Legalizing marijuana would help a financially struggling state. The customers giggled all the way through munching on that brownie, that was no longer against the law. Everybody was happy.

What could possibly go wrong?

Skipping over the traditional arguments, that have been used by the opponents of legalization, such as it’s a gateway drug, bad for children, and nutritionally out of synch with good health, although more people will munch on donuts and pizza, than pot infused brownies, there is a real problem with legalizing marijuana, that is being ignored.

The way that marijuana is being legalized threatens our freedom and liberty as American citizens, and may actually lead to further erosion, of our basic human rights.

First, marijuana remains a federal crime. It continues to be considered a class one felony drug. Does this mean that people who live in a state where marijuana is legal, or visit a state where it is legal and use it recreationally, cannot work for the federal government? Or will they be fired from a federal job in a drug testing program, because they used marijuana, in a place where it was legal?

Does this mean that a person receiving food stamps or housing assistance who consumes marijuana cannot continue to receive that assistance, even though they live in a state where marijuana is legal, since those are federal monies, granted to states?

As soon as the first state legalized marijuana, the federal government should have removed it as a class one felony. It did not.

Why?

Building the conflict into the structure of the American judicial system keeps lawyers well funded with disputes. It provides a media driven by controversy, money making opportunity. The fact that it remains a class one felony gives sly provisions, for comparing it to heroin, or even murder. No difference between the two, right? We can lump all the illegalities together as major federal crimes. Notice on job applications- Have you ever been arrested for a federal offense?

If the government wants to take a citizens property, and or products, and that citizen uses marijuana, the citizen can be targeted in character attacks by calling the citizen a class one federal felon, giving fodder for takings. People can be targeted for political views, race, religion, gender, class, and marijuana as a class one felony, can fuel the character attacks. Far fetched? Perhaps, but there are many underhanded tactics using pardons, that can turn a minor crime into a major one. It really can be used as a “gateway drug.”

If marijuana is legal in one place but not another, our government can create asset forfeitures through the back door, and create these forfeitures using legal methods, further eroding basic civil rights.

Let me explain. If somebody uses marijuana in one state, and drives to another state and has a car accident, and it is determined that marijuana is in the blood stream, can the state where marijuana is illegal decide to confiscate the drivers car? Suspend the driver from driving? Force the driver into court grabbing their money and time?

The way that marijuana is being legalized today is building a system of legalized highway robbery into the law.

Today if an accident happens and alcohol is smelled on the breath, the driver becomes subject to a breathalyzer, and can be charged with drunk driving.

Alcohol is water soluble and leaves the body in 24 hours, but not so for marijuana. It is fat soluble and can remain in the body for 10 to 60 days with a urine test, and up to four years using a hair sample test.( more expensive, so used less)

Does everybody now involved in an accident from fender bender to major calamity have to pee in a cup to determine whether marijuana is in their blood? This gives police the ability to create gross violations of civil and human rights through money making grabs. All happening through legal processes.

Taken to an extreme, I suppose cities could fund entire police departments through building structural conflicts into the law.

Who has opposed the legalization of marijuana?

It has been those profiting from it being illegal. The drug manufacturers will soon focus on treatment for addiction to opiates, as a way of fighting back. Use marijuana medicinally, you must be sick and in need of treatment. Use it recreationally, you have a problem, and need treatment. The advertising has already started.

The drug cartels have made money with marijuana illegal, and losing revenue they will move deeper into pornography, and child trafficking, to compensate for the lost funds. The opponents of legalization stating that it’s bad for children might actually be right. Take the money away from those profiting from marijuana being illegal, and they may shift to buying and selling children. That is much worse.

The media will thrive on the back door conflicts, and the news generated from the back door conflicts because marijuana is halfway legal. A series of disputes arising … “Is it this, or is it that?” These gray areas are being built into the structure of marijuana laws.

The public will find themselves em-blazed in a series of conflicts further eroding liberty, not to mention draining their pocketbooks. Following legal costs in attorney fees and court costs and perhaps loss of job, the end result will be a pardon. “Everybody does it no big deal,” except for the person caught up in the legal trap.

These half measures are worse than it is totally illegal. Anybody who wants to smoke marijuana can. It is easy to find. It’s a plant. You can live in a place where it is illegal and find it just as easily as living in a place where it is legal. I doubt anybody who partook in consumption cared, whether it was legal or illegal, outside of the repercussions that would follow if caught.

Marijuana has reached mainstream America. Not everybody has tried it, but every adult between 20 and 70, knows somebody who has tried it at least once.

Four Presidents have been elected into office since the first state legalized marijuana, and 16 years have passed since then. All four presidents were baby boomers. They had grown up in a culture where marijuana had reached mainstream America, and understood usage, had transcended race, economics, and political ideology.

Two Presidents were Republicans, and two Democrats. All four brought marijuana legalization into campaign rhetoric. All claimed to represent “we the people”.

