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Vintage is the new bellybutton. Whether you’re at a bar, a local coffee house, bookstore, or record store, you’re bound to find someone sporting some kind of vintage clothing or accessory. But where do they find this magnificent vintage jewelry?

Vintage jewelry is an ever-increasing trend and lots of women are going further than just bracelets and necklaces, and finding antique brooches and wonderful pendants to add to their personal style. The most popular places in the world for vintage jewelry are regions were indie music is most prevalent.

How Do I know something is Vintage?

For something to be considered vintage, it has to be between thirty to one hundred years old. Basically anything from the Victorian era to the 1980’s is considered vintage. Trifari, Haskell, Eisenberg, Coro, Hobe, Boucher, DeMario, and Weiss are some of the big names in vintage jewelry designers. Vintage jewelry can be purchased from an online jewelry store and the great thing about it: its one-of-a-kind.

Dorothy M. Kezar once said: “those who cannot remember the fashions of the past are condemned to buy them again, at retail!” The whole idea behind buying vintage is that vintage is crafted with better care.

Popular Vintage Jewelry
 
You can get your hands on so much interesting vintage jewelry and the great thing about it, is it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. Instead of buying pricy diamond jewelry or diamond stud earrings, you can go with a gorgeous pair of Trifari rhinestone earrings, which are only $32. There are also so many choices of Bakelite bracelets, lockets and bangles. Bangles are usually thin and make a pretty chime sound as they clang together on your wrist. 
There is a certain old-fashioned charm to men with pocket watches and old vintage wrist watches, so that could always be a good gift idea.

Silver art-deco rings and gold cameo rings are really delightful and original too.

You can also match your winter coat with a vintage brooch or vintage figure pins

Keep Your Vintage Jewelry Clean

Shouldn’t vintage jewelry look old because it is old? Well, yes, but it doesn’t have to look dirty. Also, vintage jewels can be very valuable so keep them in as good condition as possible. The first cleaning rule for keeping your vintage jewelry clean is to refrain from using soap, vinegar or water. It makes the stones and the metal dull. Make sure that after you clean your jewelry to keep it dry, using a hair dryer or a towel. Finally, use a proper jewelry cleaner and brush with soft bristles to remove stains. Cotton swabs can also work. The trick is to make sure to be delicate with your precious vintage jewelry.

Learn To Make Jewelry

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Jewelry Making Guide for Beginners

Order Jewelry Making Guide – Click Here For Instant Download  $10.00

Contents

METALS 1
Copper — Brass — Silver — Iron — Tin
TOOLS 3
THE BASIC PROCESSES 8
Sawing, 8 — Piercing, 10 — Filing, 12
Soldering, 14— Cleaning, Polishing,
and Finishing, 16
DECORATIVE PROCESSES 17
Wire Work, 17 — Wire Twisting, 18
— Making a Round Wire Coil, 20
— Making a Flat Wire Coil, 22
— Making Disks and Domes, 40
— Cutting Disks, 40 — Punching
Domes, 40
JEWELRY MAKING    24
BARRETTES
Barrette with Flat Coils of Wire, 38
Bowknot Barrette of Metal, 51
BRACELETS
Bracelet of Twisted Wire and Flat
Coils, 37
Bracelet Band with Dangles of Flat
Coils and Beads, 39
Bracelet of Twisted Wire and Domes, 46
Bracelet Chain of Round Rings and
Shaped Units with Stone Charms, 25
BROOCHES
Butterfly Brooch of Copper and Brass
with Tapered Coil, 54
Butterfly Brooch of Silver with Crimped
Edge and Tapered Coil, 55
BUCKLE AND BUTTONS
Buckle and Buttons of Domes, 45
CHAINS
Chain of Round Rings, 24
Chain of Shaped Units and Round Rings, 26
Chain of Metal Strips and Round Rings, 31
Chain of Onyx Beads and Coiled Units, 33
Chain of Oval Links with Center Twist, 43
Chain of Tubes, Wire Units and Round Rings, 56
Chain of Onyx Beads Linked with Round Rings, 57
CHARMS
Charm with Identification Initial, 27
Charms Mounted with Stones, 28, 29
Charm for Good Luck, 30
NECKLACES
Necklace of Flat Coiled Units Linked with
Round Rings, 35
Necklace of Disks and Domes Linked with Oval
Ring with Center Twist, 42
PENDANTS
Pendant Cross of Tubing, Dome and Units, with
Chain of Metal Strips and Round Rings, 31
Pendant of Onyx with Chain of Shaped Units
and Onyx Beads, 32
Pendant with Metal Cup and Stone held by Cord
and Beads, 50
Pendant Foliated Cross of Tubing, Dome and Wire
Units, with Chain of Tubing, Wire Units and
Round Rings, 56
RINGS
Ring of Flat Coils, 34
Ring with Flat Coil, Dome and Bead, 47
Ring with Oblong Flat Stone, 52
Ring with Stone Irregular in Shape, 53
SCARF HOLDERS
Scarf Holder of Twisted Wire and Flat Coils, 36
Scarf Holder of Raised Metal, Domes and Wire, 44
SLIDE
Slide for Sport Tie of Metal with Stone, and
Tapered Coils, 48
DESIGNING    59
SOURCES OF SUPPLY    65
INDEX    67
 
