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A yellow-green chrysolite set beside a large cabochon garnet in a richly enamelled Holbeinesque pendant from about 1870, just sold by Karen Deakin Antiques in Sydney Chrysoberyl, chrysocolla, chrysolite and chrysoprase. That’s a lot of gemstones with confusingly similar names. And then there’s chalcedony, which in my head I lump in with the four named above because of its “ch”. It can be hard to keep them all straight. Do you know the differences between them? It’s chrysolite I really want to talk about here but let’s get the others out of the way first. Before we start, let me stress tha ..read more

A three-stone diamond vintage engagement ring, available online or at Karen Deakin Antiques in central Sydney As a dealer in antique jewellery based in Sydney, Australia, I’ve sold countless antique and vintage engagement rings over the years. I could have sold many more … but I’ve turned several potential customers away. That’s because my rings they most admired just weren’t suitable for everyday wear. When it comes to engagement rings, some antique and vintage rings are too delicate; others are set with stones that can’t be worn day in, day out. Hard stones – gems that are not easily scratch ..read more

A superbly crafted and designed sapphire and diamond Art Deco ring, for sale here What makes a good piece of antique jewellery? Why are some jewels more desirable than others? And what is a piece really worth? These are questions that new and not-so-new collectors ask themselves constantly. The short answer is that a jewel is worth as much as you are willing to pay for it. Jewellery is decoration: it satisfies a basic desire for adornment in humans – and every person is unique in his or her appreciation of beauty. Yet long ago I noticed that as a dealer and collector I use a rough mental check ..read more

One of a pair of mid-Victorian earrings with banded agates in high-carat gold. They’re for sale – email me if you’d like to know more … Vanity drove me to buy and thus collect good antique earrings in my early days of dealing. I was 28 and my face seemed more attractive when I added earrings, especially if they had movement. Rings weren’t for me – my hands have always been short and square with unloved nails. So, as a fledgling dealer, I was ready for my first serious pair. It was very early on a Wednesday morning at Camden Passage antique market in London that I found them. In the window of t ..read more

Nothing beats holding a piece of antique jewellery when it comes to making a decision about buying it. My photographs and videos do their utmost to put my rings, necklaces and earrings into my online customers’ hands … and I’m so grateful to them for putting their trust in mine. The photos are taken by Nikki of @life.is.short.diamonds on Instagram, who changed my life when she came into my Sydney store nearly two and a half years ago. For years I’d dreamed of putting Karen Deakin Antiques online … but I’m a techno-idiot. (Really I am. Just last week l learnt how to copy and paste!) With Nikki ..read more

      Like most women I have a few favourite pieces of antique jewellery I wear every day. Although I have the choice of all my stock I always put on the same Georgian diamond ring, bought in the early 1980s, and a pair of (usually) mid-Victorian earrings – from my favourite jewellery era. I have a handful of beautiful gold pairs and one pair of silver ones, also from the 1870s. I often add a gold enamel locket on an antique snake-link chain, or a lily of the valley Essex crystal on a slightly finer snake chain. I bought these core pieces during the time I was a jewellery deale ..read more

A suffragette ring. Or is it? You’re looking at an English-made antique ring from the Edwardian era, featuring an amethyst, a peridot and a natural pearl. It must be a suffragette ring. Or is it? The pretty colour combination of green, white and violet – later claimed to stand for “Give Women Votes” – from this period was adopted by the group led by Emmeline Pankhurst, a British political activist who rose to prominence in the first years of the 20th century. The white stood for purity, the purple for dignity and the green for hope, but these women were no shrinking violets. Members of Pankhur ..read more

Diamonds are tough but they need looking after. Photo by Bill Bogenschutz Whenever I sell an antique or vintage engagement ring, I give its new owner a list of instructions for its care. Diamonds might be hard, and gold and platinum strong, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be damaged. As I said in my last blog, I’m passionate about condition. I like to do my bit to ensure that a ring in good condition stays that way. First off, some don’ts. Don’t shower, sleep or do housework with your ring on. Don’t exercise, swim or do yoga or the gardening with it. And don’t wear it while washing up ..read more

People age but jewellery doesn’t have to. When I began my career in antique jewellery in London nearly 40 years ago, I quickly realised the importance of condition when it comes to reselling a piece. Seemingly slight damage made not just a vast difference to price but also to whether that jewel was desirable – at any price. As I was only buying from and selling to other dealers in those early days, I decided to only buy items in excellent condition, purely to increase my chances of selling them on. It became a habit. When I opened my first standalone shop on my return to Australia – having ser ..read more