A little sneak preview of charmingly vintage necklaces – coming soon!!

COMING SOON….

Charmingly vintage necklaces will be arriving at Box Vintage in the very near future. Adorable vintage silver charms that are perfect for showing off your favourite hobbies and personality! Many of our vintage charms have special little secrets hidden inside making them even more unique and precious. Box Vintage’s charm pendants will come with an 18 inch sterling silver oval belcher chain.

Here’s a sneaky preview – keep your eyes peeled as they’ll be available soon to get your gorgeous vintage hands on soon.

In the meantime we want to know what vintage charm would best describe you? Tell us using the comment box below this post, post on our Facebook page or tweet @boxvintage

Go big, bold and vintage this summer!

As vintage sun-seekers we’re sure you’ve been making the most of the warm rays this last few weeks. But what cool candy vintage jewellery have you been accessorizing with? Box Vintage love big, bold and bright colours this time of year.

What works better as a daytime statement than a bold beaded vintage necklace? Perfect for that plunge-line or as a dinky choker. Going for a daytime to evening look? Try a pure angelic white bead necklace with your little black dress – classic.

The secret to spotting authentic vintage bead necklaces is to see if the beads (often made of lucite, glass or acrylic) are strung on actual string. More modern interpretations are often strung on elastic, plastic or a fine thread. Vintage bead necklaces feel more weighty than modern offerings.

Start your collection by browsing our ‘Pop Necklaces’ section of our online vintage costume jewellery boutique.

Happy Easter vintage lovers!

A very happy Easter to everyone from Box Vintage…don’t forget to mop the chocolate from around your mouth before you start your Easter roast!

Vintage jewellery help – What are rhinestones?

Vintage jewellery dazzle comes in many forms with costume pieces, but rhinestones give you the ultimate sparkle! Want to learn more about these pretty little gems? Keep reading…

Rhinestones come in many different cuts including baguette (oblong shaped stones), cabochon (smooth, oval bubble-like stones with no facets) and chaton (circular cut faceted rhinestones). 

Rhinestones popular with vintage jewellery can be found in an array of colours including clear, amethyst, ruby, smokey quartz and emerald to emulate the gemstones we associate with other precious jewellery. Aurora borealis is also a very popular finish for vintage rhinestones, emerging in 1955, an additional coating is applied to the clear rhinestone to give multi-faceted pieces an iridescent glow.

Rhinestone materials include glass, acrylic and plastic. Care for your vintage costume jewellery by avoiding contact between the faces of your rhinestones as this can cause scratches to the surface. Place tissue inbetween to protect your rhinestones allowing them to keep sparkling for many years to come!

Vintage rhinestone jewellery is great for achieving a glamorous evening look or to complete your vintage wedding ensemble. Choose delicate pieces or go for a statement piece with a large feature rhinestone – there’s something for every taste.

Find vintage rhinestone necklaces, brooches, earrings and sets on our website available to buy online.

Support Wallace Cancer Care on 25th March

Indulgence Evening, Cambridge - Friday 25th March

Indulgence Evening at The Doubletree in Cambridge on Friday 25th March 2011 supporting Wallace Cancer Care. The evening kicks off at 7.30pm and is all for a great cause so come along and treat yourself, there’ll be plenty to see and do.

Box Vintage will be there – selling vintage costume jewellery and we’re donating 15% of takings on the night to Wallace Cancer Care. Tickets are £7.50 and the event is being organised by Coakley Events.

Email us if you would like further information. We look forward to seeing you there!

Why vintage jewellery?

I know, what a ridiculous question, many of you reading this are already fully fledged vintage-lovers.

For those dipping their toe into the realm of vintage goodies you are in for a treat. Here are some points to encourage you to take the plunge into vintage jewellery.

1. Fall victim to fashion - there’s no escaping that vintage fashion is big right now (and will be for a long time yet). Loads of vintage fashion and homeware fairs around the country, high street shops are stocking their catwalk inspired vintage-style goodies, even graphic design is going back to vintage/retro basics. So although we don’t want to say ‘follow the crowd’ it’s more a give into temptation and get into vintage style (which includes the accessories). Remember also that many of the pieces of vintage jewellery and fashion are one-offs, so you won’t have to face the embarrassment of seeing someone else wearing the same thing!

2. Think about the history - one of the major charms of vintage fashion and accessories is the sheer history behind each and every garment, necklace, shoe and cigarette case. For me, there’s a special aura about pre-owned jewellery, who has owned this? Where has it been worn and what sights has it seen? You just never know if a piece of vintage jewellery has seen fame in one light or another, certainly a lot of the glamorous pieces must have served their sparkling purpose at some stage.

