vintage finds...

genuine jade bangle from the sale

Jewelry is sometimes hard to procure at estate sales.  The display table is often small and manned - all the jewelry dealers rush to it, crowd around it vying for the seller to show them a certain piece before anyone else (and we often all want the same pieces).  If I am going to a sale I know has vintage jewelry I'm interested in, I get there crazy early and wait in line.

Recently, I did just that, was out of the house, across town and in line by 6:15 a.m. (the sale started at 8:00 a.m.).  I was the 6th person in the door (and the first one interested in the jewelry which makes my day).  Such is the (not so) glamorous life of this vintage jewelry dealer.  It was worth it though, picked up some wonderful pieces.

Trifari is a well known name in the world of vintage jewelry.  Founded in the early 1900s, it was, at one time, the second largest costume jewelry manufacturer in the world.  Their jewelry was, and still is, very sought after.  This necklace I found at that sale is one of the nicest Trifari pieces I've come across.  The woman who was running this particular sale knows me, I buy from her all the time, she was handing it to me to look at as I approached the table.  It went in my pile right away - gorgeous choker (sadly too small for me)!

The best piece I picked up at that sale was this gem.
The seller knew it was a nice piece but didn't recognize the name on the back.
I did and snatched it up right away.
It was a Nettie Rosenstein!

Nettie Rosenstein was a clothing designer of great significance, she designed Mamie Eisenhower's inauguration ball gown!  After retiring from fashion for a while, Rosenstein went on to produce high quality jewelry, her first major client was I. Magnin.  Rosenstein's company grossed $1 million in 1937 - very successful woman.  Rosenstein's pieces are still prized, highly sought after.  Often her jewelry is hard to find because the pieces are usually expensive and people who have them tend to pass them down, rather than sell.

Both are currently in my Etsy shop.
I have lots of jewelry under $20 but these two pieces are not, still, I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the elegant pieces I find as I drive around this big old city scouring the estate sales.

Just to keep it real.
I also bought two of these because they reminded me of our beloved Coronado. I figured they'd fly out the door this summer for about $20 a piece.

You may notice the gold plating is wearing off.  I did not see this until I got home.  It's often dark in the sales and I've usually got my hands full and only seconds to decide.  Sometimes I get gold, and sometimes I get tarnish.  I'll probably wear one of them this summer because I don't mind a little shabby with my chic.

Do you ever go to estate sales?