Half the states legalized marijuana. None of the presidents removed the class one felony status of marijuana. It didn’t require an act of congress to remove marijuana as a class one felony. Each of them could have done it with a pen stroke. None of them did. Why?

These half measures towards marijuana legalization don’t work. They create unnecessary conflicts between federal and state law. Removing marijuana as a class one felony, is the first step towards reducing these conflicts.

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Posted on September 27, 2020April 7, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Presidential Quotes

I was born at the end of 1957. The year I was born more babies were born than any year in history. Today we enter our retirement years, and there are quite a few of us, transitioning into our senior years.

When I was born, Dwight D.Eisenhower was president of the United States.

Through my life, I only recall one year, when our country was not at war. That was 1975.

The issues that have plagued our country since I arrived, are the same issues we face today, only today they are more extreme, and worse, than ever before.

In 1957, a distant cousin of mine, Senator Sam Dash, cautioned us about electronic surveillance, and its intrusion on the American People.

Today, Edward Snowden, lives in Russia, for fear of persecution, and prosecution, because he revealed the extremities of the deep state matrix of electronic surveillance, against the American people.

Senator Dash chaired the impeachment inquiry of Richard Nixon, which ultimately led to his resignation. I still remember Nixon boarding that airplane on that final day in office, waving goodbye.

Today, we have spent millions of taxpayer dollars on the Robert Mueller Russia investigation, investigating a president. Then we spent millions more on the John Durham investigation, investigating the investigators.

We have a President voted by the people out of office, who vows to retaliate, for this investigation happening, and is determined to overturn the results of this election.

I doubt I will be watching him board an airplane waving goodbye.

It’s not like we didn’t see this degradation evolving over decades. Every president since my birth has warned us. We the people have grown complacent in creating change. We have trusted our leaders, trusted congress, trusted the media, trusted everybody except ourselves and our higher power.

We need to restart.

The following are quotes from presidents of my past.

Eisenhower

“A people that values its privileges above its principles, soon loses both.”

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.”

“Beware of the military industrial complex”

Kennedy

“My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

“We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future.”

Johnson

“A rioter with a molotov cocktail in his hands is not fighting for civil rights any more than a klansman with a sheet on his back and mask on his face. They are both more or less what the law declares them: lawbreakers, destroyers of constitutional rights and liberties, and ultimately destroyers of a free America.

Nixon

“I think congress has spent enough time on ethics. I think it’s time they moved onto something else.”

“No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam war. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now. “

“When the president does it, that means it’s not illegal.” “The press is the enemy.”

Ford

“The political lesson of watergate is this: Never again must America allow an arrogant elite guard of political adolescents to bypass the regular party organization, and dictate the terms of a national election.”

Carter

“When you single out any particular group of people for secondary citizenship status, that is a violation of basic human rights.”

“We have become an oligarchy instead of a democracy. I think that’s been the worst damage to the basic moral and ethical standards to the American political system that I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“My constant prayer, my number one foreign goal is to bring peace to Israel, and in the process to Israels neighbors.”

“We cannot be both the worlds leading champions of peace and the world’s leading supplier of weapons of war.”

Reagan

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” “

“ I have wondered at times what the ten commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US congress.”

“Facts are stubborn things.”

Bush George 11

“Debates, I hate.”

I think the 24 hour news cycle has helped exaggerate the differences between the parties.” You can always find somebody on Television harping about something. That didn’t happen 20 years ago”

( add the internet to the mix)

Clinton

“Our democracy cannot survive its current downward drift into tribalism, extremism and seething resentment. Today, it’s us versus them in America. Politics is little more than blood sport. As a result our willingness to believe the worst about everyone outside our bubble is growing, and our ability to solve problems and seize opportunities is shrinking” We must do better. We have honest differences. We need rigorous debates. Healthy skepticism is good. It saves us from being too naive or too cynical. But it is impossible to preserve democracy when the well of trust runs completely dry.

Bush George W

Free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don’t attack each other. Free nations don’t develop weapons of mass destruction.

When I take action, I’m not going to fire a 2 million dollar weapon and hit a camel in the butt. It’s going to be decisive.

Obama, Barack

If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists to protect them and to promote their common welfare, all else is lost.

There is not a liberal America and a conservative America, there’s the United States of America.

The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. America has a debt problem, and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I, therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase Americas debt.

Trump, Donald

I will reserve his comments until after he has left office.

For 63 years, I have listened to the rhetoric. I have watched one endless war after another, and i have watched our country move deeper and deeper into darkness.

We have debt in the trillions and so many hungry and cold. We are gagged in our homes and told to socially distance from others. We are fragmented as a people. Our businesses have closed, due to government mandates.

And our leaders from both political parties are preaching justice and liberty, and all the things we the American people want to hear, and it is the same rhetoric year after year.

One thing is clear. If we are going to remain a free country, where the statute of liberty stops shaking her fist, then it is up to the citizens to take our country back, and put some checks and balances on the money going out the door.

