Vendoo - Cross Sharing Platform

 If you have never tried a cross sharing program, you may like to try Vendoo.  They offer five free posts to see how you like their platform.  

Here is my referral link for Vendoo:

Vendoo Referral Link

I have an Etsy store which I do not plan to cross-list most of my items, however, I have a Poshmark store and decided it would be a good idea to add Ebay to future items posted on Poshmark. I tried adding Ebay in the past but the program I was using did not have the capacity to take down the item sold from the other apps.  Now, Vendoo offers this feature. I'm thrilled. I started using Vendoo for the items I sell on Poshmark and Ebay in the middle of December.  In the past, I tried selling duplicate items on several platforms but never gave it long enough to work.  This time, I have committed to giving this app a fair chance for success.  In the last few days, I have sold two items on two different platforms and without any problems, Vendoo removed the items from the other platforms where I had the items for sale within minutes.  It is working seamlessly. 

If you would like to sell the same items on multiple platforms, please give Vendoo a try. I believe you will like it!

**** Update: February 20, 2025

I love Vendoo! I have updated the app to a year's subscription.  There are several reasons why I love it.

The first reason is that when I add inventory in Vendoo, I can decide where I want to post it or I can leave it in Drafts.  They keep your inventory forever so if you purchase a subscription for listing 250 items and you have over 1,000 in your inventory, those items remain.  You are only charged for the newly added items that month.  As I mentioned before, I rarely crosslist my Etsy items.  There are several reasons for that which I won't go into now but occasionally I will take an item off of Etsy and move it to eBay.  It gives it new life and I can reword the original listing.  

So, the second reason I love Vendoo is that I have removed about a hundred listings off of Etsy and relisted them on eBay with new description and sometimes, a new price.  These items were easily uploaded to my inventory and each one counts as a new item. With Vendoo unlimited, I can upload my whole 2500 items from Etsy to eBay if I wanted to do so, which I do not.  I love the ability to add inventory as needed.  If you do not have a big shop then you might not want the unlimited subscription but you can still save money with the yearly subscription in various numbers added to inventory.  

The third reason I love the unlimited Vendoo subscription is that I have a very large inventory.  My original thought was that I would list about three or four items a day but then realized I would never reach the end of my inventory in my life time so I added the eBay store and began listing about 8 to 10 items a day.  I crosslist these items to Poshmark and Mercari.  I sell regularly on Poshmark and eBay but have yet to sell on Mercari.  At first, I removed my listings from Mercari but then I readded them because it doesn't cost anything to list and I decided to see if I ever sell on Mercari.  Time will tell.  Several years ago I had listings on Mercari and sold several here and there but for the last few months, all I hear is crickets.  In any event, I'm busy with Etsy, eBay, and Poshmark so I'm super happy and again, love Vendoo!

Beware of Fake Copies of Vintage Jewelry

 After selling vintage jewelry for almost a decade and collecting for many years longer, it is really disheartening to purchase a jewelry item, sold as vintage, only to discover that the item is a copy and not the real thing.  Unfortunately, there are companies who purposely copy vintage jewelry and manufacture the copy and put it up for sale.  Sometimes the item has beautiful rhinestones or crystal beads but when you exam it further, you find that these stones are sitting in a cheap poorly designed jewelry item foundation.  

I could take photos of several examples but will just explain some examples of what to look for; starting with brooches.  If you find a brooch which looks like the backing has been thrown on and all of the gold or silver finish is uneven and messy, this is a good example of a cheap copy.  The front may look beautiful but the back holds many of the keys to a good piece of jewelry.  

Around the 2000s, lots of jewelry was made overseas, even by large companies who previously made quality jewelry.  Some of the things I look for on necklaces are tiny extension chains.  Older jewelry made thicker extension chains and usually with a hook or fold over clasp.  New jewelry has a lobster clasp.  There are good quality items made in the 80s and 90s which have lobster clasps but if you see it attached to a tiny extension chain, this is a clue.  Brooches look for backs which are finished with the gold or silver tone thrown on look.  

Crystal beads that are older and made before 2000s, usually are not the round flat variety.  These can still be very pretty but the crystals which were on beautiful necklaces from the 50s and 60s come in round beads, bicone beads, and occasionally barrel cut beads.  Of course, there are other varieties of cuts but the glass beads sold since the 2000s in mass quantity have a particular shape.  

One thing to remember is that not every rule of thumb is absolute.  In other words, there are exceptions and that is what makes collecting vintage jewelry difficult at times.  Now that we have helpful tools like Google Lens, you are able to take a photo of an item and most of the time can find a bit more information about it or one similar.  I recently found a gorgeous necklace which was designed to look like one from the 60s or 70s with flashing rhinestones but I was skeptical of the metal and setting.  With a few short clicks to Google Lens, I found the exact item for sale on an overseas site for 99 cents.  If it had been true vintage, it would have been a few hundred dollars instead.  

