Today’s Jewelry Collection Story comes from Virginia of @BathTubGems – Virginia is located in North Carolina, which is I know sounds funny but I love how she has this in her Instagram bio! I enjoy following her account for lots of reasons and she always has some unique pieces to offer for sale. Her jewelry journey began in 2015 and she hasn’t looked back since. Let’s take a look at her personal collection and learn more…
“I’ve been collecting for ten years. I started working for an estate jeweler (who I still work for today) in my hometown in 2015. I grew up with the owner’s daughters, who were a bit older than me. My family went on beach vacations with them every year until one summer when the two daughters met some cute boys on the beach who invited them out later that night. Despite the fact that I was a younger, chubby pre-teen, I BEGGED them to take me with them on their late night outing (the band Hanson was doing all sorts of things to my hormones at the time). They relented and we snuck out to meet them after our parents and my brothers went to bed (or so we thought). We got caught coming back late at night. We didn’t have cell phones (it was the late 90s) and they had no idea where we were. It was a huge deal. After that night we stopped going on vacations together and I really lost touch with them until I hit my mid 20s. I crossed paths with them because our parents still kept in touch, and I started babysitting for the young kids of one of the daughters. The owner of the store happened to be there one night after babysitting and he offered me a job taking pictures for their eBay page. His company to this day buys jewelry & coins from the public and sells pieces on eBay as well as in their high-end showroom. I didn’t know a thing about jewelry (nor did I care a thing about jewelry), but after a couple of months I became enamoured with antique jewelry in particular. I couldn’t get over how cool Old European and Old Mine cut diamonds looked under a microscope, how relevant some of the motifs were to today, how detailed some of the pieces were, and how they still held up after decades and decades. From there it became an obsession, and I couldn’t stop collecting. The original owner of the store sadly passed away in 2023 at the age of 78, but now I work for his daughter, who decided to take over the family business.”
“I never met a motif I didn’t like, hah! I do have an affinity for antique compasses, especially the ones that are set in agate. I just think they’re so cool looking. I completely lack an internal compass, so maybe that explains my fascination with these way-finding tools. I guess the irony is that half of the ones I find don’t point to true North, or are missing hands or some other component. I guess the “broken compass” motif really resonates with me. I also have quite a few military watches from the 1940s-60s. My dad was a huge history buff and was fascinated by World War II in particular. Sadly he passed from advanced dementia two years ago. While I was in the process of moving into my house I learned that a soldier lived there who died in the 1944 Battle of the Bulge. Even though my dad’s disease was starting to take hold of his mind, he recalled without hesitation all of the details of this particular WWII battle. In addition to the connection to my dad, I just love the style of these watches, particularly the numeric fonts, the lumed hands, and the “tick-tick-tick” of the manual wind movement.”
“I make an annual solo pilgrimage to the Brimfield antique fair. I have seen some of the most incredible collections of antique jewelry there, and in such a dressed-down setting. The weather can be pretty extreme, so there’s also a survival element to consider. It usually involves roaming muddy fields drenched in sweat or soaked to the core from rain. I have been to other trade shows and was awestruck by everything I saw, particularly at OMBAS, but Brimfield just holds a special place in my heart. I get to binge on junk food, overhear the most niche conversations amongst dealers, look at old postcards for hours, and meet like-minded people. Quite honestly, I lose all self control when it comes to buying jewelry there. I just convince myself that I can always sell it later (and often do!).”
You can follow Virginia here —> @bathtubgems
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