Somehow, someway, we need to return to basics and restart. And I don’t think it’s through another budget expenditure for the poor, or another tax deduction for the rich, it’s through creating, developing, and building businesses, and strengthening the middle class.

Back at the beginning, we went to nursery school, or preschool, as we call it today and we learned a rhyme.

“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the kings horses, and all the kings men, couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.”

It is beyond time to build new. We have waited too long for our leaders to do something to take care of us, while they steal more and more from not only our wealth, but our liberty and justice, under the disguise, that they are “helping us”.

Our government does a lot to help us when we are in a crisis mode. We have systems in place to prevent us from falling through cracks on many levels, but the one group that has been left out, is the middle class.

We don’t need a handout. We need to use our money more efficiently, to become more resourceful with what we do have. We need to create jobs. It is the middle class that built this country and it is the middle class that needs to take it back.

It is time for the American people, the middle class, the citizens from every walk of life, to take our country back, from leaders who are ripping us off in backdoor underhanded deals, and then adding insult to injury by saying we are doing it to ourselves.

It is beyond time to strengthen the middle class

We build a better back when we open doors.

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Posted on May 4, 2020December 13, 2020 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Murano Glass Jewelry

Murano glass is some of the finest glass produced in the world. Crafted in Italy, Murano glass is known for cream of the crop, hand blown glass. It can be found in many jewelry pieces. You can discover Murano glass in earrings, necklaces and bracelets.

The Murano glass making began in the late 1800’s, in Venice Italy, and continues to this day. It is hand blown, and often has a signature identifying it. Don’t be fooled. Not all Murano glass is signed. Some of the older pieces have not been signed.

Murano glass will say that it was made in Venice, or made in Italy. It won’t say made in Murano. If you see a piece that says made in Murano, you are looking at a counterfeit.

Sometimes nothing will be written on the piece, particularly in older glass pieces.

One way to identify Murano glass is by noting that it is always hand blown. You won’t find seams. You will often find specks of gold flakes in Murano Glass. Look for bubbles and irregularities. If it’s too perfect, it’s probably a counterfeit, or mass produced.

Murano glass can run into thousands of dollars. Look for bargains at estate sales, and vintage stores.

Murano glass jewelry is a high quality treasure that can be passed down from one generation to the next.

Click here to see more Murano glass jewelry in my eBay store.

Posted on March 8, 2020December 13, 2020 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Micro Mosaic Jewelry

One of the greatest bargains in Jewelry is micro mosaic jewelry, because of the painstaking and time intensive process of crafting these jewelry pieces.

They are fine works of art design, and craftsmanship. Usually, they are crafted into brooches and bracelets.

Micro mosaic jewelry first began in Italy in the late 1700’s, and the highest quality of these pieces are found there. In the 1800’s, they were often made specifically for wealthy donors to the church. A jewelry designer would craft a micro mosaic brooch, or bracelet, for a wealthy donor, as a thank you gift. Often these were modeled after a scene in the church.

In the middle of the 1800’s, micro mosaic jewelry was often sold in Italy as a replica of a tourist attraction, that visitors could take home with them, after their visit.

Micro Mosaic jewelry uses a material called tesserae. Some pieces of micro mosaic jewelry use thousands of these pieces, to craft a design. Often flowers are arranged in a mosaic pattern, using tesserae. Sometimes black marble or black onyx is lined around the outside of the design, to highlight the design.

The highest quality of these designs were usually crafted in Italy, because the design originated there.

Micro mosaic jewelry is a treasure that can be passed down from one generation to the next.

Look for these and other pieces of jewelry in my eBay store. Click here to visit my eBay store.

Posted on January 22, 2020December 13, 2020 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Suicide Prevention

Tammy Stoner Pinkerton

A rope was the method. A hotel room south of France the place. A world renowned chef famous on CNN was the person. Anthony Bordain, committed suicide at age 61, and brought the problem of suicide to the forefront.

Since 1999, the Center for Disease Control reports a 30% increase in suicide. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States among all age groups.

Many are wondering why a man who traveled the world, with a job tasting food from around the world, writing about the experience could be in so much pain that he would end his own life. What was wrong? Wasn’t he living out the dream job? How could a person who had it all, end his own life?

The myth is that money solves all problems. Money solves money problems. Money doesn’t solve heart problems.

Suicide affects people of all ages, races and socio economic groups. While some groups have higher rates of suicide than others, every religion, income and race has members who have ended their own life.

Teenagers have the highest rate of suicide attempters, and the middle age, have the highest rate of those who complete suicide. Men are twice as likely to complete suicide then women, but women are twice as likely to attempt suicide.

Guns and hanging are the most likely methods to succeed in completing suicide, pills are the most likely methods used by attempters.

Many believe that depression is the central characteristic that all people who complete suicide are experiencing. That is a myth. While depression may or may not be a characteristic of those who attempt suicide, the fact is that hopelessness and helplessness are the central characteristics of those who complete suicide.

