Tomorrow I will put some post some beautiful pieces I found on my weekend excursion. I found a very rare set of Stigbert 18k jewelry. I’ve seen Stigbert, but I have never seen any of the gold pieces. Its amazing. These pieces are beyond anything I have ever seen in Scandinavian jewelry, which I happen to love. The simplicity of it reminds me of early Elsa Peretti and Angela Cummings. This set also has cabochon amethyst and chrysophase. Goregous stones.

I am hearing stories everyday, about people getting stuck with counterfeit jewelry. I’m not sure if there is more of it on ebay right now, but there is a lot. I think ebay and Tiffany should be more concerned with getting that stuff off ebay, rather then burden honest sellers with idiotic listing limits

Since one of the geniuses at ebay actually told me that some buyers LIKE counterfeits, maybe they should set up a category for fakes and forgeries. At least that way, the people who got stuck with a counterfeit, could resell it.

I received my first negative feedback in over 7 years. Its new buyer who bought 5 items from me. He didn;t read the description for an old Peretti bracelet. So, rather then just ask for a refund, he left a negative feedback saying the bracelet was small. Ya think??? The description clearly says 6.2 inches long. I am so frustrated. I will ban him from my auctions, of course, but I am so tempted to leave 5 negative feedbacks..He only has 9. That will give him under 50%…Oh, its so tempting…What to do??? I haven’t even left him one negative feedback. Why didn’t he just ask to return it?? I am so mad, I’m spinning!!!

I don’t like being alone. The house is quiet except the talking cats and dog. Vito is still in Italy, Marc is in China and Michael went to Washington this week. Every inch of the garden is planted, raked, watered and fertilized. I know Vito will find tons of things I didn’t do while he was gone, but it all looks finished to me. Tomorrow I plan to visit some of my old haunts. I love the little shops on the back roads to the coast. I spent a fortune on gas for my car today. Its washed and the top is down. Marc and Michael put 2 brand new tires on it, so I’m excited about a mountain drive. I love living in California. Its just so beautiful. Maybe not a dramatic as the island in Italy, but I really love it here.
I have lived my life in beautiful homes in one of the most beautiful places in the world. I have been very lucky.

A friend of mine has had a bit of bad luck with a seller on ebay. She signed for a box that was supposed to contain a very expensive diamond ring. Well, the box was empty and the seller is already gone. She has filed claims with everyone and is taking it pretty well. Two years ago, I was scammed by a seller in Canada, I lost over $3,000.00. Paypal and ebay were no help at all. I filed claims for months, but ended up with nothing. It was a very difficult lesson. Now I am very careful and only buy from sellers with a lot of feedback.

I have seen other sellers on ebay, using photographs of my pieces. Just because a seller has a picture of an item, doesn’t always mean they have this item. The internet is such a wonderful way to find vintage and designer jewelry, but you have to be careful. I only sell pieces that I have collected and love. Many of these items I found at the little shops I visit. Many of them I bought at Tiffany, when I was working and had to have designer suits and jewelry. I still buy what I love, but most often I wear it with jeans. I have a huge diamond salamander brooch that I wear on my gardening apron. I love how it glimmers in the sun.

As you might have noticed, for 10 days my blog and website were gone. I’m really at a loss for how a big company like Tiffany can feel threatened by such a small, private collector. I love Tiffany and still shop there way too much. Part of being a collector, I find, is that what might fascinate me for a while, becomes something I can sell to make room for my next interest. There are many people who feel this way and we enjoy selling, trading and buying these vintage pieces. Maybe Tiffany should start selling their old stock. Obviously, there is a huge market for it. I think we all have a wish list for items that are no longer made, but would complete a collection.

I don;t want to make anyone mad. Its my love for Tiffany jewelry that I am always searching for rare collections. I am not pretending to be part of Tiffany. I am not selling counterfeit Tiffany and I don’t make Tiffany jewelry in my kitchen. I just love it and I buy it. Wherever I go, thats what I search for. A perfect outing for me is one that includes a place where a little treasure might be hiding. I feel like I am rescuing some of this fantastic old jewelry from obscurity or even a melting pot. I just love this old jewelry. I speaks to me. So, I have no evil motives here.

We created this website as a place where we could find and sell vintage jewelry, at a time when ebay had saddled me with listing limits. After 7 years and 1800 perfect transactions on ebay, I still enjoy selling under my ebay user id:acarlover1. This is this website where I can have direct communication with other collectors. We can buy, sell and trade. We are hurting no one by doing this. We are sharing our common passion and information. With the rampant proliferation of counterfeits, isn’t it better to be well informed? Every day, I hear from people who have already tried calling Tiffany to ask questions. They just want some information and most of the salespeople at Tiffany either don’t have the answer or don’t want to be bothered.

Well, I love learning and researching old Tiffany and I am happy to share with other collectors. I’m also not afraid to ask other collectors when I have a question. If I called Tiffany and asked about a pair of old Angela Cummings earrings, how many of the sales clerks would take the time to discuss this? How many would even know about these old earrings? I am not trying to take anything away from Tiffany. If anything, I feel this love for old Tiffany jewelry creates more fascination and respect for new Tiffany designs.