Category: Jewelry

Perhaps less well known than the more abundant Coro, Trifari or Napier costume jewelry, Kramer costume jewelry often used rare or unique stones in their jewelry.

First, a brief history: Between 1943 and 1980, Kramer Jewelry Creations was a family run business that produced some of the finest high-end costume jewelry. In the 1950s and 60s, Kramer manufactured Christian Dior designs, so finding a piece of Christian Dior by Kramer is a rare but rewarding treat. The Christian Dior pieces often used good quality clear rhinestones with larger blue or green center stones. Christian Dior designs can command higher prices due to the Dior name, but the Kramer quality and designs are just as wonderful as those without the name.

Unfortunately for the collector, much Kramer jewelry from the 50s and 60s was unmarked and had only a paper tag attached to identify it. If you do see a signature, it will most likely be Kramer, Kramer of N.Y. or Kramer of New York. Look for the signature on the clip of an earring, or on the clasp of a necklace or bracelet.

Other marks include the rare Amourelle from 1963, and Kramer Sterling which may or may not date from the WWII years when sterling silver was used in jewelry in place of other metals that were needed for the war effort.

Kramer jewelry is famous for its quality, and for the use of vibrantly colored rhinestones with creative settings. Radiant red and orange, striking dark blue, glowing topaz, and elegant black rhinestones, along with plastic decorations, gave Kramer jewelry great variety and style.

For the collector, I think a great place to look for vintage Kramer jewelry is at estate sales. If you havent tried it, this is a wonderful way to shop for vintage items of any kind. Check your newspaper and Craigslist for weekly listings of estate sales in your area, and sign up for the agents email mailing list for future sales. Often sales in older neighborhoods will have vintage costume jewelry for sale. Tip: On the last day of the estate sale items may be marked 50% off. The selection is best at the beginning of the sale, of course, but the best prices can be found towards the end.

As with any collectible costume jewelry, its important to be prepared: Bring a magnifying glass or jewelers loupe with you to check the condition of the piece. If youre buying for your own collection, and not for investment purposes, you may be more flexible with condition flaws. If its for investment, it must be flawless. Do you like the piece? Will you wear it or display it or just store it away to be admired from time to time? If the piece is signed by the designer that increases its value. Is the original box or tag included? Again, increased value is there.

Whatever your reasons, and just the simple enjoyment of having beautiful vintage jewelry is more than enough, become educated, do research, ask questions, and youll soon be able to spot vintage Kramer, or other designer costume jewelry to add to your collection.

Selling gold jewelry to make some quick money has become quite common these days. People prefer to sell off those items that they no longer use, which are damaged or probably out of trend. The main reason why people sell their gold jewelry is to make money instantly. This has become a common practice especially because of the prevalence of unemployment.

People can easily make money when in need by selling their gold jewelry. The prices of gold have risen to almost 70% in last couple of years and the prices are speculated to rise even further. Gold is definitely an important and a valuable asset which can be easily converted to cash.

If you plan to sell your gold jewelry, then there are a few things that you must do. The first and the basic thing to do is to find the weight of the gold jewelry that you plan to sell. Then, you should find out the current market price of gold. Gold prices tend to fluctuate a lot so it is important you follow the daily gold rates to plan the sale appropriately.

Lastly, you should be aware of the gold content in your gold jewelry or the purity of your gold jewelry. The purity of gold is measured in carats. 24 carat depicts the purest form of gold. But since, pure gold is soft and cannot be made in to jewelry; gold jewelry is generally of 14 to 23 carats. After taking all these things into consideration, the sellers will probably end up getting 70 to 80% value of their gold jewelry.

There are some other factors that you should bear in mind when you plan to sell your gold jewelry. The first thing is to decide whom you want to sell your gold jewelry to. Selling gold jewelry to a reputed buyer is important if you want to get a good deal. The best idea is to select a reputed jeweler or a pawn broker. Jewelers tend to offer higher prices for beautifully designed jewelry, antique or heirloom jewelry.

Another common practice is that jewelers also allow you to trade your old jewelry with new ones. Some people prefer to exchange their old pieces of jewelry for newer ones to get trendy designs and something that they like.

You may also opt to sell your gold jewelry to a scrap gold dealer or a gold refiner as these people may offer a good price. Online auctions or sale through a consignment shop is also possible. Auctions are preferred for antique or heirloom jewelry which is usually beautifully crafted and can get a better price due to its aesthetic value.

