Good Gambles??

I’m not much of a gambler but sometimes I feel you have to take risks, particularly when your gut is giving you the green light.

Here’s the story…

While doing some research for an item I stumbled upon an online listing for a “Jade Bowl With Stand.” Now I know NOTHING about jade except that, in general, it’s desirable and tends to be valuable. So when I saw this bowl and that it was relatively inexpensive I wondered why. There were almost no details in the listing: “Bowl is 4″ across and 2″ tall. No chips.”

The pics showed a bowl similar to much higher priced offerings. I did a little research found this type of jade is known as “Spinach Jade.” These 4″ bowls generally sell in the $80-140+ range.

Some are currently for sale for much more…like this set of two (same size, similar wood base) for sale for $375.

So why was the bowl I saw priced under $30??

I pondered the “why” for a bit since the shop owner wasn’t a newbie. Perhaps a lack of research on this one? Or priced for a quick sale? Of course in the end the “why” didn’t matter, I knew this was worth a gamble.

It arrived today and is quite lovely.

Then while out running errands with my oldest daughter we decided to check out some boutique thrift stores. At the first two I didn’t find anything. But at the third store, a swank Junior League thrift store, I found a cloisonné ginger jar. Jeez this was pretty. So lavish with flowers (mums and peonies), grapes and butterflies.

I don’t know much about cloisonné either (!) but I did know it was Chinese not Japanese based on a few key design elements: the ruyie border and the counter color.

cloisonne-elements — Info from collect-sell.com

And it had a small bit of age. I’m guessing it’s between 1920s-1960s. Though it wasn’t cheap, I definitely thought there was more $$ in this piece.

Then poop!! At home I found a small bit of damage on it which, of course, that will affect the price and my profit. Drat! Don’t know how I missed it. Do you spot it below?? (Haven’t decided the price for this yet.)

Well, after paying for the jar, as I was waiting for my daughter to finish trying on some clothes at the store, my eyes fell on an old, spotted, closed box on a shelf. What’s this??

Hmmm. I opened the box to discover it was filled with exquisite little dresses, jackets and bits from the 1940s/1950s. I knew I had to take a gamble on these!

Most have bits of hand-done embroidery like French knots along with tiny pintucks, lace and faggoting. An organza dress in the box is likely a christening gown. I haven’t counted all the pieces yet and though not all are perfect, the damage is minimal. Labels vary: