I love vintage! As I'm sure you're well aware. I also sell vintage. So I am constantly acquiring new fascinating and inspiring odds and ends. I collect up pretty bits of jewelry, odd earrings, pendants, brooches, pieces of necklaces, in whatever materials inspire me.
I generally like to work with solid metals, like sterling silver even with a gold vermeil, gold filled, antique brass, or copper this way whatever I create is a little more permanent, I'm not worried about the expiration date of a piece of plated pot metal, or a mysterious creeping verdigris that I know I can't let touch my skin. Precious metals are cleanable and durable, and generally hypoallergenic as I do have fairly sensitive skin. They are also not nearly as hard to find as you may think, readily available at thrift shops, on Ebay, at garage sales etc, just keep your eyes open and learn to recognize the hallmarks. Then! I wait.....and I stare.....and I collect....and wait.....and arrange .....and wait.....and rearrange, until the image of what this pile of beautiful nothings was born to be starts to take form. Then! I create.....
I'd like to introduce my favorite creation so far! My Sterling Peacock Earrings!
The inspiration for these started with a single brooch. Initially I had just one of the Topazio sterling silver gold vermeil enamel peacocks.
In my jewelry box I found these 1920's Chinese export sterling silver gold vermeil Champleve Carnelian glass earrings originally a gift from my mother, who has collected vintage jewelry since the 1970's
The drops where a pair of 1920's sterling silver and egg yolk amber earrings that I found on ebay for something like $3 since they were described as yellow plastic (definitely not plastic) . Then I painted the blue on with nail polish and wiped the edge to show through the silver. I paid for them with my Ebay bucks so they were $0
The yellow art glass bead is from a vintage Italian Rosary that I have that is broken. Gorgeous beads!
The side drops are pieces of a broken art deco Czech Glass necklace that I have had for years and not known what to do with since i didn't expect to find replacement beads.
And the fish connectors are from an art deco silver necklace that was in fine condition but too thin and simple for my liking. I had had it for years and never worn it, but always loved the delicate little fish.
The pail amber bead bellow the top piece is from an old rough Baltic amber necklace of my mothers
I tracked down the second Topazio Peaccock at a price that I could agree with
I purchased some sterling solder but I haven't yet learned to work with it since it entails the use of a torch. If it were simply a soldering iron issue I would have afixed each piece properly and sealed all the jump rings. As it stands the jump rings used are currently attached with E3000 glue applied very neatly and sparingly. I have had these a while and worn them without issue for the most part but I do plan to solder them properly.
I'm a big fan of grandeur and decadence! My personal motto is "Excess is just the beginning!". These earrings being a beautiful example of that and hanging little over 5 1/4" from ear to end!
So colorful and exotic!
A collaboration of Chinese, Potugese, Czech, Italian, Baltic, and American elements.
And so I have my all time favorite, one of a kind exclusive, vintage sterling peacock earrings! I hope you enjoy this post as much as I have making it. I'll be back soon with more of my creations. Ta Ta for now!