3. Save the planet - Genuine vintage, by definition is second-hand and is therefore doing its bit for our environment. Most vintage costume jewellery items are well looked after by their previous owners and are more than wearable (I personally think that a little wear adds oodles more character). So you can feel a great sense of pride when buying vintage, just make sure you wear your favourite piece when you’re cycling everywhere too!

Enjoying the Box Vintage blog? Why not subscribe and get posts straight to your inbox - we post every Tuesday evening. Visit the Box Vintage website to see plenty of vintage costume jewellery to inspire you.

Here comes the vintage bride – necklaces

While we’re on the subject of love, in this post we’re talking vintage weddings!

I’m sure you have your vintage wedding shopping list pinned down with the essentials being…

Classic vintage wedding dress
‘I have to have them’ authentic vintage shoes
Veil, headdress or tiara (depending on preference of course)

But what about your gems and jewels to put the icing on the cake (as it were)? Never fear, the vintage costume jewellery world is your oyster - once you have fallen for your dream dress (which is hanging up in a friend’s/families spare room, well out of the way of husband-to-be’s curious gaze), it’s time to consider whether you are passionate for pearls, relish sparkling rhinestones or elated by enamel jewellery. If you usually wear silver jewellery then silvertone is the choice for you and likewise with gold, opt for goldtone.

If your wedding dress is high necked then consider accessorising with a brooch and earrings instead of a necklace as you may end up covering special needlework, lace or button detail. For strapless or corset-style dresses choose a collar necklace as this will nestle nicely at the base of your neck. For plunging neckline dresses then go wild with longer length necklaces or large, striking pendant and chain combinations.

Many vintage necklaces boast beautiful clasps (one of my personal favourite elements of vintage necklaces), these can be worn as usual – at the back of your neck, or you can make a fuss of them and wear them front facing if they are a particular feature.

Parure and demi parure sets are ideal for vintage bridal wear, they usually consist of a brooch and matching earrings, bracelet and necklace or necklace and earrings. These will look stunning and are a great showcase for your favourite vintage designer.

Of course, it’s the blushing bride’s big day, but consider choosing vintage costume jewellery for the bridemaids or Mother of the bride to continue your ‘viva la vintage’ theme throughout.

Box Vintage would love to see your vintage wedding jewellery wonders, send us a photo of your bridal accessories from your big day. If you’re looking for beautiful costume jewellery for your wedding day then visit our bridal gallery for inspiration and take a look at our pieces for sale.

Vintage jewellery for Valentines…

Slowly but surely the days are getting longer, January is out-of-the-way and we’ve officially started the month of love.

So what will it be this Valentine’s Day? Flowers to flourish? Chocolates to devour? What about something which will last well into the future – something which has history and a gift that someone special can cherish for years to come? Here are some helpful considerations when it comes to buying vintage costume jewellery as a present:

• Have you noticed whether they wear brooches, necklaces or earrings?
• Do they have a favourite vintage designer?
• If the person you’re treating this Valentines wears silver jewellery then stick with silvertone jewellery and likewise with gold, opt for goldtone.
• Perhaps you’ve noticed them wearing pearl earrings, how about a stunning pearl necklace to compliment them?
• Consider whether a piece of vintage jewellery for special occasions or everyday wear would be most appropriate.
• Choose an item with colours which suit the person, and will compliment the colours that they wear. Are they bold with colours? Or more minimal?

Still feel like you’re treading water with a vintage Valentine’s gift? Maybe a gift voucher is the answer, that way your loved one can choose something for themselves.

Remember that all every piece of jewellery you purchase from Box Vintage arrives gift boxed (saves you trying to wrap it in secret) and Box Vintage have now introduced gift vouchers for £5-£500! If you have any questions or require help choosing a piece for your someone special, then contact us by email.

What is vintage costume jewellery made of?

When I’m exhibiting at vintage fairs I am often asked what metal Box Vintage’s costume jewellery is made from…. the answer is a mixture of metals as most costume jewellery is silvertone or goldtone.

Silvertone and goldtone jewellery are basically what the name suggests, they are simply toned by a method of dipping a combination of different metals into a gold or silver toned substance to give them their charming colour.

Does the silvertone or goldtone wear away?

This is mainly dependent on the quality of metals/substance used, if a piece of jewellery is worn often and exposed to chemicals and water regularly then metal may discolour. The outer coating may also wear with regular use exposing the metal beneath.

How should I care for my silvertone/goldtone costume jewellery?

Box Vintage recommend avoiding abrasive polishes or chemical jewellery cleaners, instead use gentle polishing cloths or mild soap and warm water to clean your costume jewellery.

Got a vintage jewellery question for us? Get in touch…

Box Vintage boutique is coming….

Our brand new website is being polished and primed for launch on Monday 30th November…come and get your hands on some vintage sparkle!!