Featured Antique jewellery collectors: do you wear your collection?

I always believe that antique jewelry need to be worn again but recently, my paranoid has grown stronger… most jewels I have come with minor problems: loosen settings, moving stones, fragile links… tho most of the time they should hold safely in place but when I try to imagine the possible consequences of losing one or two stones or even the whole piece , I no longer feel the happiness of wearing them. When I am out with them, I check if the stones are all present like every ten minutes. I'm was so anxious that I even drop glue in the setting. Maybe it’s better to just leave them in fancy old boxes? Or cabinets? They are pretty just lying there, why not keeping them safe and sound?

some might think these problems are easily fixable by professionals, but I still don’t like the idea of leaving them to someone else for weeks, or bearing the risk of posting myself.

What would you do to your jewelry?

 

As you get older , you may come to understand that jewelry sitting in a box , in the drawer , is like a painting in the closet , a sports car in the garage , a Tiffany lamp in a never used dark room .
Yes of course , they are yours and you cherish them... , and you can go look at them whenever you please . It's the pride of ownership !.

but.......

The painting is meant.... nay.....created , to be hung on the wall.
The car is meant to be taken out on the open road.
The lamp is meant to light up and glow , showering your space with light and color,
and the jewelry is meant to adorn your body with meaning and sparkle !!

In fact I do have some outstanding jewelry..... that I only wear for occasions , that sits hidden from sight, but I also have some pieces , that while I don't wear them that often, sit on my night table , and my dresser.... so I can see them, admire them...and revel in their beauty , daily , while they wait their chance to be worn.

If you worry about stones coming loose........ fix em ! Wear em !

Yes , I haven't taken my Moms diamond ring.... to appraise it, or even sell it..... cuz I worry about some creep switching out the main stone for a lesser rock , and I don't wear my gold to go shopping...... but like you say , you want to keep those safe & not draw attention to yourself in sketchy places.

All that said...you have youth on your side......so don't fret about some nice items that you don't get to use often..... keep them in the box until it's their turn to shine.

... but wear the things u want to wear...... that make you feel good.... now !!
cuz tomorrow......... ???????

 

Thank you you are absolutely correct in all points. Now I try to convince myself that good glue is a simple and economical fix and won’t really be spotted. And removable when needed. But after all, if a stone is lost, I just find a new one. Just some extra dollars. There is always a way to fix it

 

P.S. I was indeed advised by a dealer to put some glue (epoxy resin in specific ) to secure the stone better, after buying from her.

 

If you don't want to wear vulnerable pieces, you can put them on display if you like. In a glass display box, an antique crystal one, or a shadowbox frame for instance.

I wear quite a lot of my jewellery, choose which one takes my fancy at that particular moment. And I am very careful about what I wear in public.
But some jewellery can't be worn because it is too cumbersome or heavy (some ethnic 'stuff'), or too vulnerable. Some of those are on display, in boxes, or safe behind lock and key.

 

I have more than fifty pieces but I only wear four or five of them regularly - they are heavily made thus more trustworthy but thinking it might be unfair to other pieces whose beauty deserves to be shown off!

 

I can't remember when I had fifty pieces. Now it is more like fifty boxes with fifty pieces. Don't ever get my age, or you'll have the same.

 

I now try to restrict my purchases to those I’d like to wear with confidence only

 

Very sensible. Do you think that will last long? About as long as the flight of a pretty little kingfisher, maybe?

 

I believe every piece is wearable … with the help of one or two drop of jewelry glue…

 

I don't wear anything like all the jewellery in my accumulation. Too many brooches with unreliable clasps. Sometimes a pendant on a chain comes into favor & gets worn for days. However, one of the rings I wear all the time is set with Roman intaglio that is an antiquity.

Probably should be allowed just one piece for each year of life.

 

I have a vintage 1963 9ct 8 band puzzle ring ..

like this one..

.


I bought it in the 90's.... wore it often....then one day..... stopped wearing it daily....

Now it sits on the knob finial of a lid on an Asian bowl I like , on my dresser, where I see it every day....... cuz I just can't put it in a box...or sell it !!!

but I still enjoy it's company on a regular basis !!.

 

I stopped wearing brooches for the same reason

 

I have an antique table box with a window, and I regularly replace the piece on display there

 

I have a flat box with a glass top I use,,,

 

IMHO, I also think the gold jewelry is also a safe 'backup' if one ever NEEDS to sell it...........!

 

Now that I'm retired I don't wear jewelry like I used to. But I still do when I go out! There are times when a stone comes out of costume piece, I repair it and keep on wearing it

I wear a lot of pins/brooches, always have. I only recall once that I lost a pin, luckily I found it in my yard unharmed a couple of days later!

I am not sure about resin epoxy, is that reversible? If not I would not use it, Hypo Cement is my go to for repairs, it easily dissolves with acetone or acetone nail polish remover.

 

I think resin epoxy does too.

 

I was told resin could be removed by heat. There is also dissolver for resin which won’t damage gold and most of the gemstones. But I will look into your recommendation thanks

 

Sometimes I would convince myself to leave them alone as for maximizing their value as investment. But the joy of wearing them is the true reason for collecting!