Hope is the belief that things will get better. It is what keeps us going, when life gets tough. The belief that life will change. When people feel suicidal they do not believe that life will get better, and they feel helpless to create change to make it better.

The other characteristic that all suicidal people feel is ambivalent. The will to live is strong, and so when people feel suicidal they are simultaneously feeling a will to live and a desire to die at the same time. Recognizing ambivalence is key to preventing suicide. If you hear a person is feeling suicidal remember that a part of them wants to live. That’s the part you should help them hone in on.

Some people believe that people who talk about suicide won’t complete suicide and that talking about suicide is just a method of getting attention. 85% of the people who completed suicide talked about suicide first. If somebody is talking about suicide you should take them serious, as talking about it is a cry for help.

If you are concerned that somebody is considering suicide you should ask them. Asking about suicide will not encourage somebody to end their own life, any more than asking about pregnancy will encourage somebody to get pregnant. If you are concerned that somebody might be considering ending their own life, ask.

Chances are great that a person considering suicide will speak to you a non trained person before seeking professional help. It is vital that you know how to respond. Anybody seeking suicide as an option needs attention and you should pay attention.

If you are concerned that somebody is considering suicide the first thing you should do is ask. Are you feeling suicidal? If the response is yes, they will tell you. Then ask if they have considered how they would do it. If there is no plan, it is a low level degree of risk. The more specific the plan the greater the degree of risk. Then it’s one thing to have a plan, its another to have access to the method to complete the plan. If somebody tells you they are considering suicide, and they would use a gun, you need to know if they have a gun. Obviously if they have a specific plan, and the method they have identified is available, they are at greater risk, then one that does not have access to the plan. Finally, you want to know what resources are available for support. Somebody who lives alone is at greater risk, then somebody who is surrounded with sources of support.

Remember the key characteristic to suicidal behavior is hopelessness and helplessness. You will want to provide them with some things to look forward too. Do not get into a debate about the merits of living or dying. You might not win the argument. Just insist that they live. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, so emphasize the temporary nature of problems.

If you are concerned that a person is in danger to themselves, please get them help. You do not need to act alone. In Connecticut, the suicide prevention access helpline is available 24 hours a day. The number in west mystic for Suicide Prevention is available 24 hours / 7 days a week. 1-800-848-1281 (860) 848-1281

Posted on January 17, 2020December 13, 2020 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Turquoise

One of the oldest gems to be mined was turquoise. Turquoise was mined by the ancient Egyptians over 6000 years ago. The finest turquoise in the world is mined in Iran. The Aztecs used turquoise in Mosaic work, dating back thousands of years.

Today, turquoise is often mined and transformed into jewelry in the southwestern states. The native Americans frequently sculpt turquoise into silver jewelry.

Turquoise contains iron and copper. The sky-blue color of turquoise is the most desirable and is caused by the copper, that is a part of its chemical composition.

The green colored turquoise is caused by the iron in the gemstone.

Turquoise is a very desirable gemstone in jewelry. The light blue or sky blue color of turquoise is the most desirable. The native Americans are known for skilled use of turquoise in jewelry.

Click here to see more turquoise items in my eBay store.

Posted on January 16, 2020December 13, 2020 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

A Patriotic Song

God Bless America

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,

Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free,

Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,

As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer. ”

God Bless America,

Land that I love.

Stand beside her, and guide her

Thru the night with a light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies,

To the oceans, white with foam

God bless America, My home sweet home.

The United States stood perched for war. Kate Smith needed a patriotic song, and she asked Irving Berlin to compose one. Berlin wrote a song in 1918, that was thrown into a trunk filled with unpublished songs. He retrieved it, changed a couple of lines, and a quasi national anthem was born in 1938.

All royalties were distributed to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America. Today it is sung at the seventh inning of baseball games. It was sung following the tragedy of 911.

How does a song like God Bless America evoke so much controversy? Why doesn’t God bless America today?

Woody Guthrie, twenty years junior to Irving Berlin, and the child of a land developer who had gone bust, didn’t like the song because he thought Berlin forgot about injustice, and inequity in America. He thought God Bless America was complacent, ignoring that America wasn’t fair for all.

Guthrie the child of a land developer, lived through the boom and bust from the oil industry, and learned about trust, corruption, and theft of land. He was an advocate for the Communist party.

Guthrie wrote This land is your land, this land is my land as a rebellion to God Bless America.

In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;

By the relief office, I’d seen my people.

As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,

Is this land made for you and me.

That was the verse removed from “This land is your land, this land is my land”

The KKK didn’t like God Bless America, because it had been written by an immigrant Jew. Technically Berlin was an immigrant, but he left Russia at age 5, and his only memory was sitting at the side of the road watching his home burn to the ground.

And he wasn’t religious enough to have married in his religion, as he married a Christian and raised his children Protestant at a time when that was a very rebellious thing to do.

The last thing Berlin wanted was the communist party. He was grateful for the opportunities provided to Americans. He did not want to see America become Russia.

