I'm thinking about collecting old jewelry any tips?

Adding things to my watch list just attracts the loonie bidders pushing up the price well beyond its value..............

Nope, it really doesn't !
Watch lists...or how many are watching...has no correlation with how many people will bid...or how high they will bid..

 

It all depends, a lot of sellers tend to shill bid there items if they know people are watching there items. adding an item to your watch list can make it appear to others who are bidding/buying similar items where as it just remains somewhat hidden to others if nobody is watching it.

I've got my eye on a few jewelry listings that look genuine I've also been checking out other items of the same sellers and if they sell nothing but antiques then its possible the jewelry is authentic.

 

They are certainly valuable resources but also not infallible. This is complete blather:

http://www.sothebys.com/es/auctions...an-eye-for-opulence-art-of-the-ottoman-empire

A shell cameo surrounded by simulated bloodstone depicting a turbanned man, a common subject for these particular cameos. I am relieved to report the lot was passed.

 

ya..so it's called learning......

 

I have been alerted to cameos I otherwise would have overlooked by their appearance on a list of cameos currently on eBay ordered by how many watchers. Some of them are things I have bid on. It plays no role in whether or how much I'm willing to spend.

I have noticed a change in bidding over the last handful of years: many more early bids bringing the price up, especially if there is someone who insists on staying in the lead, against their own best interest, ahead of an auction's end. What I used to see was maybe a few early bids not much over the minimum, & then, if it was a desirable item, a flurry of last minute bidding. High bids placed in advance of the end I assumed to have been placed by someone who could not be at a computer at the end. Something that would have had 8 bids in the past now has 20 or more. I don't know if they are shill bids or not. I don't know why someone feels the need to be in the lead with 5 days to go, but they're the ones the shills can influence.

 

Since you aren't interested in anything beyond 1945, it might help to do lots of Google and eBay searches of newer jewelry by decade. Besides looking at the designs, study the types of clasps, settings, stones, and other materials used in newer jewelry. The more newer jewelry you see (and handle when possible), the more easily you'll be able to spot old jewelry.

 

Great idea, almost like reverse psychology applied to jewellery research.

 

Whats peoples opinion on these rings? I think they are fakes that I won on an ebay auction last year from somebody who says they are genuine artifacts but I'm not convinced.

 

Genuine artifacts from where? They look fake to me. I bought a ring in an English auction house auction, gambling from the photos provided that it was Medieval. Final price wasn't spectacular (evidently other bidders knew better) so loss was not too great, but when received I knew immediately it was fake & would have known before bidding if a photo of the underside had been provided. Notice the similarity to your bird intaglio:




Finding others put the last nail in the coffin:




There have been eBay listings for purportedly ancient Roman intaglio jewellery coming out of, I think, Thailand, or some other place you would not expect to be flush with Roman antiquities. Fakes are also being produced on a large scale in some eastern European countries.

 

Those type of rings often listed as post medieval rings have become very common on ebay, the worst is when sellers mix genuine bits with fake stuff and it can be so off putting. I think I will stay well away from rings and sellers who sell fake stuff.

I found this very nice piece while browsing some ebay listings, its a work of art.

 

Looks fake with replaced stones glued in.

 

Think the glass intaglios are original. I see what you mean about looking glued in. No one said they were well made fakes.

Here's another model with an intaglio similar to the one I have:

It could have been made today & be post-Medieval.

I like the luminosity of the stones.

 

It would be better to stick to 1800 - 1945. There is quite enough jewellery that was made during those years to keep you busy & fill your collection. It is better to leave antiquities to experts. Even they cannot always tell real from fake & fraud is rampant.

 

I like this too, but know nothing about it. What do high-end versions of this broach look like, and where do they come from?

 

They are genuine artifacts made recently. Probably in Afghanistan or neighbouring countries. They are traditional there, and they are very nice, but nothing to do with the jewellery you say you are looking for.
I notice a lot of traditional Afghan jewellery is being sold as (Post-)Medieval or dating from Antiquity. I don't think the Afghans know that, to them it is traditional.
Also, a lot of recent Central Asian bird and horse themed jewellery is now sold as genuine Viking.

Yep, today is post-Medieval, I just checked.

Ditto. And preferably learn more about jewellery. You are here now, so you can ask us before you buy.