The manager from Trader Joes called an apologized, but I can’t let it go. Like an argument with friend, I need to feel like I’m making a point…

One of my cats, Joker, brought me baby bunny. Michael came over and gently put him in a box. We bought a rabbit hutch and food, but a few hours later he passed away. I named him Nutty 2. I am amazed that a tiny creature came into our lives and made us love him so much in just one day. I am so sad that we couldn’t save him. Now that Michael has a rabbit house, he will give shelter to a homeless rabbit. I raised two very gentle and kind boys. When the boys were growing up we had so many animals living with us. I loved our busy home. I miss those days so much.

I went to a big jewelry sale at The Discovery Store. I enjoy these sales, always find some treasures and its all for a good cause. The ladies who work there and very nice and its a pleasure to go there. I bought a necklace signed: Jay Feinberg. It is beautifully made. When I got home I looked up Jay Feinberg and it turns out that the designer Jay Strongwater used to be called Jay Feinberg. I was amazed! I love learning new things.

Vito and I had been gardening all day. Since nothing looked interesting in the fridge, I volunteered to pop over to Trader Joes. Since he’s been back from Italy, he has no interest in pasta or anything in tomato sauce. I didn’t bother to change, after all, I was just running to the neighborhood market. I guess my jeans and sweater were a bit shoddy. I might have had a bit of dirt on my face and hands. One thing was different about my hands…I wasn’t wearing the big glitteries I normally do. Anyway, who do I have to impress at the grocery store? The fun part of Trader Joes is that in the back, you can get a small cup of excellent coffee and a little sample. So, I made a bee line for the big silver coffee pot and made myself a cup. Then, I went over for a sample of a little square of cake and a raspberry. I waited and waited, after everyone had their sample, I asked if I could have one, too. The lady gave me an up and down look and a sneer. I asked again..I could tell she didn’t want to give me a tiny cup with the little treat. Finally she pushed it towards me like I was a disgusting piece of crap.  She pushed it at my me so hard that the tiny frozen berry bounced out of the cup and on the floor. People standing around were shocked and I was humiliated. I knew what that look was…They thought I was a street person..I started crying and ran out. I’m sensitive…I haven’t been back since. Of course, there  was a little comfort in that I ran to the plush leather seats of my gorgeous blue Jaguar. The nicest car in the parking lot.

Its my fear…To be homeless. To be unloved. In my own little town, where I grew up and never left. Wherever I go, there are people I grew up with. I raised Marc and Michael here. I love this town. This is my town. But, at that moment, I was an outsider. There were no childhood friends there, none of my dear neighbors, just strangers looking down their noses at me. Oh, this can be a cruel, snobbish place. This is where the Silicon Valley big shots live…I can’t imagine what it would be like to spend every day being treated like that.

I told Michael, last night, “If I am ever homeless, I’ll buy a lot of huge fake diamonds, so people won’t know I’m homeless.” My brilliant son thought it would be better if I bought food. I have been thinking about this ever since it happened. I assume that its because of the nice people and polite society that I am always treated so well. Now I wonder if its the fact that I wear lovely clothes and gorgeous jewelry that I am treated well. I am the same person, scruffy from my garden or dressed and bejeweled. I drive the same care, carry a stack of Vitos money. Its still me…

My good friend Bill took me to an amazing estate sale. He likes old military stuff and I go after the jewelry. We don’t step on each others toes. I bought some wonderful pieces. Some I will put in my ebay store, some on my website and most (sorry Vito) I am keeping. There were quite a few vintage Elsa Peretti pieces. Two gorgeous old Peretti flasks. One was particularly interesting to me. Its exactly the like the ones that are signed Tiffany & Co Peretti, but this huge old flask just has EP on the handle. Its been worn, but what a find! Very 70’s.