80 years have passed since, God Bless America first played on the radio. Did God stop blessing America? Does the song still work today?

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,

We have increased security since the world trade center attacks, and the attacks have grown in our schools, our streets, our shopping malls. They aren’t happening across the sea, they are happening here at home, next to you and me.

Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free,

We aren’t free when we are trading our liberty for oil and gas. We aren’t free when people are shot in the back for having no more then a cell phone. We aren’t free when United airlines drags off a paying passenger, because he won’t give up his seat.

Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,

It’s not fair when we are silenced, not allowed to speak, denied access into the courts. It’s not fair when we are executed through our advertisements and television stations without a crime.

As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer. ”

At no point in our common history has attendance in churches synagogues or houses of worship been so low. Have we lost our faith? Or have we lost our sense of community?

God Bless America,

There are some very smart people who think they are God, and not operating in accordance with Gods laws.

Land that I love.

Stand beside her, and guide her

I love the country that we say we are, I do not love the country that we are today. We are not living according to our core values. My grandparents born on four continents, are probably rolling in their graves with the contradiction between what we say and who we are. Our country is degrading before our eyes, and we are pretending it’s not happening.

Thru the night with a light from above.

The light will shine, when we begin building it back.

From the mountains, to the prairies,

To the oceans, white with foam

We have polluted our oceans, our rivers and streams with massive urban sprawl. We have sold our public lands off as private property then tried to steal them back.

God bless America, My home sweet home.

When we stop degrading people places and things for profit, and begin building our core values back, that serve the average American , God will bless America. Until that time the song will continue to be a controversial patriotic song.

©may2018

Posted on January 13, 2020December 13, 2020 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

The Tubular Clasp

One way to date antique or period jewelry is to look at the clasp on the jewelry.

Back in the 1890’s bracelets were frequently made with tubular clasp, or a trombone clasp. It was popular in the late 1800’s, and was used in jewelry making up until the 1940’s.

There are two types of tubular clasps found on antique or period jewelry. The tube or trombone clasp, and the tube hinge. The tube hinge is the earliest type.

There is never a absolute clear line in identifying exact time periods, because makers of jewelry, often overlapped styles, and motifs.

In general if you find a bracelet or piece of jewelry with a tubular clasp, you can more likely than not, date it to before 1940.

Posted on January 9, 2020December 13, 2020 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Rhodochrosite

Rhodochrosite is a pink stone, that has metaphysical properties and powers. It is the gemstone that can provide a link between past lives, and heal the trauma carried forward from it, into present times.

Rhodochrosite is from the greek word, “Rhodos”, which means rose, and “khros, which means color. Some say this stone is the link between the soul and heavenly stars.

Others say meditating with this gemstone, can connect one with the divine spirit, and learn the lessons from negative experiences, to create a calm.

Rhodochrosite is a powerful love stone that can clear up emotional baggage and allow love energy into your life.

When you seek calm, connecting with spirit, or healing past life traumas, or just want to clear the way for love in your life, rhodochrosite, is the gemstone to wear.

Posted on January 9, 2020December 13, 2020 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Hypnotherapy

We don’t know what we don’t know. How do we get access to what it is we do know, but lies in our unconscious brains, and so we don’t know, what it is we could know? We can get there through the power of hypnosis.
Hypnosis. What is that? Is that where you make me bark like a dog, up on stage?Hypnosis is not that, and nobody can make you do anything that you don’t want to do. That is stage hypnosis, and we will leave the clucking chickens and barking dogs, to the comedians, and stage hypnotists.
Everybody has experienced hypnosis, at some point in time. Have you ever driven a car, and arrived at the destination, but can’t remember making the drive, for a significant period of the time you spent driving?

Of course you have, and when you did, you were undergoing a form of hypnosis. You were in a daze. You were aware, and unaware, simultaneously.
Hypnosis is a state of mind in which you are very relaxed. You are not so relaxed that you fall asleep, but you are relaxed enough to be receptive to new information. When you’re relaxed, the mind is able to access information that you know. You are able to tell yourself what you need to know.
You gain the ability to reach into new levels of awareness. You can do it quicker, then traditional psychotherapy, where words are the primary method of accessing information.
Hypnotherapy is a method of accessing information, at the unconscious level, and processing that information, into goals, and delivering messages that you need to know, to move closer to light, and further from darkness. You are not in the ego state of mind where you are analyzing the information, you are just accepting it into your unconscious brain.
Self -hypnosis can be taught, and self delivered. It is possible to write your own hypnotic scripts specific to you and your needs. You can tell yourself these scripts before sleep, or during a specific time during the day, and reprogram your own brain.
Hypnotherapy can be effective in managing anxiety and depression. The deep meditative and relaxed state, calms, and can reach the source of what you need to know to manage through. The ability to place yourself in your own meditative and hypnotic state can be learned, and self delivered.

