Vintage Jewelry 101

Hello all!
A little education never hurts. Do you ever wonder about what may be lurking in your jewelry box , or your mom's or grandmother's jewelry box? Well, here is a little story that got me started in this wonderful world of vintage jewelry.
I owned a very outrageous jewelry piece made of silver. It was a necklace with blue enamel and a removable pin/pendant that was quite huge and had what looked to be celtic knots done in shades of blue enamel. It was heavy and never seemed pretty to me. It was marked sterling and 925 and Margot de Taxco. I sold it for $40 in a tag sale. A couple of years later, I saw the piece in a book on Mexican silver jewelry. There it was -a collector's piece from the Mexican artisan studios of the 1930s and 1940s. Value at that time was $3,000.
Make sure you check the silver stamps Sterling means 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metal usually copper, zinc, or nickel. If your piece is marked just 925, it is still authentic sterling silver-its just a shorthand for sterling. If your piece is stamped Margot De Taxco, call me as soon as possible!
All for now,
PatraB
ps. go directly to my site by clicking on this: www.vintagecouturejewelry.com and come back to my blog by clicking "blog site" on the heading of my website. It should be nice and easy...