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COTTON GLOVES WHITE LIGHTWEIGHT STYLE BOX OF 12 PAIR

Protects jewelry, silverware, etc., from fingerprints, spotting, and tarnishing. Used extensively in jewelry stores and manufacturing facilities. One size fits most hands; however, the lighter version is slightly smaller than the heavier version. Sold by the box of 12.

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BOX OF 50 HEATLESS WHEELS 1 DIAMETER X 1 8

Hard, square edged wheels used for deburring and finishing. Loose, coarse construction makes the grinding process cool, and suitable for materials such as plastic and metal. Can be used to produce a matte finish. With pin-hole for mounting on mandrels. The wheels may be trued with a file.

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ARKANSAS WHEEL 3 4 DIAMETER X 1 4 THICK MOUNTED

Mounted on a 3/3/2″ mandrel .Natural, close-density wheels with qualities that make them unequalled for sharpening tools such as gravers, knives, etc.

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The processes of cleaning  polishing and finishing, as presented here, are done by hand without the use of acids or motor driven polishing buffs.

The condition of the metal to be cleaned determines which tool or abrasive should be used first to remove scratches or other defects. Start with the coarsest tool or abrasive necessary and use in succession others finer than the one just used. When smooth and clean, the metal is ready for polishing. The final steps in finishing a piece of jewelry are very important, for if they are done well they will add much to the beauty of the article.

Use jewelry tools and abrasives in the following sequence

Clean the metal with fine pumice powder and water, using a soft cloth for flat surfaces and a brush for recessed parts.  This will remove discoloration and will show which of the tools or abrasives should be used first. File in the direction of a deep scratch, using a long stroke with a coarse file, and continue with finer files. Remove excess solder with a file, scraper or emery cloth. Remove marks of the file and minor scratches with emery cloth, or scotch stone dipped in water, rubbing in a circular motion to avoid wearing a groove in the metal. Rub the metal with fine pumice powder and water. Rub a piece of felt, charged with tripoli cake, over the metal surface (the felt may be mounted on wood and used as a hand buff). Wash in hot soap suds to remove the oil.

Polishing and finishing

Polish with prepared metal polish for luster.  Rub the curved side of the burnisher over the metal until a high polish has been obtained. Finish copper and brass with a thin coat of lacquer.

To oxidize sterling silver

Dip the polished silver in a solution of liver of sulphur (a lump about 1/2 inch in diameter dissolved in a quart of warm water). When the silver becomes dark rinse in cold water. Dry the metal and rub with a soft cloth dipped in whiting or fine pumice powder. Do not lacquer.

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Piercing is the term used when the metal is sawed out leaving an openwork design, or when the background is sawed out leaving the design in the metal.