Posted on January 7, 2020December 13, 2020 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Luck

Tammy Stoner Pinkerton

The Egyptians had pyramids, the Chinese placed waterfalls, and everybody knows that there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Throughout the beginning of time, cultures have had symbols of luck directing good or bad fortune.

The rabbits foot brings fertility. The foot works when it is the left foot from a rabbit, and the rabbit has been captured from the cemetery. Keep this in mind the next time you carry the rabbits foot around. Make sure you have the left, and not the right foot.

The four leaf clover. Four leaf clovers are very rare, and have been considered lucky for centuries. Four leaf clovers are universal symbols of good luck. The next time you board an airplane, please show your four leaf clover with your boarding pass.

Frogs. In Feng Sui the belief is that a three legged frog is far superior then a four legged frog. The three legged frog will bring wealth and prosperity into the home. Don’t put frogs in bedrooms or bathrooms, just yet. Don’t direct the three legged frogs prosperity down the toilet. Instead place it on a low shelf facing the front door. You want the frog to magnetize wealth into the house,not throw money down the drain.

Frogs are associated with transformation in literature. With a kiss, the frog is transformed into a handsome prince. I don’t know why some shift back to toads. Do we need to rub the back three times first? Are we putting them in the bedroom when we should put them by the door?

Wishing wells are places where you toss coins, that make a splash, make a wish, and send good fortune to the Gods. It might be why cities have set them up across our land.

Lucky Charms are not just a brand of cereal, they are trinkets worn around the neck designed to ward off evil spirits, and bring good omens. Do not eat the lucky charms, wear them.

Sapphires have brought good luck since ancient times. This beautiful blue stone, worn by kings is the birthstone for those born in September. Keep that in mind while snuggling in December or January.

Some numbers are luckier then other numbers, and seven might be the luckiest of them all. There are seven directions in the world. North, South, East, West, Up, Down, and where you stand, in the middle of them all.

When attempting to collect good fortune here is my advice. Dig around the graveyard, catch a rabbits left foot, then hop on down to the clover patch, and pick a four leaf clover. Jump around until you find a three legged frog, take him home, kiss him, and rub his back three times before he turns into a toad. Then hop, jump, and skip over to the wishing well, toss in a coin with a splash, and snuggle with your prince, on a low shelf by the front door.

Do this in December, seven times, while wearing a sapphire ring, and look up at the north star for guidance. Do these things, and good fortune will materialize.

Posted on January 4, 2020March 26, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

The Power of Word – That we’ll leave behind

Tammy Stoner Pinkerton

Our words matter. When we have departed this earth, the one thing we will have left behind will be our words. They will be our legacy, to our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, friends, and family who knew us. The memory of what we said will last beyond our lifetime. Our words have the power to change the world for better, or for worse.
In this culture that we live in today, of instant messaging, Twitter texts, Instagram, it is easy to forget that our words have the ability to transform the world. We let them roll off our tongue without thought of the impact they may have on others or on ourselves. It is very difficult to take them back.

Our words carry a lot of power. They have the power to keep possibilities alive, and the power to create lots of problems. When we have a powerful relationship to our word and are committed to choosing the words we mean, communication is effortless.

There is not a person among us who hasn’t regretted words spoken or written. All of us, have wished we said something just a little differently, not said something in anger, or not stumbled our way through an awkward situation, with poorly chosen words. None of us have perfect words 100% of the time. We are human, and as humans we err.
It’s not just important to give our word, but give our word and mean it. I can’t tell you the number of times I have heard and even done it myself, given my word until something better comes up. We give our word until faced with the blah, blah, blahs of life. When our word is good only until something better comes up, then we have situations that don’t work, and create upsets.

Once we are able to comprehend that our words matter, that our words are a declaration, that they work to create desired results, that we are trying to achieve, we are able to develop workability and simplicity in our life.

Our words are our agreements. They are doing what is expected of us when it’s expected. They give form and structure and substance to our lives. They generate possibility, power, and freedom. They bring peace of mind.
When we look at sources of what hasn’t worked in our lives, we will find broken promises in our agreements or broken words. When we put structures in our place to keep our word, we have the power to transform anything.

Failure to keep one’s word doesn’t mean people are bad, it just means that situations become unworkable. In a nutshell, broken words or agreements spell unworkable situations, not bad people.

Often that concept becomes mixed up. We believe when people say they will do something and don’t, they are bad. People are good even if they break their word but when words are broken, situations don’t work. Thus, it is important to agree only to words one can keep.

Today our country is under an implosion unlike any that we have seen since the civil war. We stand divided, and fragmented. Our words are all over the place, spoken randomly, and without concern for the impact they have on ourselves or on another human being. We have become careless with our words.

If we are to begin to restore some sanity during some very insane times, each of us has to stop and look at the words we choose, and the impact they have on another and on ourselves, and recognize that while seemingly fleeting, they leave permanent marks. Our words do matter.

