April 16, 1999
Greetings Accumulators!
It's a dreary day here in New York. Kind of looks like the Gloom Fairy
visited during the night.
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF COULD I HAVE BEEN HAVING A SENIOR MOMENT?
Last week I posted some information about two useful and entertaining
sites. One was Connie Swaim's Antiqueweek site, particularly the forum
pages, which are most enlightening and fun too. Well, I neglected to
include the URL for this great place. Several good Accumulators pointed
this out to me so, with my humble apologies (wish I could say this will
never happen again!), here is the address:
AntiqueWeek
VERY NAUGHTY BOY DEPARTMENT
36 year old jeweler John Barrett of Weston, Mass, allegedly had a nice
sideline going. He has been arraigned in Waltham Court on charges he
accepted his customers' jewelry for repairs or appraisal, removed the
diamonds, and then substituted cubic zirconia in the settings. His
arraignment sparked numerous telephone calls to police from people who had
done business with Mr. Barrett and who wanted to have their jewelry
examined. Police are setting up a day to do that. Hindering the case is
the fact that the complaints upon which the charges are based are from
individuals who discovered their stones had been switched a good deal of
time after the jewelry had been returned from Mr. Barrett's possession.
However, police say they've done detailed investigative work regarding the
prevenance of the jewelry after Mr. Barrett had it, and they're confident
their case is strong. Neighbors describe Mr. Barrett as a very likeable
individual. If you have any information, please contact the police at
(781)893-4803.
In the meantime, here are a few tips for making sure you get your jewelry back from the jeweler with its original stones.
1. My own favorite is to stand there and watch while the work is being done. Some jewelers do this, some do not.
2. Get a detailed receipt that describes everything about the jewelry, including the size, color, clarity, cut and weight of the stones.
3. Most jewelers have polariod cameras - ask to have your jewelry photographed and take the photo home.
4. Write your own detailed description of the jewelry, and when you get it
back, examine it carefully.
WHAT'S HOT
Arts and Crafts anything
Multicolored strands of pearls
Shell art
Vintage clothing: Victorian whites
Anything sixties
MORE REPROS
John Bull eye cups - the most popular of these are cobalt blue glass. The
new ones can be detected in two ways. One, the mold seam on the cup and the
stem do not line up. The old one has a single seam that runs from the
bottom of the base to the lip of the cup. Also, the new ones do not
containe the words "Made In USA" as part of the mark on the bottom.
Sterling Silver chatelaine pins - Appearing in stores and on the Internet
are sterling silver chatelaine pins with with three or more hanging
novelties. Old pieces were produced by stamping, which results in a smooth
surface. The new pieces are made by casting in a mold, and are slightly
pitted on the surface (you'll need a loupe to see it). Also, the pin on
the back of the new chatelaine has an applied bar with the word "sterling"
stamped on it. Accessories such as a whistle, perfume bottle and stamp box
that come with the chatelaine are new as well. They are marked "sterling"
and also "925".
So, Accumulators, another brief interlude with you comes to an end. Artie and I are going to spend the weekend doing a little work, doing a little shopping, and doing a little relaxing. Hope you get to do the same. Have a great week Accumulators. Happy hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 1999 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #79
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
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