Posted 9 years ago
freiheit
(1224 items)
I have this brooch for some time and didn’t post it because I don’t think it is anything special. I think it is kind of a tourist item. There are tons of brooches like this on the Internet.
I visited Holland only once and remember seeing a lot of blue and white tiles and other items with windmills and other images. I do not remember jewelry because at the time I was not interested in it.
I posted it because I have not found anything good in a while. I guess I hit a dry spill:(
Here in Ontario, Goodwill has closed down a few weeks ago and other second-hand stores seem to take advantage of the reduction in competition. Their prices seem to have jumped over night. I am a “treasure hunter and bargain shopper” and I refuse to pay retail prices.
Thanks for looking:)
Yes, Delft jewelry is mainly a tourist "thang". I see tons of it here, of course! Yours is a nice early one.
So delicate Freiheit :)....I have something similar in a little sterling pendant with a delft insert. It has a tiny chip on the very edge but it's still pretty. I know what you mean. The stores here are getting ridiculous with their prices too. Savers had a pair of stunning labled Kosta Boda vases in the jewelry case. I asked to see them but they wanted eighty dollars for the pair. I said thanks but no thanks it was too close to retail for me !
That's exactly my point. If I want to pay retail, I have plenty of choices. I have my eye on a sterling brooch for some time. It's really pretty but not by one of the famous makers. It's been in the store for about four weeks and no one will buy it because they want $69.99. A couple of years ago they would have priced it for $12.99 or so; maybe $29.99 - but not even close to $70! What's wrong with them???
Efesgirl, I know:) I posted it out of frustration - LOL - but thanks for your comment.
I don't think I would ever wear it. It is kind of "cliché".
freiheit - one of the shops where I "used" to get silver has decided to up the ante and buy a jeweler's loupe to examine whatever jewelry comes in. Thin little sterling rings are priced at 10 bucks. I can go to the pawn shop and pay a couple of bucks for the same sort of ring. Fortunately, they have no sense about designer costume jewelry, so I got my bronze Finnish Reindeer Moss designer necklace for less than $2.00. NOW they are rearranging their shop and it is starting to look like a retail shop instead of a thrift shop. They even have an "antiques" section there - what a joke. Much of what is in there is either reproduction garbage or not even close to being an antique.
Think we have the internet to thank for all these changes ladies...it's a blessing and a curse...lol :)
mikelv85 the market here in my country (one of the European Union) life is incredible expensive of course also jewelry and antique jewelry.
Agram.m, I know too how expensive life is in Europe. Last March we went to visit my daughter in Lyon. I was hoping to do some shopping there but decided to keep my money. We went to Germany after and I found only the two extremes: Cheap, I mean really cheap, stuff or very nice, but expensive antiques.
I am going to Las Vegas in a few days and one of the places I got my my husbund and our friends agree to see is the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop. I don't expect any bargains there but I plan treat myself to something unique, in this case regardless of the price as long as I really like it:)
In July I am going to Prague. I spent some time as a student there many, many years ago. I believe things have changed there too. When I was there, we students didn't have much money but things were cheap. Now it looks different and without knowing where to find good antiques and what the regulations about taking them out of the country are I won't even try :(
Mikelv85, you are so correct: the Internet is both a blessing and a curse:)
Mary, I don't think I will be too lucky either because although I have a car and drive around, my friends are not too interested in antiques. I got them to agree on going to the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop and maybe one more place but I think that's all I can put them trough LOL
Yep, the internet and TV shows like PAWN STARS, STORAGE WARS, AMERICAN PICKERS and ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, though interesting and fun to watch, have sure ruined the chances of finding good stuff for cheap anymore. We moved here to Vegas in '98, before the hit show PAWN STARS. You could walk into their pawn shop any day of the week and be the only one in the store and find some good bargains. Rick Harrison, the bald-headed guy was always there. Now, there's a long line of people waiting to get in that goes all the way down the block and around the corner! Rick Harrison and the other "stars" on the show aren't even there anymore, unless they're filming a segment for the show! Even yard sales now, too, because people watch those shows and have learned the value of their old possessions. Yep, a blessing but definitely also a big curse. ; (
NevadaBlades, thanks a lot for your heads up! I think I might opt out! I told my husband about your comment and he did some checking on the Internet. He confirmed your info. My friends will thank you too - LOL
My wife took some Christian Lassen framed prints to the pawn shop about a year before their show aired on TV, and she spoke directly with Rick Harrison, who gave her $500 for the three prints. About a year after their show became a big hit (so, about 2 years later), we went there together and got in line all the way down the block. We finally got inside their store almost an hour later (security was letting 3, 4, 5 in at a time as the same number of people left!). I swear, you could not take a step without bumping into someone. My wife didn't even recognize the place, they'd remodeled the entire interior! Rick Harrison and the other "stars" were nowhere to be found, the store was manned by their "regular" workers. We didn't stay but just a few minutes, and then left, very disappointed.
:(