Never heard of uranium glass? Isn't uranium dangerous and if so, why would a vintage designer like Gustave Sherman use it in his beautiful jewellery?
Those were the first questions that popped into my mind when a knowledgeable colleague who also sells Sherman jewellery alerted me to the fact that one of my lovely Sherman sets (shown below) looked like it had stones made with a uranium glass component.
First off, she assured me it wasn't dangerous i.e the amount of uranium in the crystals is too minimal to pose any danger. As to why would Sherman or any vintage designer use uranium glass crystals, the answer lies in the properties of those crystals. Look at the photo above of the necklace being shown under UV light. The crystals glow! That, by the way, is how you can determine if your green-colored jewelry has uranium glass crystals. Just get the pieces under UV light and watch for the glow.
Well then, so the crystals glow. So what? The "so what" is that suddenly you have a rather rare Sherman set on your hands! Furthermore, because it's rare and because it uses uranium glass crystals, your set is now a lot more valuable. As my esteemed colleague informed me, "that Sherman of yours is now of interest not only to collectors of Sherman jewelry, but collectors of uranium glass!" WOW! And I had no idea of that when I acquired this piece.
So now this set is not only pretty, not only a Sherman, but it's rare and valuable. And I tell you what: it looks awesome when you're wearing it in a darkened lounge where there's Ultra Violet lighting. It just can't go un-noticed as it glows in the dark!
If you'd like to add this set to your Sherman collection, I am currently offering it at a 15% discount. You can see more photos and purchase it through my SHOP at RUBY LANE or directly through my site at SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE. That discount is good only until June 30, 2008. And by the way, I also have a lovely 2-row bracelet with Uranium glass stones that would go beautifully with this set. You'll find it on the BRACELET page of my site.
PLEASE NOTE: Since this post appeared, the Uranium Glass Bracelet mentioned above has been SOLD. That collector of Sherman knew a good buy when she found it!
