Cool New Site

So, I rarely get too excited by new sites, but I must admit, I am fascinated by this one -

tineye.com

It is an image identification search engine, using pattern recognition algorithms to locate where an image is being used on the internet. You upload or paste the URL where an image is located and it gives you everywhere it is being used online, as well as similar ones. My first thought was it was a great way to track if anyone is using your photos without permission (I don't really care too much personally, as long as we are credited, but my son is a professional photographer and gets a little pissy about it). But the site lists other uses for it, too -

* Find out where and how an image appears online
* Find websites containing more information about an image
* Attribute an image to an author or source
* Find high resolution versions of an image
* Research the usage and placement of editorial or stock images
* Find modified or edited versions of an image
* Research corporate imagery or brand usage online
* Track the popularity or distribution of an image online

Right now it is in Beta, so only about half the images I searched came back with any results, but I have had fun playing with it and have a feeling that this is going to be a site to watch. I am not really geeky enough to even pretend to understand how it works, but am just geeky enough to know it is very cool technology!

Backing the Underdog

Well, in addition to our website, we started offering our items two months ago on GoAntiques. This week, however, we received an email announcing that GoAntiques has been sold to something called the WorthPoint Corporation. Sounds disturbingly similar to the Hanso Foundation from the TV series Lost, which I freely admit I am addicted to. Not a very descriptive name, but as long as we don’t have to try and sell jewelry on an island in an alternative reality, it is cool, I guess.

I did not think it would affect us much, until we got another email yesterday, announcing that they were going to start their own auction platform to go up against eBay. That IS pretty exciting. I have been a long time eBay user – sold my first item there in 1997. I have watched eBay go from a revolutionary buying and selling venue, to well, whatever it is today. eBay has managed to systematically obliterate what was once a true global selling community. As a seller, I stopped using eBay as a viable sales site a long time ago, going from Gold Powerseller status listing over 100 items a week to occasionally throwing a listing or two up as an advertising method to drive traffic to our site. Why? eBay slowly but surely destroyed what made them so wildly successful in the first place. They lost track of their roots and refused to listen to the opinions of their users – buyers and sellers both. Their customer service is non-existent. They decimated the feedback system by not allowing sellers to leave negative feedback for deadbeat buyers. They manipulated fees – at one point announcing they were lowering fees when in reality they were raising them on the back end which was an insult to the intelligence of sellers all over the world. As both a seller and a shareholder, I have had it with eBay. From what I have read online, it doesn’t matter anyway, as eBay has a “secret” plan to change their format anyway, at least according to this writer.

Over the years, I have watched many other auction sites try and fail to take on the monolith that is eBay, so I am trying not to get too excited. But I truly believe that eBay this time has alienated enough of their sellers that GoAntiques and WorthPoint have a shot. I wish them well and will try and support them in their effort. I hope you will, too!

Enough of my rant, here is some pretty jewelry from our latest site update to look at and if you are in the Baltimore area next week, come visit my partner Beverly (Clayton Antiques) at the Baltimore Antique Show!

Researching Antique Silver Jewelry

So I figured it was about time I put something in this blog besides “Please come look at our jewelry!”

I do hope to make this blog a viable resource for people researching antique jewelry instead of just a vehicle for self promotion. There just do not seem to be enough hours in the day lately, but I am going to do my best to update it with good information more often. Although I will not completely give up “Come look at our jewelry!” - I DO think we have cool stuff : )

I thought I would start out with some of the available books and online resources available to research silver jewelry. I love silver jewelry and through the years almost every fine designer has worked in silver - from Faberge to Tiffany & Co. to David-Andersen. Typically (though not always) pieces are more affordable than gold, yet done with as much attention to detail as the finest gold or platinum. From the funky stuff sold by artisans at street fairs to the highest priced Faberge tiara, there is a charm and beauty to silver that is priceless. A couple of my favorite books I use to research a piece are –

Fred Rezazadeh’s - Collectible Silver Jewelry: Identification and Value Guide
This is a great book, with beautiful pictures and good examples and overviews of silver jewelry from many eras, broken down by country with lots of information on marks. If I had to choose just one silver resource book, it would be this one.

Dorothy T. Rainwater’s - American Jewelry Manufacturers
Is an indispensable book for the jewelry collector. It is a must have no matter what style/era/metal you may collect.



Dale Reeves Nicholls & Robin Allison - Antique Enameled Jewelry
Chock full of eye candy for the enamel lover, this wonderful book addresses both gold and silver enameled jewelry. Great information on the major jewelers from the turn of the century to more modern ones, the pictures are just incredible and will have you looking for enamels everywhere you go.

Penny C. Morrill & Carole A. Berk - Mexican Silver: Modern Handwrought Jewelry & Metalwork
If you love Mexican silver, this book is another must have. Again, the photographs here are the star, but there is good information on the major and most collected tallers along with lots of marks to help you research some of the lesser known ones. I begged for this as my birthday present one year from my husband and have never regretted it!

Jackson's Silver and Gold Marks of England, Scotland & Ireland
This one is great to help date UK silver, along with being able to attribute it to a maker.



Online resources are varied and many, but one of the first places I start is –

www.925-1000.com
I cannot praise this site enough, it is an amazing resource for silver of all types and is well-researched and easy to use. I pretty much start here first and rarely go away disappointed. There are photos of over 2,500 silver marks, hallmarks & maker's marks in categories of American Silver Marks, Gorham Date Marks, Tiffany Marks & Dates, British Hallmarks, Foreign Silver Marks, Georg Jensen Marks, David-Andersen Marks, and Mexican Maker's Marks. It also has sections on the history of silver, caring for silver and even Registry and patent dates and ring size converter!


Chicago Silver
is where I go when I think the piece dates from the Arts & Crafts era. They have a great database of makers with pictures of marks, as well as an extensive list of research links. There also is a drool worthy collection of jewels – I love Arts & Crafts pieces!

Online Encyclopedia of American Silver Marks
Has a good database of American silver marks, with a great “Unknown Marks” section where you can post a picture of a mark you can’t figure out.


M. Schon
Marbeth Schon is the editor of “Modern Silver” magazine, as well as the author of two books on Modernist Silver, so is the first place I go when I have a piece of Modernist silver. She also has a “Mystery Marks” section, as well as a link to Christie Romero’s “Basic Hallmark Identification” – a must read for those just starting out or a good memory refresher when confronted with a new mark.

Spratling Silver
The definitive Spratling Silver Resource on the web, including history, hallmarks and discussion forum!

So there you go – that should get you started on your research. If anyone has any questions or a specific piece they are trying to research, don’t hesitate to ask for help! I love trying to figure out a mystery or will get you pointed in the right direction.

Travels and an Update

It has been awhile since I had a chance to update this blog. We have both been traveling – we were at the Brimfield Antique Show in May and then Beverly went straight to the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry Show. It was my first time at Brimfield – oh my goodness! What fun THAT was! Even if I had not bought a thing (and of course, that was not the case, I bought way too much) just seeing everything was a blast. I met a lot of people, ate too much fair food and wore myself out walking. I can’t wait until I get a chance to go back : )

Beverly always sets up at the Vegas show and that is on my list to go to someday as well. Think I will have to really save up my pennies, though – it is a showcase for some of the best antique jewelry in the world. Worth seeing even if I won’t be able to buy a lot.

Beverly will set up next at the New York Jewelry Show from July 25 – 28. If you are in the area, be sure and stop by and say hello – she will be in Booth 202 as Clayton Antiques.

We did manage to sneak in an update to Perfect Jewels and there are lots of new goodies to see. In addition to some great antique jewelry items, including plique enamels, Austro Hungarian, a killer huge 3 carat natural ruby ring, gold in quartz, Tiffany, a to die for Whiteside & Blank enamel locket and an awesome Victorian carved coral dog bracelet, there is also a good selection of fine objects we just could not resist! You will find everything from a screaming Art Deco parrot chrome corkscrew and bottle opener to a very fine verre de soie glass Steuben perfume bottle.

Hope you will pop in and peek when you have a second! Start HERE to get right to the new stuff and thank you as always for visiting Perfect Jewels!

Ebay Auctions

Just an FYI, we have listed a number of items on ebay to gain exposure for the site. A couple of pieces are listed with no reserve and some have the Make an Offer feature, so if you have been eying something on the site, it might be worth taking a peek HERE!

Spring Has Sprung at Perfect Jewels...

...and we just completed a Spring update with lots of new goodies! There are 3 pages of new items to choose from, with selections from all eras and in all price ranges. Favorites include a huge rare Jazz Age cameo, a stunning carved ivory cherub and a wonderful Egyptian Revival carved opal scarab - but there is lots more from Victorian earrings to David Yurman and Peretti Tiffany.

Start HERE - to see all the new items and maybe find the perfect accessory to welcome in Spring!

Thank you as always!