By Maribeth Keane and Lisa Hix — The Duke and Duchess of Windsor had one of the most melodramatic love stories of the 20th century, right up there with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. In the early 1930s, the Prince of Wales became smitten with international socialite Wallis Warfield Simpson—drawn by her sharp wit, imagination, and generosity, even though she was still married to her second husband. Less than a year after he became King Edward, in 1936, he shocked all of England by abdicating his throne, throwing away his reign...

Christie Romero on Differences Between Fine and Costume Jewelry Over the Decades

By Maribeth Keane and Jessica Lewis — I started out with general antiques and collectibles... I was a dealer for a while and bought and sold all kinds of things. Gradually jewelry became my focus. In the mid-1980s I started getting serious, and in 1988 I started teaching small classes, workshops, and seminars, primarily on costume jewelry but also some fine jewelry. Vintage costume jewelry was just beginning to take off as a collectible. Up until that time, most people thought it was junk. They didn’t understand what it was...