Catch of the Day: February 13, 2011 Art Nouveau Perfume Bottle with Silver Overlay

I have two basic beliefs in life.  One:  it is never helpful or necessary to be rude; and two:  everything should be as beautiful as possible.  It is obvious that the perfumery who made the art nouveau bottle above found on eBay ascribed to the second belief.  I should mention that I don't know that this bottle was made by a perfumery. It may have been made by another company for use with perfumery, and every one of us who has ever had an ugly perfume bottle may thank them.

(Isn't that a better picture?)  I think this bottle is quite stunning.  One a thing to get to carry in your purse and whip out at odd moments when you wish to show your chic, or simply to decorate and serve your dressing table (next to the silver comb, mirror, and brush set, of course.).''  You may have a hair receiver if you wish. Frankly, they gross me out, and I'll do without.

This lovely bottle is offered by ceasareureka an inveterate eBay seller with a sterling reputation.  The bottle is priced at a Buy-It-Now price of $200.00.  The seller also has some truly lovely merchandise, and perusing their stock is a true pleasure.

Happy shopping!

Second Hand Roze

Catch of the Day: January 28th 2011 Sweet Romance Jewelry

Today's catch(es) of the day are not vintage; but they are vintage inspired. And they are also the door through which I came into love with vintage costume jewelry. My idea of costume jewelry was the occasional string of faux pearls and perhaps something vaguely stylized with gold toned metal. Think Monet. Not the Artist, the brand of Jewelry.

My interest was piqued a bit by the release of the 1929 brand of jewelry, but the reality never quite lived up to the dream.

Then, in 2000 (a new millennium and a new obsession), I innocently followed a link on a search engine to a site that made my heart stop. Or perhaps it made it beat faster. Whichever, my heart was captured, and has remained captured to this day.  I found Sweet Romance Jewelry by Shelley Cooper.  I fell instantly in love, and I've been in love until this moment.

So today, I thought I would share with you my favorite "new vintage" stuff:

This necklace, this masterful joining of crystal leaves, rhinestone, pearls, and bronze, is called the "Glass Garden Necklace ".  It comes in a color too, but who wants color when you can have something this classic. There is no outfit this would not flatter. No neckline that this would not improve. No bride should ever walk down the aisle without this, and no lady should ever go to a party without it to dress up that Little Black Dress.  Look at this close up and in detail:

Look at the detail of this necklace!?!  Could Louis Comfort Tiffany have rivaled this work? Can you live another minute without owning this?  Can you imagine what this will do for your favorite strapless dress?  All this glorious garden, this riot of rhinestones, can be yours for the oh-so-reasonable price of $91.00.

And to wear with it?

This lovely ornament is "The Glass Garden Bracelet",  designed lovingly by Ms. Cooper to go with this triumph of a necklace, and available for the amazingly low price of $79.00.

I had intended to include the earrings too, but alas, they've been sold out. This is not a problem. This classic combination of rhinestones and pearls in an aged bronze setting will go with so many things. So! I just through in my favorite Sweet Romance earrings, "The Girandole Earrings."  

Are those a knock-out or what?  And kittens these can be yours for only $45.00.

Shelley Cooper is clearly one of the most talented designers in American Jewelry today.  In fact, the only contact I've ever had with her is once I turned the world upside down for her email address, and sent her the URL to an auction. A necklace she made, which sold for less than $100.00 had closed on eBay for over a thousand dollars. Two women were each determined that they should be the owner of that particular piece of art glass. What was amazing was that the necklace had not been retired. It was available on her website at the very time these two women were determinedly bidding against each other on eBay.  What a thing to watch!

So kittens,  shop not just happily, but smartly!

And I leave you with beauty this morning!

Second Hand Roze

Catch of the Day: January 7, 2011 50's Schiaparelli Purple Art Glass Brooch

This exquisite 50's art glass Grape Leaves Brooch is signed by Elsa Schiaparelli.  Truly purple synthetic stones are very rare, as it's a difficult color to "fake".  It almost would have been less costly to have used amethyst or, the as-yet-undiscovered tanzanite.  The brooch measures approximately 3" by 2" and is made of a silvertoned metal.  I'm not sure what the metal is.  It has much too lovely a patina to be rhodium,  and has aged far too well to be pot metal.  If I didn't know better, I would think it was silver, and perhaps it is - though certainly not of sterling quality.  The brooch is available on eBay and will come to you nicely gift boxed should you wish to use it as a present (and what a delightful present to receive!)  Offered by Kraftyrose for the very-reasonable Buy-It-Now price of $145.00.  Were she to have started the bidding at $9.99, I'm convinced the final sales price would have exceeded the asking price.  

Kraftyrose has recently acquired some estates with fine costume jewelry collections, and her stock is more than worthy of a second glance by you.  She has a truly stunning Pennino brooch, a knock-out Weiss bracelet, and an Eisenberg Originals Fur Clip which is as fine as any I've ever seen.

Shop well kittens!

Second Hand Roze