Vintage & Antique Jewellery | Clothes & Body Care

Vintage and antique jewellery can, in general terms, be categorised by era.

Romanticism and Biedermeier (1790 to 1848)
During this period, wearing of jewellery was reserved for the nobles and upper classes. Floral motifs, tendril shapes and ribbons were particularly popular. Diamonds became ever more cherished in this time. Even buttons and buckles were set with these precious stones. The supremacy of the aristocracy came to an end at the time of the French Revolution. The bourgeoisie demonstrated their newfound status by wearing jewellery. Biedermeier jewellery (1815-1848) did not have its own style. Rather, it copied Romantic and other style nuances from previous ages.

Historicism, Empire and Wilhelminian Style (1850 to 1900)
Travellers through Eastern Asia became fashionable in this period. The inspiration gained shows itself in "Moorish Style" jewellery. The generous use of gems, enamel and pearls is typical of this type of jewellery. Diamonds, which were popular already in the Romantic period, were increasingly available on the market, as ever more diamond mines (especially in South Africa) were worked. As a result, superb and imposing pieces of jewellery were created.

Art Nouveau (1895-1925)
This style of European art, named after a journal which has been published in Munich since 1896, appeared concurrently in Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Belgium, France (Art Nouveau) Austria (Vienna Secession Style) as a reaction to the historicism of the 19th century. Its original, linear ornaments, with elements of nature dominated all arts. Japan opened her borders, and Japanese art influenced the European goldsmiths. Art Nouveau developed with floral motifs similar to those of the Romantic period. In addition, fairy-like female forms as well as various types of insects came into being. Semi-precious stones, such as amethyst, peridot or opal in broken colours were processed alongside enamel and multi-coloured gold. "Hunting" jewellery, in which deer teeth were worked instead of gems, was another development during this period. Hunting was a privilege of princes and landlords. Of course, this was a matter of prestige - and so golden "grandl" or hunting jewellery became a symbol of status among the hunting lords. Due to their shape, grandls were also seen as a symbol of fertility and often worn as amulets. Only much later, when wealthy farmers also received the hunting right, trophy jewellery in silver originated.

Art Deco (1925 to 1940)
Art Deco is an abbreviation of the French "art decoratif." Characteristic designs are geometric forms. Jewellery from this period is clear and functional. The geometric shapes represent the new American idol of a woman, namely sporty and emancipated. The use of diamonds in this period exceeded previous epochs by some considerable margin. Often, several hundred of these spectacularly sparkling stones were worked together with 'cool' stones such as aquamarine, citrin or onyx. The created pieces of jewellery were magnificent, and the art of the goldsmith must have reached its peak in this period. Alongside Art Nouveau jewellery, Art Deco pieces remain the most popular antique jewellery to this day. It was predominantly crafted in white gold or platinum.

Original Old Jewellery or Replicas?
The fascination for authentic old jewellery is unmatched. Unfortunately, there is only limited supply of authentic antique jewellery. Anyone who has been looking for antique earrings knows how rare and expensive old pieces can be.

High-Quality replicas � The Reasonable Alternative
High-quality replicas of old jewellery are the solution � jewellery that is made

according to old drafts.
from the same materials.
with the same goldsmith's craftsmanship with which the old masters manufactured the originals.

As Beautiful As The Originals
With replicas, you receive jewellery that is as incomparably beautiful and as exquisite as antique jewellery. The only difference is that replicas are younger. Affordable and more robust than antique jewellery, replicas offer further advantages:

1. Contrary to real antique jewellery, replicas are easier to obtain. If, for example, someone is looking for earrings, it will prove difficult to find some authentic old pieces that fit together with his old collier.

2. As compared to authentic antique jewellery, they are rather affordable. More people are able to afford this kind of exclusive jewellery, which enlarges the potential market size.

3. Sometimes, old jewellery shows the ravages of time: It is not as robust as young jewellery; stones may fall out more easily. For dealers, new jewellery means less complaints and a high degree of satisfaction for customers.

Antique style jewellery has many different roots. There are many connoisseurs of antique jewellery, but often, even among the pros, the opinions differ on this matter. There is an ever-increasing interest in antique style jewellery at present. Antique jewellery emphasises a woman's beauty, regardless of which generation. An increasing number of younger women are also fascinated by this jewellery, thus differing more and more from the "general" look. "Individualism" is once again becoming important. Handcrafted jewellery is individual, unique and ageless