If you want to collect vintage jewelry, do your homework and collect a few tools to help you verify the item you are purchasing is actually vintage.  I have a Presidium Gem tester for testing gemstones or even glass, compared to Lucite.  A magnet will let you know if something is possibly sterling as sterling silver is non-magnetic.  Research and studying photographs of vintage items and knowing your brands is also super helpful.  

Best of luck in your quest for finding vintage jewelry items.  

Hattie Carnegie Jewelry - A Little History & A Few Jewelry Examples

Hattie Carnegie was born in 1886 and began marketing jewelry in 1939 to coordinate with her fashions.  Many talented artists, under her direction, designed Carnegie jewelry.  In addition to themed collections, she made many beautiful more traditionally styled jewelry pieces featuring beautiful rhinestones.  Hattie Carnegie died in 1956 but her company continued making jewelry until around 1979.  The most common found mark is “Hattie Carnegie” in script on a cartouche. 

According to Pamela Y. Wiggins, in Warman's Costume Jewelry, a  number of companies including DeLizza & Elster made jewelry marked with the Hattie Carnegie oval cartouche. 

Here are a few examples from our collection:

The above necklace is from the same design group as the brooch below.  The necklace has art glass stones in green and the brooch below has art glass stones in pink.  Both equally beautiful. 

Julia C Carroll, from Costume Jewelry 101, describes the stones like this: The stones look like dollops of pink ice cream embedded in faceted clear glass. Each pink stone is accented with x's of gold wire and small clear rhinestones in a "Hugs and Kisses" style.

This necklace is another example of the beautiful design and quality of a Hattie Carnegie necklace.  

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According to Julia C. Carroll in Costume Jewelry 303, the Hattie Carnegie Company selected jewelry designed and produced by various manufacturers to be sold under the Carnegie name.  Two designers shared were: Daniel Kasoff of Florenza, Kenneth J. Lane. 

Joseph Mazer - Jomaz

 In 1923, Joseph Mazer and his brother Lincoln founded Mazer Brothers in New York. Their line of costume jewelry was first produced in 1927.  Early Mazer jewelry was created by master designers such as Marcel Boucher. Mazer brothers insisted on using the highest quality materials in their jewelry construction. After 1946, the brothers split the business.  Joseph founded Joseph J. Mazer Company and marked their jewelry “Jomaz” or “Joseph Mazer” and were in business through 1981.  Lincoln continued to produce jewelry and sign it “Mazer Bros” until 1951.  This information was shared by Julia C. Carroll in Costume Jewelry 101.

Mazer jewelry is beautiful and a high quality of vintage jewelry. Most that I have found tested at gold plated surface metal. We are always happy when we find jewelry marked Joseph Mazer or Jomaz.

Happy Collecting! 

Hobe' Jewelry

 The original Hobe’ family was in business in the US from 1927 to 1995. William Hobe’ immigrated to the United States from France.  His father Jacques Hobe’ was a well known designer of fine jewelry in France.  William began his career in the US by selling theater costumes. Some were sold to Ziegfield of the Ziegfield Follies in New York. Mr. Ziegfield asked William to create real looking jewelry for the show. Under the direction of the Hobe family, Hobe’ jewelry enjoyed many years as a premier manufacturer of costume jewelry.  Much of his jewelry was often hand made with high quality materials. Some Hobe’ slogans were “Jewels of Hobe’” and “Jewels of Legendary Splendor”.

Reference: Costume Jewelry 101 by Julia C Carroll.

Whiting & Davis Jewelry

 Whiting & Davis began their company  in 1926 and was famous for their mesh bags and mesh jewelry.  They used heavy gold and silver tone rhodium plating with their signature stamped into the metal or on a metal hang tag.  According to Julia C Carroll in Costume Jewelry 101, she states that it is unclear when the company first produced jewelry, although vintage advertising was available in 1931.  She also states that they made metal jewelry designs which often include open latticework, mesh, and or intricate overlapping metal leaves.  The metalwork often frames one large center piece, such as reverse carved glass cameos. Due to the high quality metal work and stones, the jewelry is highly collectible. During the 1950s, some items were reproductions of vintage museum jewelry.  

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Our Whiting & Davis Collection - Past & Present

Hollycraft Jewelry

 Hollycraft jewelry was designed by the Hollywood Jewelry Manufacturing Company, founded in 1938.  The Hollycraft mark was first used in 1948 and ceased operations in 1971. Hollycraft had a beautiful signature look with feminine designs using pastel colored rhinestones, either all in one color or the popular multicolored designs of the 1950s. (Costume Jewelry 101 by Julia C. Carroll)

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Our Past or Present Hollycraft Jewelry