I Got Two Jewelry Bags…For Free!

Some of you may know that I have never bought a jewelry bag or jar. Ever. Just haven’t found one worth buying. And I still haven’t! But I was gifted two bags from a good friend. (Thank you Ann!!) Some of this booty is from her personal collection but most is from another friend of hers who was downsizing inherited pieces.

Now Ann apologized for taking the “best bits” (like an Eisenberg pin!) and said it would be okay if I wanted to donate all of it. But even with her setting my expectations, I was darn excited to receive these bags.

I couldn’t wait to dump it all out and start sorting it into two piles: donate and sell. Here I go…

To Donate

The donate pile includes pieces that are not the quality I like to sell and/or don’t appeal to me. Here’s a selection….

There are a number of newer plastic bead necklaces. They remind me of the kind little girls end up playing with from their mom’s jewelry box.

I love Jasperware Wedgwood, but these crudely made resin pendants are a sad imitation.

This unsigned necklace and earring set (likely 1980s/1990s) is in great condition, but I couldn’t picture anyone wearing it today. (Am I wrong?)

At first glance this necklace is kinda pretty, but alas the faceted “stones” are plastic and somewhat scratched.

Gold-tone sweater clips. I have never seen these worn by anyone. Have you?Possibly that ended in the ’50s.

In the end I will be donating about 60% of the items from the bags. (I know I could create a “crafter’s” or “junk jewelry” lot, but I’d rather just pass them along.)

To Sell

Even so, I did find plenty of goodies worth selling, though some may be sold in lots rather than individually.

This 1928 Company necklace with locket is just made of base metal but I know there are buyers for this brand. (They’ve been producing antique-inspired pieces since 1968.)

These two triple chain-link necklaces with black enameling accents have Monet hang tags. They have a classic, timeless look. One is choker length and the other slightly longer.

This stone and freshwater pearl necklace looks outdated to me but I’m going to add it to a listing of stones I’m selling as “jewelry supply.”

Gotta love these zany 1950s mink dangle hoop earrings. The only two similar pairs I have found for sale online are missing the inner cream-colored hoop.

This quirky wheelbarrow pin has a rhinestone-encrusted wheel that turns!

These signed Trifari feather earrings with hot pink rhinestones look very 1980s to me but could be earlier. Not anything I would wear but I think someone will like them.

A pretty vintage heraldic-style stick pin with faux gems. Not sure if stick pins are worn much these days though.

This is an older faceted lead crystal choker. It needs to be cleaned up but is otherwise in good condition. Unfortunately, these kind of necklaces don’t sell quickly for me. Too old-fashioned?

Not valuable, but this retro copper poodle pin is a bit of fun.

And then BINGO I did find a few unexpected jolly-good bits. Like this weird, tiny turtle charm marked for 18kt gold. I believe the stone in its shell is a natural emerald. It weighs 1.2 grams.

Then I picked up these lightweight dangle disk earrings. They had an understated quality. I looked them over carefully and found they were marked for 10kt gold and the stones are small diamonds!

This piece was a real sleeper. Glad I decided to research it. It’s a Forstner gold-filled snake coil bracelet. Sold prices on Worthpoint for the past few years range from $20 to $799 (!), though they typically sell in the $100-$200 range. Cool. 🙂

So my first jewelry bags were a wonderful success, but they were also free (so no anxiety about making any profit) and had a much higher percentage of vintage items than most bags I see in the store or on jewelry jar haul videos.

Thanks again Ann. Your gift made my month!

As always, happy hunting,

Karen