Posted on December 28, 2019December 13, 2020 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

Walking Your Way To Stress Relief

14K Yellow Gold Necklace Heart Shaped w/ Large Amethyst Gemstone Vintage Estate

By Tammy S. Pinkerton

There might be no better way to reduce stress then to take a brisk walk in the park. It is active, easy, and even free. It provides you opportunity, to move fast or slow, stop and start, and notice the woods and trees, as you go.

Depressed and anxious, get off of the computer, hang up the phone, walk outside, breathe deep, and enjoy the change in scenery.

The difficult part of walking, for those who have two working legs, is getting started. That is the challenge for all. However once you experience the mental health benefits, and added benefits to the heart, it becomes much easier to start.

Walking helps increase happiness, because when you walk, you release endorphins, a chemical that helps you improve your mental outlook. When you walk, you send happy cells into the air, and watch depression disappear.

You can see a therapist, a psychiatrist, another treatment provider, but before you lay on the couch, and figure out how you got to be this way, take a walk, it’s healthy, active and free. Plus, walking moves you forward.

It just isn’t easy to walk backwards for any length of time.

Walking doesn’t just help the mind, it helps the body too. When you walk, your bones and muscles become stronger, and you reduce risk of heart disease and diabetes. This means that walking actually helps you live longer.

Living longer and stronger, with a better mental outlook, you can’t beat that, knowing that you can add that bagel and cream cheese later, because walking just helped you reduce the fat.

Haven’t taken a walk in a long time? Begin slow, start with an easy pace, just five or ten minutes a day. Walk three or four times in a week, and you will earn physical and mental benefits too. Then when you have some steps under your feet, add another thirty minutes or so, and walk three or four times in the week.

Fast paced walking can be a real plus, so don’t be afraid to step up the beat when moving the feet. Brisk walking 45 minutes a day, increases the heart rate, and burns fat. If overweight, that’s like devouring a Reuben sandwich without calories.

Find a friend to share the walk. Time speeds up, as you walk and talk, at the same time, breathing heavier, as you go, increasing the benefits to the cardiovascular system.

Do you have a dog? Take him with you. If he is on a leash, he will move at the pace you do. He has to. He is walking with you. The benefits to walking a dog, is many might want to stop and talk with you, or talk with your dog. Either way, you might meet somebody along the way. Or the dog will.

Don’t have a clear path to walk? Are you in the middle of suburban sprawl? Just walk on down to the city hall and complain, give them a word or two, and if nobody listens, just head to the mall. You can always walk there. Just remember the walk was meant to be free, so “buyer beware,” when you walk there.

(Stones like amethyst are also calming.)

Posted on December 28, 2019December 13, 2020 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

A Story of Assimilation in Baseball

Tammy Stoner Pinkerton
When Sandy Koufax put on a yarmulke and showed up at synagogue on Yom Kippur, a hungry audience stood up and cheered. He was the second major league baseball player who left the ball field during the world series, and sent his pitches to God. The first was Hank Greenberg.

Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax were two Jews who were inducted into the hall of fame for baseball. Neither were particularly religious, but both put faith above the sport. Both faced decisions, that left them waffling between assimilation, and religious heritage.

The all American sport of baseball had it’s share of antisemitism, and Hank and Sandy endured their share. They called Hank, the “Hebrew Hammer”, and taunted him with antisemitic remarks when he stood up to bat. A major hitter, standing in par with Babe Ruth, Hank Greenberg played for the Detroit Tigers in the 1930’s, and then the Pittsburgh Pirates. He took a respite from baseball when he served his country in the second world war. Hank said every time he stood at the bat, he was swinging as if the ball was Hitler.

Nobody took more abuse then Greenberg when he slugged the ball. “throw him a pork chop” yelled some, “he can’t hit it”. As he closed in on Babe Ruth’s record, pitchers were deliberately walking him. Greenberg tried to be seen as a great ball player, not a great Jewish ball player. It was only later in life, when he said that he appreciated that he had been a great Jewish baseball player.

By the time Hank Greenberg arrived on the baseball scene, there were already 30 Jewish players in the Major Leagues, but it was Hank Greenberg who illustrated the tough choices Jews had assimilating into American culture, because he was the first major Jewish star of baseball.
Hank, a child of immigrants faced decisions between assimilation, and keeping ones culture. Simply by playing baseball, Hank was a story of assimilation. He didn’t follow the traditional path, become a doctor, a lawyer etc. He did what poor children often did. He paved his path, playing a sport.
On Rosh Hashanna, in 1934, Greenberg wasn’t sure if he was going to play. He agonized, should he bat the ball out of the ballpark, or sit in the synagogue with the rabbi, and God.

He consulted with Rabbis, and ended up playing ball on that day, leading the Tigers to victory over the Red Sox. Ten days later, on Yom Kippur, he put on a yarmulke and showed up at temple. The congregation gave him a standing ovation. He said it was so unexpected, seeing the rabbi with Torah in hand, and an audience cheering him, as he walked through the synagogues door.
The refusal to play ball on Yom Kippur, was a symbol of a refusal to assimilate. A paradox.

