Bead Dreams 2009 finalist!

 
Again WoooHooooooo!

On April, 23rd I received a notification from B&B that my Christmas Eve Necklace made the final of Bead Dreams 2009 and will be exhibited at the Bead&Button Show that will take place on May 31 - June 7, Midwest Airlines Center, Milwaukee, WI.

This year in addition to the Bead Dreams and Convergence exhibition there will be two displays displays from Japan. The first one is an exhibit of 10-to-15 top award-winning pieces from the beadwork and jewelry contest held at the Hakone Open-Air Museum. The exhibit will include pieces that have won Awards of Encouragement.

Moreover, TOHO Beads and TOHO distributors are exhibiting a portion of the "Treasures of TOHO Emerging Artist Competition." The contest aims to cultivate new artists who produce artistic designs using TOHO beads. This is the first time a portion of the "Treasures of TOHO" will be showcased at the Bead&Button Show.

Don't miss Bead&Button Show, the largest jewelry and bead show in the world!

IS SHERMAN CRAZE CREATING GREEDY SELLERS or IMPULSIVE BUYERS on EBAY?

Okay, shoot me down if you like but I'm getting ticked off with what's happening with Sherman. Has everyone gone mad? In my last blog, I was incredulous seeing that gorgeous purple/pink cuff bracelet go for $2700 when the seller was asking $3500. I suppose the buyer figured they got a good deal. $2700! Let me think what I could buy with $2700? A used car? A vacation? A cruise? Groceries for our family of 4 for the next 9 weeks? I don't know about you but for me, that's a horrific amount of money for, well, what is essentially, second-hand jewelry that isn't even real gemstones! Oh I can hear the collectors and sellers groaning. I'm sorry but hey, this is my blog and I can think and say what I like. I just see it getting harder and harder to buy Sherman that I can afford and that those who buy from me can afford. So what's that got to do with the cuff bracelet shown above? Oh, that's another one that sold on eBay recently. This one went to auction ie.. not a "buy it now". Bidding started at 99 cents. There were 10 bidders. The winner paid won it for a mere $2485 USD. Ay yay yay!

Well if you're still in the market for a cuff bracelet and figures like that don't send you into a spin, here's one going on eBay now. Click the photo to go directly to the auction. It ends on May 4th. What's interesting with this one is the seller originally listed it with a BIN of over $3000. I guess he was excited after seeing what those others went for. But he's taken his asking price down now. You can BUY IT NOW if you like for only $1999.00 USD. Great price if you consider what the others went for. But wait! He wants offers. He's had two but he hasn't accepted them. So what does he want? It's very pretty and comes with matching earrings that aren't signed but look a good match. It's not the most in demand color, but it is the desired width i.e
1 1/2". So what's the problem? Well, according to his description, there's a stone missing. The safety chain is also missing. Maybe that's why the offers aren't what he'd like. Collectors don't like missing parts in their Shermans. It's not easy to replace vintage stones i.e to find the right color and shape to fit the space. And yes, you can get another safety chain. More money out to pay for repairs.

All of which brings me back to the headline for this blog: what is happening here? I almost feel like there's some kind of craze going on with Shermans, and it's creating greed: greed in the sellers asking super high prices and buyers fearful of missing out, are paying more and more. As a result, prices are being inflated. I see many lovely pieces on eBay being offered as Buy It Now's and also not selling because the seller's price is just too high. Or the reserve is too high.

I, for one, am feeling this is getting out of control. I, for two, am baulking at paying prices like this for Sherman or any designer vintage jewelry. Oh sure, there are those who can and always will be able to afford this kind of extravagance. But I'm not one of them. If this Sherman blog disappears in the future, you'll know why: I simply got tired of paying too much for my Shermans and then not being able to re-coup that investment when it came time to sell it. Until then though, those who are looking for affordable Sherman jewellery, know where to find me. I've got some lovely new pieces in OUR RUBY LANE SHOP now and also in my SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE. We're running a Mother's Day Sale in the Ruby Lane shop and some of the Shermans are marked down to almost what I paid. Slip over and take a look...and pick up a real bargain! In the meantime, I'll save that $2000 or $3000 for my next holiday!

SHERMAN JEWELRY: TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY?

I never cease to be amazed both by what buyers will pay for Sherman jewelry, and conversely, what sellers think they should get for Sherman jewelry. Sometimes the two are miles apart!

Take that magnificent cuff bracelet shown here. This one was listed as a "BUY IT NOW or Make and Offer"on Ebay for $3500. To my shock, it sold less than 2 days to that buyer who's buying up all the rare Shermans on ebay for an offer of $2700. Now granted, if you have no holds on your budget, I guess you can spend that much on one piece of Sherman and yes, Sherman cuff bracelets are the be all and end all for savvy investors in Sherman. But gee, $2700?! I'd baulk at paying that for a 22k gold 2 carat diamond necklace! Come to think of it, I could probably buy that fine jewelry for less!

Getting prices like this for Sherman, on ebay yet, is unquestionably pushing the prices of Sherman higher and higher. Honestly, Sherman should be spelled $herman these days! I can't help but wonder if what's happening here could possibly go the way Oil and other things went last year i.e. it caused a balloon and suddenly it burst. Personally, I'd be rather cautious of possibly paying too much. "What goes up, must come down" as the song says.

