Les Petits Trucs

It's only been over the last year that I can honestly say that my love affair with vintage costume jewellery truly began (sorry mes petites saucissons from across the pond but that's the way I spell 'jewelry' and I'm sticking to it!)

I have never been a big wearer of jewellery myself as I'm not at all convinced that I carry it off that well but I have always admired it and the women who can.  One thing I wouldn't be without though is my little Art Deco cocktail watch.

It's only made of silver, not white gold or platinum nor studded with real diamonds, but it is an original Swiss watch from the period and a genuine piece of iconic 1930's design.  I love the simplicity of the plain black watch strap that sets off the wonderful dial.  I had the watch cleaned and serviced after I bought it from an auction and it keeps time fabulously.

The face is rectangular and very small so setting the correct time is sometimes challenging but I love the glamour of peeling back my glove to see it peep out decadently at me as I stand freezing my butt off in the middle of a muddy field trying to sell my wares.

I often wonder to myself what the original owner was like... apart from obviously having impeccable taste!  I imagine her to have been a woman of style and substance like Coco Chanel (with less of a budget to play with of course!).  How many glamorous cocktail parties did my little watch attend?  Who held the hand of it's owner as they danced cheek to cheek or snuggled up in the cinema to watch Fred Astaire?  Did they fall in love or was it just a fleeting love affair... Oh, I'm lost in the romance of it all (too many old black and white films at an impressionable age I suspect but who cares!)

Dreamy thoughts like these flit across my mind as I sift through the job lot of jewellery I have just bought. Most of the items are charming of course but now and then I have come across something special that is so evocative of its time that it catches my breath.  In the case of other pieces that I don't know anything about I have the pleasure of unravelling their secrets by doing a little research.  I find it incredibly interesting to learn about these petits trucs and enjoy passing whatever knowledge I have managed to glean on to their new owners.

My husband quite recently (and I think rather unkindly) likened me to Gollam from 'Lord of the Rings' (to be fair he did catch me me sitting wide-eyed pouring over a big pile of vintage costume jewellery in wonder) so on that note here is a small selection of some of  "my precious" trucs in stock at the moment:-

A silver Art Nouveau brooch

An elegant vintage double strand synthetic pearl necklace

A pair of vintage diamante earrings

A 50s Norwegian silver/enamel brooch by Bernard Meldahl

An Art Deco belt buckle

A vintage Scottish amber glass brooch

A particularly wonderful thing about selling des petits bijoux is that there is always something for everyone. The prices span over a wide range to suit every budget and appeal to young and old alike. One of my favourite and most memorable sales was for the princely sum of 4€, a little vintage neck scarf ring with an embroidered kingfisher under glass from the 1950's.

Two lovely mature ladies came to my stall and were scanning my stock when the younger of the two found it and showed it to her friend.  Having haggled the price down from 6€ to the aforementioned 4€ the older lady swiftly tore off a rubber band that had been holding her scarf in place and having slightly shaky hands stood obediently like a little girl as her friend fixed the much improved replacement into place.

I have to be completely honest and admit that when I first saw the neck ring hiding among a pile of other bits and bobs I didn't really think it had much potential.  At the time I couldn't imagine who would buy such a thing but from the obvious pleasure it gave her to fix her little wardrobe malfunction and continue proudly through the fair I knew it had found its rightful home.

On the other side of the coin I do sometimes get rather enthusiastic people who snatch strings of pearls off my stall and start rubbing them on their teeth or whip out a jeweller's loupe to study anything slightly shiny in the hope that I have inadvertently priced up a Carl Fabergé piece at 5€.

To those people I have only one thing to say  "DO I REALLY LOOK THAT STUPID?"

I am not unreasonable and am more than happy to inform potential customers whether the pearls in question are real or synthetic or if something is made from precious metal or not but the price tag is generally a good guide (unless I've seriously messed up... quel cauchemar!)

Something I have noticed since dealing in vintage costume jewellery is that each piece has a unique personality of its own, very much like people. Like jewellery we're all very different.   Some of us are maybe slightly oddball (I speak for myself by the way!) or perhaps not as obviously beautiful or exotic as others (me again!) but ultimately we all hope that we will appeal to someone's taste and that they will pick us out from the crowd and treasure us forever.