We have an estate jewelry show and sale coming up on the 14th and 15th of this month and it’s a first for us. It all started when Kathy and I were at the Las Vegas Luxury Show last May. It’s a “by invitation, only” show we regularly attend; but to be frank, we’d found nothing that really excited us until we walked by a largish booth with “estate jewelry” on display. Naturally, it was the bizarre that caught my eye, in this case, a dog collar. It was in light green leather with a diamond accented solid gold name plate; how unusual! I had to know more about it, so Kathy and I stepped in and asked for more information. In answer to our first question, we were told that the collar really was for a dog; but as we looked around, more questions came to us. Somehow, we’d equated “estate jewelry” with jewelry that people had inherited and didn’t want to keep; such is not invariably the case.The term “estate” is applied rather liberally to previously owned jewelry that is not old enough to be considered “antique” (a century old or older); so while much of it does come from unwanted inheritances, quite a bit of it also comes from people who’ve grown tired of it or have found they’d like to turn it into cash to meet some other felt need. This was the case for Mae West. Born in 1893 to “Battling Jack” West and Matilda Doelger, she was a child star in vaudeville before the turn of the century; and she used this platform to enter the theater as both performer and play write. At a bit over five feet tall and large bosomed, she was acute enough a business woman to sell her sexuality in the plays she wrote and performed in, even if it did cause her a few problems (she was arrested over her play “Sex”) – and of course, she loved jewelry. An acute jewelry buyer, she knew that estate jewelry most usually represented exceptional value. While it was true that the choices were quite limited as compared with new jewelry made to the buyer’s order, she was quite taken with the fact that she could make quite a show with estate jewelry at a lower over-all cost – even if the jewelry did look a little “old fashioned”. The point of buying estate jewelry, magnificent display, was made in her very first movie, “Night after Night”. She had a small part, but already a celebrity, she made the best of it. Wearing her own jewelry and dressed to the nines in one of the early scenes, Mae entered a fancy “speakeasy” (it was 1932 and prohibition continued into 1933). The actress playing the role of the speakeasy’s coat check girl did a double take on the opulent diamond neckpiece in prominent display on Ms. West’s generous bosom and uttered her almost famous single line, “Goodness, what beautiful diamonds!” Mae turned to her with a knowing look and (famously) rejoined, “Goodness had nothing to do with it.” Needless to say, she had made a statement to all of America’s film goers with her estate jewelry and she continued to buy it throughout her career in Hollywood. Unquestionably, her jewelry had emotional value for Ms. West; but that did not prevent her from selling it all for a “good cause” that had greater emotional content for her – in this case, stopping Hitler. By the early summer of 1940 the Nazis had overrun all of western Europe and Britain’s back was to the wall. With control of the air over the English Channel, the Luftwaffe effectively denied it to the Royal Navy. Invasion seemed imminent and all that stood in opposition to Hitler was the beleaguered Royal Air Force.  Desperate for planes and ammunition, the British turned to the U.S.; but at the time our nation’s laws prohibited “credit” sales to nations at war; and Britain was nearly bankrupt. It needed our good will and our cash if it were to survive. Into this money/public relations crunch stepped Mae. She sold off her entire platinum and diamond jewelry collection and donated the proceeds to the RAF. Given Britain’s needs, the money was a drop in the bucket; but as an emotional public statement of support, it was priceless PR.

Emotions, of course, are what jewelry is all about. We buy gifts of jewelry as
statements of love; and we buy it because it makes us happy. Hearts On Fire, the
world’s most perfectly cut diamond, and fine diamond Jewelry by Hearts On Fire
are perfect statements of love; so if you need to say “I love you” loudly and clearly, Hearts On Fire is the perfect gift. If, however, you find pleasure in the romance of estate jewelry, you cannot afford to miss our two day estate jewelry event. With more than 500 pieces of jewelry dating from the 1830’s to the present (some of it previously owned by celebrities) and valued at more than $2 million, it will be quite a show. For Hearts On Fire, check out our website,
hurstsberwynjewelers.com, then phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment to
select your very own Hearts On Fire. If you want to make sure you make the most
of our estate jewelry event, phone us for an appointment. Remember, our job is
realizing your dreams.