The first two options are still considered the best. Selling gold jewelry definitely needs some research to get the best deal.

Bridal jewelry is a very important wedding accessory for any bride. Whether it is a necklace set, or a pendant set, bangles, rings, bracelets or earrings, the jewelry a bride chooses will be a very important part of her wedding. Bridal jewelry is actually an ancient practice that is said to have originated with the Romans and today can often be used to set the theme for a wedding. Many couples take extra care when choosing the appropriate wedding jewelry as it often becomes a keepsake to be passed down in the family from generation to generation.

No bride is complete without her bridal jewelry. The current trend in bridal jewelry is antique, vintage, and big and bold. If you are lucky to have the perfect antique piece of jewelry from a relative that you positively love, your search may be over. Not sure? Spend some time with your mother, grandmother or other favorite older relative and see what type of jewelry they may have to lend you. If you find something you absolutely love, then you have just found the perfect bridal jewelry for your wedding day.

Bridal jewelry can include pearl and crystal necklaces with a matching pair of earrings or can be as traditional as an ivory pearl necklace and earring set. Pearls are always in great demand as they look very sophisticated and elegant. Pearls also flatter your skin with pearl jewelry as they add hue to your look. If you are wearing an ivory or champagne colored gown, choose ivory pearls in a gold setting to complement the dress. For a more fashionable look, choose a pearl bridal jewelry set that is chunkier in style such as two or three rows of pearls or with a teardrop pearl pendant. Be sure to choose wedding jewelry with a comfortable fit that will resist pinching and moving on you and that you may want to wear again on another occasion to get more mileage out of your purchase.

Keep in mind that wedding jewelry is an essential accessory for any wedding participant including the bridal party. You can also be purchase your bridal jewelry in matching sets for the bridesmaids in a wedding ceremony. If your bridesmaids are wearing matching dresses, it makes sense that they would also wear matching jewelry. Bridal jewelry for flower girls is usually created in faux pearls available in white, ivory, pink and other colors. If the bride is going to be wearing pink stones, it will look equally stunning if the flower girl wears pink jewelry also.

Tiaras are one piece of wedding jewelry that used to be reserved for royalty or the very wealthy brides but not anymore. Today there has been a trend towards brides being able to wear tiaras as part of their bridal jewelry. Tiaras have been used to reaffirm the dignity and beauty of women for thousands of years. It lets them know that you have a sense of style that is elegant, tasteful, and timeless.

Silver is a kind of metal which is next to gold. The qualities of bright color and ductility make it become the main material for silver jewelry or some other silver products. Silvers melting point is 960.5 and it can be made of the 0.0015 silver foil or 1 gram of pure silver can stretch into more than 1000 meters silver line.

Platinum is a brilliant and precious metal. The color of this kind metal is natural silver, and never fade is its big feature.
1.Identify them through the mark
If the jewelry show the marks of PT PLATINON PLAT, they are platinum. On the contrary, the jewelry are marked with S or SILVER that mean they are the silver. And the S925 represents the jewelry which include 92.5 percent pure silver, and if marks SF that means this kind of jewelry contains 7.5 percent copper metal. Of cause, this kind of silver jewelry 925 silver jewelry is actually the most popular jewelry among silver accessories.
2.Identify them through the weight
Platinum proportion is 21.40 and silver is 10.49. The silvers weight is almost lighter double than platinum when they are at the same volume. So generally people could identify through weight.
3.Compare with the hardness of their appearance
Carefully observed the platinum with our naked eyes, we could find that platinum is bright white but with slightly grey, hard texture and will have no scratches if pricked. Its Moths hardness is 4.3. While silver is great white and smooth texture, it will change into grayish-white or black after oxidation which could wipe out. Its Moths is 2.7 that softer than platinum.
4.Identify them through burn method
Platinum has a good resistance of high temperature oxidation. Its melting point reaches as high as 1770 and the color will not change by burn with high temperature and cooled, but silver has a lower melting point so that it will change to red, black or corvinus which depend on the amount of silver.
5. Identify them through chemical method
Silver has no excellent resistance to corrosive, while platinum has stronger stable, corrosion-resistant chemical properties and there will no any reacts when platinum meets any acids or alkalis.

Abstract: The color of platinum and silver jewelry are very similar so that the people who have not enough knowledge on them will be easy to dazzle and difficult to identify them. Therefore, maybe somebody will make a bad bargain for themselves.