A Treasure Trove of Vintage Jewellery

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An introduction to a private vintage jewellery collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops

An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection
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I always meet the most interesting people here on the Isle of Man. Sometimes it will be another artisan, a local food producer, or someone with an amazing garden. Occasionally I meet someone who blows me away with their passion for a topic or collection. Such was the case when I met Isabelle*, a local woman sporting some rather lovely pieces of vintage jewellery.

In speaking to her I found that she’s been adding to her collection of brooches, necklaces, earrings, rings, handbags, and gloves for years. Most of her thousands of pieces come from charity shops here on the Isle of Man, too! She gleefully told me of instances where she found something priced at just pennies that later turned out to be valued at £50, £500, or more. I could understand how that rush of finding an unknown treasure could become addictive, can’t you?

An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection
An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection

Beautiful vintage jewellery found in charity shops

Isabelle began collecting some twenty years ago. The original intention being finding inspiration for her daughter, who was at the time studying fashion design. Being relatively pre-internet, vintage jewellery wasn’t as well known so it was fairly easy to find interesting and valuable items. She recounts browsing a stall of secondhand items at a fair and finding a gold and Amethyst brooch for £1. No doubt it’s worth a small fortune.

An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection
Isabelle found this gold and amethyst brooch on sale for £1
An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection

Finds such as these encouraged her to collect more and to educate herself on what to look for. Before long she was discovering forgotten and undervalued pieces dating from the 17th century to modern times. She says that designer jewellery from the 80s up to the 2000s is now gaining in popularity. Some of her pieces from this era are worth upwards of £1000. All this talk of monetary value is more a bonus than an investment for her though. Isabelle is not interested in selling her collection. It’s the beauty of the items and the thrill of discovery that she loves. One day she hopes to donate the collection to a museum.

An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection

A huge collection of vintage jewellery

Isabelle’s collection is extensive. She’d told me that she had a lot but I found out later that that she’s dedicated most of her home to it. One room in particular is packed to the ceiling with vintage jewellery. It’s absolutely filled with dressers and closets stuffed with treasures, baubles, handbags, and brilliant shining colour. She categorises her collection based on material type, era, style, and country of origin but she could open a plastic tub and have hundreds of necklaces piled in together like pirates’ booty.

An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection
An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection

Modern vintage jewellery is plastic

Though she does have very costly designer pieces and some made with precious metals and real gemstones, Isabelle says most of what she has is costume jewellery made with inexpensive materials. The prevalence of plastic in fashion came about due to the cost of using metal after WWII. It was new, shiny, readily available, and made it possible for the average housewife to be adorned in imitations of the latest baubles seen in Hollywood films.

Plastic has lasted up until the modern-day and was used in the creation of my favorite item she owns – a (plastic) jeweled headpiece by Butler and Wilson. I tried it on and only wish I could have worn it out somewhere special! I’ve never seen anything like it. It was made even more special by the fact that it features in one of Isabelle’s jewellery collecting books.

An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection
An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection

Trying on bracelets, necklaces, headpieces, and rings was more than half the fun of looking through the boxes upon boxes of shiny ornaments. You could see clear design traits such as Art Deco in the bracelet below and Victorian black in the Jet pieces just below the bracelet. Nearly all were found in thrift/charity shops but when Isabelle got serious about her collecting she also began attending auctions. Even then, she picked up amazing bargains.

Vintage jewellery at charity shops

The gold-plated snake necklace below cost her £3.99 and now is worth between £225-£240. The agate love knot brooch beneath that cost her a whistle and is valued in one of her books at £400-£800. I still find it incredible that any of these fantastic pieces would find their way anywhere near a second-hand shop.

An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection
An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection

I wonder if they were donated once their original owner passed on and their value forgotten? Whatever the reason, charity shops are wiser these days and train their employees to look out for valuable items. I have it on good authority that the American Goodwill thrift shops have cameras installed in the unpacking and sorting areas to ensure that nothing makes its way into the pockets of employees.

An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection
An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection

Vintage jewellery is harder to find

Through the years, Isabelle has popped out on her lunch breaks and at weekends to peruse the jewellery counters in charity shops around the Isle of Man. Some of my other favourite pieces she owns are the three Georgian heart brooches below. I wonder who they used to belong to and what occasions they’ve seen. I also can imagine the excitement of finding something so rare and bringing it home to be treasured.

Unfortunately, Isabelle doesn’t think that great finds are easy to make these days. At least, not in charity shops. People are just so much more aware of collectibles than they used to be and besides, she’s cleaned the local ones out already.