Some say Hank Greenberg didn’t assimilate because he didn’t change his name, but the truth is that Hank did change his name. He was born Hymie Greenberg, and advised another Jewish ball player to change his name, if he was going to play in the major leagues.

Hank Greenberg didn’t want to be known as a hero, particularly a Jewish hero. He claimed his Jewishness was an accident at birth. Hank showed character when he was one of the few who welcomed Jackie Robinson, a black major leaguer into the sport of baseball. He took tremendous abuse as a Jew, and empathized with a black person’s vulnerability in America’s favorite pastime.

Hank Greenberg set the stage for maneuvering between assimilation and holding onto ones identity.

It’s been over 50 years since Sandy Koufax refused to pitch the first game of the world series on Yom Kippur. Koufax was the first major league pitcher to pitch four no hitters, and the eighth pitcher to pitch a perfect game in baseball history. His decision not to pitch during the first game of the world series brought national attention to the conflict between professional pressures, and religious values.

30 years after Greenberg played ball, Koufax had written into his contract that he wouldn’t play ball on Yom Kippur, so it really should have been no surprise that he didn’t. His decision not to play was made a generation after Jews had assimilated into American society. It was a different kind of choice then Greenberg’s three decades earlier. Koufax wasn’t trying to assimilate he was trying to hold onto his religious faith.

The spectacular part of his decision not to play, was that it made national news, and is remembered to this day.

Sandy Koufax decision not to play transcended the sport, and honored Judaism at the same time. It was using the national all American sport of baseball to make that statement. A star really can hold onto ones identity and blend into the America’s fabric at the same time.

These two great athletes established an example in baseball that can help American Jews today. As antisemitism increases in ways, most born today have not experienced, Greenberg and Koufax paved a path, for how to assimilate, hold onto faith, and still be a star.

Posted on December 11, 2019March 26, 2021 by grandmasjewelry123.com — Leave a comment

What is your birthstone?

Do you know your birthstone? Here is a list of gemstones associated with each month.

Birthstone by month:

January – Garnet

February – Amethyst

March – Aquamarine, Bloodstone

April – Diamond

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May – Emerald

June – Pearl, Moonstone

July – Ruby

August – Peridot

September – Sapphire

October – Opal

November – Topaz, Citrine

December – Tanzanite, Turquoise

Buy any of these stones on eBay

Is It Rhinestone?

What should you look for in evaluating Rhinestone Jewelry value?

Look at the prongs

Look at the name

Look at the time period

Check out the Internet

Consult Price Guides

Bottomline

Vintage Classic Jewelry Designs

Diamonds or Cubic Zirconia Earrings.

Pearl Necklace

Bangle Bracelets

Long Beaded Necklaces

Rings

How do you find out what Vintage Jewelry is worth?

Evaluating Costume Rhinestone Jewelry takes time

Begin with Experts

How much is Costume Rhinestone Jewelry worth?

Tools to Evaluate Rhinestone Jewelry

What was the history of this Rhinestone Costume Jewelry Piece

Coro and Rhinestone Costume Jewelry

Review trademarks on Rhinestone Costume Jewelry

What is the age of the Rhinestone Costume Jewelry

What is the signature of the Rhinestone Costume Jewelry

Rhinestone Jewelry has Unique Value. Find it.

Rhinestone Costume Jewelry has Market Demand

Research Price Guides

Review Company Catalogues

How much was my Rhinestone Costume bracelet worth – Conclusion

Cleaning Sterling Silver Vintage Jewelry

Step 1.

Step 2.

Step 3.

Cleaning 18K and 22K Gold Vintage Jewelry

Cleaning 14K and 10K Gold Antique Jewelry

Cleaning Antique Pearl jewelry

Cleaning Vintage Gemstone and Vintage Rhinestone Jewelry

Properly Identify the Vintage Jewelry Gemstones

Bottomline

Why I buy Vintage Jewelry?

Why do you want Vintage Jewelry?

Is Vintage Jewelry a Good Investment?

Antique Vs. Vintage Jewelry

Vintage Jewelry is a Good Investment

What should you look for?

Patina

Reputation

Clasp

Helpful Tools To Bring With You

Loupe

A Magnet

What Should you look for?

Signatures

Markings for silver and gold

The following list will guide you on how to buy Vintage Jewelry

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Hobe Jewelry History

Hobe’s Jewelry Reaches Broadway

Hobe’ High End Quality Designs

Bottomline

If you are a collector of vintage jewelry, this is one designer name, you want to find:

Aquamarine GemStone Benefits

Aquamarine Gemstone History

Ascendancy of Aquamarine

Aquamarine Ring

History

Artists and Taxco Silver

Must Read Lines

Amethyst Stone meaning

Characteristics

What could possibly go wrong?

As soon as the first state legalized marijuana, the federal government should have removed it as a class one felony. It did not.