I have heard of this happening, but it really hurt when it happened to me. A seller on ebay had a listing for a beautiful Peretti Starfish necklace. I bid on it and won. While I was waiting for it to be delivered, I got an email from a lady who has a fantastic Tiffany collection. She had also bid on the Peretti Starfish necklace. The seller emailed her with a second chance offer, claiming that I never paid for the item and offering it to her. My friend, Lisa, knew something was fishy..excuse the pun. She emailed me and we figured out this seller had duplicates. Sure enough, when they arrived, they were the worse fakes I’ve ever seen. I actually think they were painted plastic. I took plenty of pictures…We both emailed this seller, who by this time sold a third copy…She advertises an authentic Tiffany necklace. Shows the real thing in her listing, then delivers a copy. Well, all the fakes were returned, but she told us that we wouldn’t get a refund until AFTER she received a positive feedback. The third lady actually left a positive feedback. Lisa and I blew the whistle. We filed enough complaints with paypal and ebay that the seller got kicked off ebay. Only problem, no refunds..I would rather give up the refund then agree to be blackmailed. At ebay can focus their energies on a real scam artist rather then the honest sellers. Blackmail is really tacky…

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.

Last week, i had a really nasty email, from Tyler at ebay, informing me that my account would never be re-reviewed and that the listing limits were permanent. Of course, I was crushed. I loved listed on ebay and I really believed if they would only take a close look at my feedback, they would change their minds. Needless to say, it was a real low point for me. Well, the next day I got an email informing me that my listing limits had been lifted. I was so happy, I cried. Then, I thought, this can’t be right. I sent them 2 emails before I could believe that I would be allowed to list as much as I wanted. I got right to work and I have been listing to my hearts delight. Something has changed, though. I feel the dog who was knocked down a few times and now I expect to be knocked down again.

I wonder when the other honest sellers I met on ebay will have their listing limits lifted? It’s hard to believe that this was the best way ebay could find, to get rid of counterfeiters and crooks. Innocent people shouldn’t have their finances ruined because, for too many years, ebay let the fakes get listed as long as they were paying customers. My family and I were seriously damaged during this time. Multiply this by thousands of families who depend on ebay for their income. Ebay used to be so proud of the fact that people made full time jobs out of being ebay sellers. Many of these people are the ones who lived for months with no way to sell and no clear information from ebay.

This has been a very difficult time for many honest ebay sellers. I hope this never happens again. I still believe we need some representation with ebay. A sellers union perhapss?

This afternoon I loaded 400 pounds on flagstone in the back of my Jaguar..Sorry Vito, but it had to be done. Michael brought home a can of roofing tar and quickly got to work on the roof of his guest cottage. The dark clouds moved in and it was clear he would need more tar and help. I drove over to an old neighborhood of San Jose and bought 4 more cans of tar. On my way back to his house I saw a tiny antiques store, complete with bars on the windows. I generally don’t go to stores with bars on the windows, but this one had something gold and unmistakably Paloma Picasso peeking out between the old black bars. I pulled over and bought a fantastic pair of Tiffany earrings. I’m sure I looked a sight, in my work clothes (Vitos old sweatshirt and pants.)
When I got back to Mike’s I went on the roof and we got the whole thing finished before dark and before rain. I stopped for gas, back in the neighborhood and I really did look like a wreak. Vitos old clothes (covered in paint and tar) and my hands, face and hair with splotches of tar. At least I was wearing a gorgeous pair of earrings! I am over worrying what people think of me.

Last night, my dear son, Michael, took me to see Little Texas in San Jose. I love this band and it was an amazing treat to watch them play, maybe 6 feet away. They played our favorites and I didn’t really mind the drunk cowboys. Michael and I both love country music. In the past few months, he has taken me to see Rascal Flatts and Brooks and Dunn. Very nice of him to include me. I don’t know what I did to have such wonderful sons, but I feel incredibly blessed.
I have always played music for the boys. Its been something we all enjoy. I don’t remember much music from my childhood, but as a teenager, I loved going to every Grateful Dead concert. It seemed like 3 times a week, a great band was playing in San Francisco. Somehow, the city felt safe to a group of rather spoiled teenagers from Los Altos. We used to visit this Chinese restaurant called Sam Wo’s, on the 3rd floor of a very strange building. Our waiter was called Edsel Ford. He had quite a temper and just brought us what he wanted us to have. It was wonderful and exotic food. He used to holler at everyone and sometimes send us down the street for some special “tea” that came in a little silver thermos. It was all part of the great adventure.