Thursday, December 1, 2011

Christmas Jewelry - Past and Present

It's that time of the year. It seems to come around more quickly each year, doesn't it? This is the time of the year when there doesn't seem to be enough hours in a day.

Out come the decorations, and off to the store for shopping. It's also the perfect time of the year to bring out your seasonal jewelry from past years, or to shop for a new item to add to your collection.

Anyone who collects vintage jewelry probably has a few Christmas pins - particularly Christmas tree pins, which seem to attract most collectors. There is a whole collecting field in vintage jewelry devoted to it, and many books have been written as reference books for collectors.

Two of my favorite books are Christmas Jewelry by Mary Morrison, and Christmas Pins, past and present by Jill Gallina.

Many of the popular vintage jewelry designers had at least a few pins in their range of jewelry. Some of the most popular ones who put out quite a number of them are Gerry's, Tancer, Mylu, and of course Eisenberg.

The number of ways that a Christmas tree can be fashioned into a jewelry item seems to be limitless. The trend continues through today's designers with Kenneth Lane, Ron, and Christopher Radko being some notable designers of more recent Christmas tree pins.

Many of the older designs also seem to find their way into today's jewelry. Collector's often note, with either delight or disdain, depending on one's point of view, that the old pieces have been refashioned into new designs.

It is not only Christmas trees which find themselves designed into a jewelry piece, but bells, reindeer, sleighs, Santa Claus figures, snowmen, and all myriad of Christmas themes.

Here are a few designs from my stores. You can find more selections by just using the word Christmas as a search in any of my stores. I have dozens and dozens of designs to choose from in all price ranges.