Featured Finds Thread

There was sterling....the blue and clear paste lavalier is one of my favorites of all. The earrings are ivory, set with sterling screwbacks. The religious pendant is marked 900. The back has the numbers 2 3 911... maybe 1911? Any ideas of country of origin? I love the picture on it. Upper right is an amber chunk, don't know what red stone is next to it.

 

And I saved the best (for me, anyway) for last- Italian coral set. Earrings missing a bead, brass clip backs. Pin c clasp, brass. Necklace- either 14k or 18k clasp, I did test it, by my skills are lacking. There are dents in the clasp, but it is fully functional. Faceted coral, I have to have it appraised. I am guessing it is all Italian, the earrings are marked Italy.

 

Newish on the Tennessee piece - I had the same one with the CT seal. Gave it away to a friend who just became a juvie court judge. The Jerusalem cross in lot 2 is from Israel; it originally had a leather cord. I have the same one, wore it yesterday, given to me by a friend whose husband bought it there for her. I can't remember the maker for anything off hand, but they made tons of brass souvenir bits. The Israeli earrings are _eilat_, aka Stone of Solomon. It's mined out now, so prices should be going up. Not up to that Swiss coin though - it's a Swiss Franc, worth over $300. Looks like you scored!

 

Terra Sancta Guild. Duh. As for that coral set....[thud]. Natural Mediterranean red coral? Eep.

 

Evelyn, I only learned about coral recently..... studied up on it because it is becoming endangered. I can't imagine how much I missed over the years. I had to practically beat two women off who tried to keep grabbing my pile items. "I just want to see...."

 

Thanks for telling me about the Stone of Solomon. I have a large brooch like them, but the stone is cracked. Got it years ago....

 

Love the Octopussy's !!

 

I collect Eilat pieces myself, or should I say hoard. I've never found a piece of the natural red coral to hoard, just the pinks and oranges.

 

This was about three dollars on feebay with free shipping

There is tons listed. Much dyed, but a good amount that is natural like this.

 

Terry, I don't know how to tell the difference... but the age of this set pretty much makes me think it is natural. I have rough coral with the natural imperfections like yours above, different color. I think the value goes up when polished? Not sure.
Kinda anti-climatic, but the server is up- this is the last of the lot- I should have grabbed a turquoise necklace there, it was nuggets, I don't know my turquoise. I do like malachite. Compact is German.

 

What a haul Marko!! Looks like it was your turn..... amazing lot of jewelry love the gold and amber ring octopus earrings are cool and love the compact. Nice huge lot of jewels. You should make zillions off all that! congrats!!!

 

Thanks, Sharonna. This is a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of good luck. I actually am thinking of setting up at some flea markets this summer.... or shows....to get rid of some costume.

Terry, I got this strand at an estate sale last summer. I have no idea what kind of coral it is....

 

Theres nothing more fun than scoring a bunch of jewels and get home to find the nice surprises.....like christmas lol and the coral set omg

 

I love to find old pens they sell well but are hard to find around here anymore
I thought I would give the upscale peeps another chance this weekend but they disappointed...left completely empty handed. But there is a large one coming up that always yields goods zilions of homes can't wait. Otherwise Im stickin to the poor part of town. Them young kids do not have antiques

 

Hi,
Since there are sooooo many retirement villages here the old folks got rid of most of their stuff before moving here. There are a couple of hoarders who moved here. You can tell since the cars never go into the garage. Our "real car" does not go in the garage since it is 4" too long. So at sales you might see one piece every 10th or 11th sale. If you have only 8 sales you aren't going to find anything. I have to drive to the next county.
greg

 

The majority of jewelry you see around here is the real cheap stuff and lots of it. Just a matter of luck around here and it is getting more scarce (the older stuff)

 

It is the same here. The best luck I have is at outdoor shows. A lot of older dealers just want to get rid of things. I think here, though, on the east coast, many people stay in their homes longer, especially being near a coastline. The thing is, I never know what yard sales/estate sales/tag sales to go to first to find the jewelry. But that is part of the fun of treasure hunting for me. Gets me up in the morning.

 

@Komo, no problem, come-on down! It's a great time of the year to shop around these parts. Folks cleaning out their homes, kids inheriting their parents and grandparents homes and getting rid of the contents within not knowing or caring what these items are......just wanting to get rid of the stuff so they can sell the house. That lil' angel bought for a $1 should do well :http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Irish-Dresden-Ireland-Angel-Holy-Water-Font-jewelry-trinket-holder-/151612367228?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item234ccd217c&nma=true&si=13Rxfr9ExEQW9zHgxvjdOpW61dc%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

@Marko, yes they can be quite expensive...prices are all over the place. From $100 - $8K. But it doesn't matter, we're going to clean-it-up and keep for our new home. Wow! You pick-up some really nice jools....especially loving the gold. We picked-up a pretty large lot of "costume jewelry" last week for $50. After searching, we found a nice lot of gold (9K, 14K & 18K) including a 14K gold and diamond watch and a nice lot of sterling. We've already made $500+ off that $50 lot and haven't even begun to separate the good costume jewelry from the bad as of yet.......too much to dig through and I really don't care to at the moment to be honest.

 

Picked-up another one of those porcelain plaques ...

 

My guess: it's a Brulé(?), probably from somewhere in Asia, marked silver on base.