© franksteiner

At my son's school, a classmate of his told him about a family reunion he attended with his parents and siblings. All the branches of the family at the reunion brought either vintage watches, if they had them-and apparently, most did!-and recently acquired watches, as well as ones to give as gifts, to add a new dimension to the family's heritage. I thought this was wonderful and wanted to hear all about it, so I called the child's mother and invited her to tea together with other mothers who were interested. We were all fascinated and also deeply touched by what she recounted. The vintage watches sounded like they must be just magnificent. Some of them sounded more like jewelry, really. We asked where she and her husband had gotten the more recently acquired watches and she said at goldsea.com/en. When she saw how interested we were, she brought out some photos from her purse. She said she hadn't wanted to bring them out unless it seemed like we'd want to see them. We appreciated her shyness and encouraged her to please show us every one of the photos! They didn't disappoint, they were amazing. The antique watches were splendid. I thought the whole event was really inspiring, both for family togetherness, appreciation of the generations, and the watches of course, some of which had been handed down, in fact, over generations.

© e³°°°

Hungarian maker of designer jewelry Gyongyver Gaal puts a little twist into all of her designs, whether it's a grass ring, a snail ring, or a slide-framed and heart-shaped necklace. Just recently the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts purchased some items form Gyongyver to display in their permanent contemporary collection.

The silver and precious stone materials take on simple, rectangular shapes in Gyongyver's skilled designs. She often over-exaggerates a single feature of her materials. She says that her favorite jewelry piece is the ring, which she likes to design so that they stand upright off the finger. She said that she also rarely designs sets of jewelry together, but prefers to make statement pieces that can stand alone. She claims no favorite designer, but rather finds all kinds of jewelry intriguing when it is pushing some sort of boundary, whether that is in the use of materials, size, or some other concept.

© Don Dexter Antonio Photography ™

A stunning example of vintage West German fashion jewelry is a vintage estate antique necklace of jet black and givre glass beads that was recently sold online. The necklace dates from the year 1945, and is a total length of 15 ½ inches with an extender. It is a hefty piece that is marked West Germany and features reflective faceted jet black glass beads and faceted clear givre glass beads.

The glistening givre beads have a green pattern fused into them. The beads are beautifully strung with small jet black round beaded spacers. Each faceted glass bead measures about 3/8" in diameter, and the entire piece is in excellent condition. It is a fabulous piece to add to a collection, and to wear at weddings, prom nights, pageants, parties, cruises and special functions. It was recently sold online for $98.00.