Customer Reviews

Answers to Questions About Old Jewelry 1840-1950

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A very complete reference work covering the period 1840 to 1950, with prices updated for 1999. There are over 1,700 large, sharp, black and white photos and 32 page full color sections with superior, sharp, large photos. The 3 major sections are: When was it made and what is it worth?; 100 Years of Cameos; and Manufacturing Techniques. Each section is loaded with photos and information. It tells how jewelry is made, how to determine what kind of metal an item is made from, determining whether a stone is synthetic, a listing of maker's marks to help you identify and date pieces. A complete glossary is included. A must have book for the jewelry collector !

You might say I'm a novice when it comes to vintage jewelry. I learn as I go and every book I buy has some tidbit of excellent information. My feeling is that one can never have too many books as they become our reference guides. Jeanenne Bell did an excellent job and I refer to this book regularly. I'm glad I bought it.

Gail Gupton, Author: The 31-Day Diet of Spiritual Enlightenment and Seekers of Truth.

Now in an updated sixth edition with New Bakelite, Costume, and Mexican Jewelry sections, Answers To Questions About Old Jewelry compiled by antique jewelry expert C. Jeanenne Bell is a superbly organized and comprehensive price and identification guide designed especially for collectors and jewelers. Covering jewelry crafted from 1840 to 1950, and enhanced with over 2,000 photographs and prices of jewelry (along with meticulous descriptions and an inset section of color pictures) Answers To Questions About Old Jewelry is confidently commended as being a collector's reliable price guide, reference and resource. Professional dealers and dedicated collectors in antiques and collectbles should obtain the free Krause catalog for a complete listing of their up-to-date price guides.

This book will educate you concerning the history of jewelry from the 1840's through the 1950's. Excellent history, pictures, price guides for the collector and the researcher. Contains not only black/white and color photos, but hallmarks, dating clues, artists marks, glossary and much much more. Invaluable book and one of the most used in my jewelry library.

Book was not put together very good. It was also very boring in alot of areas. The middle section that has pictures...fell completely out of the book and into my hands. Very bad binding job and cheaply made book. Would not recommend this book to anyone.

I didnt know I knew so much~! Ive spent the last two years learning about antique jewels and such and Thought I knew nothing and it was "time to buy a book" and holy cows~! when i got this last week I was so excited and I knew the value and age and such of most of the pictured pieces in this book, and as I read, I knew about everything that was written already! DARN IT. 20 bucks down the drain including shipping. So I am leaving this review for you guys. Cause I couldnt pick up the book myself before purchase. I would have seen within a coupls mins that it wasnt going to help me futher my studies.
HOWEVER this book does have a TON of great photos and the lady who wrote it really has passion you can tell. Theres Lots of examples from differing ages and time periods.
For this is for the novice. Which i thought I was~ I couldnt get the info in this book I really need rt now to understand a few types of antique styles I am trying to know about. I purchased a French rose gold 18k necklace from France recently completely made out of spiders and spider webs and the only thing I found in this book was a 1860 shell with a gold spider in it and no explaination. also the author doesnt explain the history of the buckle jewery something I am dying to know more about becasue i find myself so drawn to this stuff. Even up to the present theres stil buckles rings and buckle braclets made and it goes way way way back. I cant find info on the orgins.
All the author said about Snake rings from Queen Victorias time was Her hubby gave her one. But theres such significance to all those snake rings still floating around I keep finding. PLus another style I am trying to find out about is rings made with Native American Faces on them, when they were first made etc, and what they represented. I have seen them made very very finely and they still make them! But Ive seen them from the art deco period and am trying to find out if they came before that also. No examples in this book at all.
I wonder if insect and theme jewery should be a book in itself?
I dont know enough and I couldnt learn a thing from this book! But its huge and has alot of pics all stuff ive already seen a million times and nothing SIGNIFICANT. The explaintions just dont go into DEPTH here enough to have made this purchase valueble to me. Its kinda a paperback coffie table book for the curious if anything.
another thing I should mention is the PRICES those prices listed by auction house, private collectors ETC arnt realistic in the market at all . ALL prices on antique jewery are totally subjective and these prices were way Unrealistic unless you are around people who collect passionatly and want a piece you have badly. they were far more then this stuff is actually going for.
I wouldnt enever be able to use the price guide in the real world to sell my stuff.
even the discriptions of how antique jewerly was made is not very complete.... But worst was the price guides I belive becasue you would have to be consigning your stuff in a large city in a antique jewery shop to people who knew its value to get those prices. the vast majority of people dont care about antique jewery and just like something and dicount its value based on the poorly cut Rose diamonds and old jems and such.
It would have been nice to have a listing of who might be interested in certain types of very rare styles and how I might find them so they can buy what I have and where I can locate a certain collectable myself.
I Might consider this a gift book for someone who inherited a box of antique jewerly and didnt know a thing at all and didnt want to sell any of it just to spark intrest.
other then that i am still looking for something to increase my already base knowledge.

Another GREAT book from this author! Wonderful pictures and information. This book has already helped me to buy and sell on eBay and has paid for itself. I have lots of jewelry books and this one is not a re-hash of other old books, as so many out there are. I am a very satisified and happy customer.

I have serveral of J. Bell's books and I enjoy them all. This one is informative and I love the quality pictures.

Didn't provide the type of information I was looking for but had some helpful hints.

This book was a gift for my Mother and she got it in wonderful condition. Thank you.