An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection

Isabelle wears her pieces on a daily basis but she says she has in no way worn everything she owns. Though she has jewellery destined for family members when she passes on she hopes that some of her more interesting pieces might be given to institutions that will preserve and display her treasures for fans of vintage artwork, fashion, and jewellery, alike. So far she hasn’t contacted anyone about the possibility but it’s a thought that pops up in her mind from time to time.

An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection

Keeping Isabelle’s Secret

I feel honored to have been able to see the collection and to have tried some of it on. Very few women who wouldn’t have been excited to have been in my shoes! I was so awestruck that I literally did not know where to start with capturing the experience. Just a hint of what lies behind closed doors and in display cases is featured in the photos. Maybe one day Isabelle can be convinced to put on an exhibition or start a vintage jewellery blog but for now, her collection is as safe and cherished as the treasure it is.

An introduction to a private vintage jewelry collection. Pieces from the 17th century, the Victorian era, and the 1980s, and all found in secondhand shops #vintagejewelry #jewelrycollection

Though I’m not a huge collector of jewellery myself, I do love collecting sea glass. I think of it as sea jewels and they can be much easier (and less expensive) to collect. If you’re a fan too, I have tips on how to find sea glass, and projects like this sea glass stepping stone and sea glass candle.

*Isabelle is not the real name of the collector, who wishes for her name to remain confidential. 

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18 Comments

  1. Bonnie Bradley says:

    Thanks you for your trip throughout the pages I am amazed at how there are other’s that collect this beautifull pins and I have 13 pictur frames full my self .I love collecting jewelry. I buy from thurif shops as well I have been collecting for about 40 years .

  2. Love the article , I’v been collecting jewelry for the past 30 years, from my grand mother, mother ,aunts and thrift stores also. When I married my husband and his grandmother, then his mother passed, I also received there jewelry. I have 100’rd of pieces from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, and huge collection of my own 1960’s to date jewelry . I just love it. Thanks for the look in side a fellow collectors life.

  3. Gayla Gavin says:

    Fascinating article, Tanya. I remember being intrigued by my grandmother’s small collection and this is on an entirely different scale. It would be like Aladdin’s cave as you said.

  4. Martha Armijo says:

    A love her collection I’m going the same direction years back i was gifted with a bags of custome jewelers from one of my customers her mother passed and she didn’t want deal with by the way I’m a beautician and is how I start collecting them

  5. Hello! Love the collection! I actually own a large peacock just like the one in the bottom picture. Is it worth anything?

  6. Wow a full room dedicated to vintage jewellery! You feature some fabulous pieces. I bet you had a magnificent day trying on all the jewellery. I particularly love jewellery from the Art Deco era – linear all the way :)

    1. It was an AMAZING visit…so much vintage bling that I was a bit dazzled! I’ll bet there was plenty of Art Deco in there as well but it was just finding it all. This collection could be a museum unto itself!

      1. Fabulous :) I am very jealous !

  7. Sandra Pokrant says:

    Wow – wonderful article with some very special and unique pieces.. In particular that love knot brooch with agate is stunning and it's clear that the collector has a thing for blues! There are definately still some bargains to be had here in Ireland in charity shops and it is worth having a look. It is often the case that you have to sift through a lot of 'junk' jewellery to find the real gems though. There can be some real condition issues with jewellery in charity shops too as it often hasn't been stored very well and costume jewellery, particularly pieces with prong set stones can be damaged when they aren't carefully stored away.

    1. Hi Sandra! You have a thing for blues too it seems :) Thanks for the tips and the hope that some gorgeous pieces are still out there to be found. I believe I was introduced to the Judith Miller book on this visit and there were a few others there as well. It really would be a fantastic hobby to know what to look for in vintage pieces but I still would be unsure what to look for while on the go. I’m sure someone, somewhere, will create an app for that!

  8. What a truly eclectic and gorgeous collection of vintage jewelry! I just drooled all over my keyboard lol

  9. Hi Tanya, just trying to do some catching up and what a lovely post for me to come back to. Such a wonderful trover of memories and as I saw the pieces it took me back to going through my grandparents jewellery and playing with it as a child and also buying things with my 50p at car boot sales. You certainly showed us some wonderful things.

    1. I remember seeing so many of these types of things at charity shops when I was a kid too! I wish I knew more about spotting what's collectible and not. Nice to hear from you Tanya :)

  10. Anonymous says:

    I believe that some of the pins that are in the black jewelry on the white cloth background are more rare "mourning jewelry" from the late 1800s. Is that so? Very lovely collection and a joy to look at!

    1. I enjoyed the article and all the lovely pieces of jewelry. Our Grandmother Ruby DeGraaf had many pieces that as a child I much admired. Thanks !