Do not hide your sparkles away in a drawer, brooches bring a sparkle to any outfit.


Do not keep your sparkling brooches just for evening wear.
When the sun catches and reflects on a rhinestone the brilliance can bring forth smiles.
Most offices and shops now have bright artificial light and these can bring out the colours in a rhinestone or glass brooch especially those with AB (aurora borealis) stones.
When the weather is dull and you are wrapped up in your winter coat, brighten the outfit with a large and colourful brooch and pin. Don’t hide them away for that occasional night out.

This oval brooch is from Slovakia and dates from between 1910 and 1930. I enjoy wearing this on a dark coat, and it never fails to bring forth compliments.
If you are wearing a shawl or scarf around your shoulders attach it with a bar of golden metal or a rhinestone brooch of Czechoslovakian origin.

This brooch
which looks fantastic worn on a scarf or shawl is one of my favourites. The
stones are not brilliant cut but cabochon.

AB stones are those that have been treated with
thin coats of metal to give it the colorful reflective quality. This process allows light to reflect many different colours. This process only came onto the market in the mid 50’s and one of the first fashion houses to use it was Christian Dior in conjunction with the Swarovski company who were instrumental in its conception.

So when you are thinking of buying a piece of jewellery with AB stones any claim that it Dates from before the mid fifties are false. The brooch pictured probably dates from the 1960's.

Vintage Costume Jewellery from Czechoslovakia,

This morning my latest additions arrived and I thought I would share with you all this wonderful brooch.

This brooch is typical of the brooches to come out of Czechoslovakia in the 20's and 30's.

It has a diameter of 6 cms and is set in a golden filigree metal.

There is a central rose pink rhinestone (1cm diameter) and 36 further small rose pink stones.

It has a simple pin and c closure.

The photo does not show the the brilliance and sparkle to it's true level.

Other arrivals include an addition to my butterfly flock and more button covers(another collection of mine) but more of them later.

Vintage 'Bling' Collecting

Vintage Costume Jewellery Brooches

Why pay a lot for modern plastic and glass when there are beautiful pieces of vintage jewellery being thrown out everyday.
I thought this one day at a Vide Grenier (Car Boot or Garage Sale).
I have since accumulated several vintage sparkles, mainly brooches. I buy from sales and from selected sellers on the internet. I also sell some of the pieces when I have worn and loved them, although the selling happens less often.
I find myself wondering – where was it made - who was the first owner - where was it worn - what tales could it tell? What is the metal, is it gold plated, are the stones glass, are they semi precious?

The brooch above was one of the first in my collection. It was made in Czechoslovakia probably in the 1920's. The frog is also Czech but has less age possibly 1940's

The different pins and closures on brooches and necklaces can help with the dating. As do the cut of the stones and the style of the setting.
The main questions I ask myself are – do I like it and will I wear it?
I fund this collection by also buying pieces that although lovely are not ‘my thing’ so these I sell on to the appropriate collectors.
Yes I have made mistakes both in buying and selling but none too great and I love the challenge to find that ‘magic’ piece.

From a longing of all things feminine and no longer in use I also started a collection of Powder Compacts, but, thereby hangs another blog for later.