Transfer the pattern to the metal.

Make depressions with the center punch in the sections which are to be pierced.

Insert the twist drill in the chuck of the hand drill and drill holes marked by the punch. Care must be taken in selecting the drill so the size of the hole will not destroy the traced line of the design.

Set the saw blade in the lower jaw of the saw frame.

Thread the blade through the drilled hole nearest the center of the design.

Support the metal against the lower jaw of the frame while inserting the loose end of the blade in the upper jaw of the frame.

Saw out the section.  Follow the directions under sawing.

Return the saw frame to the horizontal position.

Loosen the blade from the upper jaw, and remove from the pierced section.

Insert the end as before through another drilled hole.

Repeat as above until the design or the background has been pierced.

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Soldering is a process used to hold metal pieces together by using another metal or combination of metals which melt and flow at a lower temperature than the metal to be joined.

For these projects soft solder of tin and lead is used. Pure tin is used as solder only with sterling silver, as it is the color of silver and retains its brilliance. To help the flow of the solder and to keep the metal in condition when heated, a substance called flux is necessary. The flux referred to here is in paste form.

An electric soldering iron, or electric plate, will heat the metal enough so the solder will flow on the parts to be joined. Wire or small pieces of metal may be soldered with the iron. The electric plate is used for large areas of metal, or that of heavy gauge which cannot be heated enough with the iron. The metal to be joined must be held firmly until it cools.

Soldering irons can be obtained in several different types with replacement tips. The copper tip of the iron must have a thin coating of solder before it can be used. This process is called tinning.

Tinning the iron

Heat the iron.  Turn off the electric current. File the hot tip until it is a bright copper on all surfaces. Reheat the iron.  Rub the hot tip in the flux and solder until a thin coat of solder covers all surfaces of the tip.

Soldering wire joints and small pieces of metal

Hold the metal pieces firmly together.  Pick up the solder with the tip of the iron and place on the joint.  Heat the metal until the solder flows.

Sweating a sawed design of metal to a metal background

Clean and flux one side of the metal sheet from which the design is to be sawed. Lay pieces of solder on the fluxed surface. Place on a screen and hot plate until the solder flows. Spread the solder with a hot iron to form a thin coat on the metal. Rinse in water and dry. Saw the design and file all edges smooth.

Clean and flux the background sheet. Clamp the design to the sheet and soldered surface down. Place on a screen and hot plate until the solder melts. This is shown when a thin light line appears between the two metals. Let cool before removing the clamps.

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Coils of wire can be made on mandrels of various sizes and shapes. The simplest is the coil of round rings made of round wire. There are many uses for the coil. When sawed into rings it may be made into a chain. By pulling the wire on both ends to stretch the coil, an open wavy coil results, which may be curved or bent to follow a line for decoration. The open coil may also be flattened into a decorative band of overlapping rings. A cone shaped coil can be made on a round pointed mandrel (knitting needle). These may be used for pendants to give movement and interest to a design and are sometimes used as a fringe for an edge.

The jig

Select a round steel mandrel the diameter of the coil de¬sired. Place between two blocks of soft wood parallel with the grain of the wood.  Press the blocks between the jaws of the table vise to form a groove in each block. Remove the mandrel from the blocks, and file a groove at a right angle to the groove made by the mandrel.

Coiling the wire

Place the mandrel between the blocks in the groove letting the end extend beyond the blocks about 1/2 inch. Hold the blocks in the jaws of the table vise tight enough to hold the blocks but loose enough so the mandrel will turn and move out of the groove as the wire is coiled. Make a few coils on the end of the mandrel.   Clamp the mandrel and coils in the jaws of the hand vise. Hold the loose end of the wire in the filed groove during the coiling process to guide the wire and to keep the coil even. Use the hand vise as a handle to turn the mandrel to form the coil.

The blocks holding the mandrel are held in the bench vise. The protruding end of the mandrel is held in the hand vise, and the coil is formed by turning the hand vise. The wire is held taut and is guided by the left hand.

Round Wire Coils

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