But now, to return to my opening statements i.e. what buyers will pay and what sellers ask can be miles apart. Take this example: shown on the left is one very lovely Sherman set that failed to sell on ebay last week. It's gorgeous. What happened?

I thought it was exquisite: beautiful, unique design; a 3-piece parure yet and the bidding got to $271 USD and stopped dead. The seller had a reserve on it, which does often stop buyers. But I think buyers only stop if they can't see paying more for the piece than the most they feel it's worth. It's just like selling a house: you might think it's worth far more than the market does. So it sits there forever with the vendor sticking to his price and no-one buying. This sure can happen with Sherman too. I've watched one on ebay that I've mentioned elsewhere in this blog. It's been listed 3 times now and hasn't sold yet. It's lovely; the colours are desirable; the design is different and the condition superb. Why hasn't anyone bought it yet? Obviously what the seller thinks it's worth and what the buyer is prepared to pay are miles apart.

So, of course, as both a buyer and a seller, I'm always battling the dilemma of "to buy or not to buy". If I come across a piece that I know is a steal, I don't hesitate. But when the dollar is way up there, I have to weigh up that decision pretty carefully. If I spend $250 buying a piece of Sherman, will someone else pay me more ... or heaven forbid ... less when it's time to sell it? I often waffle back and forth, looking at piece, reading the description over and over if it's online, and being so hesitant to make the decision that I've walked away more often than I've bought. Actually when I think of it, that's a bit for a rule for me: if I take 48 hours to decide and still can't decide, I walk away.

I'm the same with buying a dress: if there's something that just isn't making me feel "I've got to have this", I walk away. Most of the time, I'm glad I made that decision. But it's different with a dress or anything you can buy in a retail outlet where you can try it on, touch it, turn it and see if it feels right all the way. Buying online can be very difficult. All you have is photos and a description and the hope that the seller is being honest and accurate. And unfortunately, not many sellers are honest and accurate about what they're selling.

Well time to wrap this up but not without quoting what one of my regular Sherman buyers once wrote to me. She said the reasons she buys so much Sherman from me are:

1) fabulously good photos showing all sides of the item 2) my willingness to disclose the exact condition of the item even if it's not the best ie. wear to the plate backing, damaged or cloudy stones, accurate details re lengths etc 3) my prices are in line with the desirability of the piece ie. rare or common color? signed or not signed? excellent or mediocre condition; single piece, demi or parure?

All of those factors are important when buying Sherman or any designer vintage jewelry, especially if you're buying online. She who hesitates too long might lose out but conversely, jumping in when you're not sure isn't wise either. The adage is true: asking questions is a sign of intelligence. So ask questions, clarify details, and make sure the item is within your budget before you invest in your next piece of Sherman.

We are always adding "new" affordable Shermans to our shelves in OUR SHOP AT RUBY LANE, and our site at SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE. So bookmark those sites and check them often. Coming to our shop soon ... the gorgeous set shown below in citrine and topaz!

THINK BEFORE YOU LEAP! CONSIDER BEFORE YOU SPEAK.

This blog is a departure from my usual. I'm not going to talk about Sherman jewelry tonight. I'm going to write about something far more personal. I'm doing this as a way of apologizing to someone I care about. I'm doing it to make myself feel better, though I'm not sure that'll work. But here goes anyway.

Have you ever said anything you really regretted saying, especially when someone was hurt by your words? Of course you have. We all do it, and sometimes we do it to those we love and value the most, don't we. There's truth in that song that went "you always hurt the one you love".

Well when you write a blog, it's even worse if you say something that ends up hurting someone because now it's in print and everyone can read it. And that's what happened to me last night. I wrote a piece in this blog about how hard it can be to make the decision to buy. Some folks decide quickly. Others take time. Some agonize over a decision. Others leap and think later. Leap and think later ... that's what I did and in the process I hurt someone dear to me with my words.

You might have seen that piece. Maybe you read it. Maybe you thought I was talking about you as it's an experience many would identify with. To make my point about how you can take too long deciding to buy, I used a recent experience with a customer. That customer read the blog and took offense. And so I hurt someone I really care about.

I deleted that post, but I cannot delete the damage that's been done to a friendship I value. Can it be repaired? That's not for me to decide. But I do want to say that if you, like me, write a blog, please think before you leap. Consider the consequences of your words. So often I've read we need to be careful about what we say online. Well I've just learned the hard way how true that is. I also know that the word "sorry" is hopelessly inadequate when you hurt someone.

My friend thought I made her look stupid. No, dear friend. The only one looking ... and feeling very stupid here is me.

A SHERMAN BRACELET TO DIE FOR! SOLD FOR $1257 US on EBAY!

Sorry I haven't been around lately. The March Madness sale in our SHOP AT RUBY LANE was super busy and some of our customers got some great deals on all our jewelry, including our Shermans. It was truly a case of "first in, best dressed"! Now I'm busy re-building my stock of Shermans. I've got some lovely pieces to tell you about but I'll save those for another post because right now, I want to tell you about the incredible bracelet on auction right now on Ebay and shown in the photo above.

Mind you, by the time you read this, that auction will be over and I'm going to make a guess that the bidding will exceed $700 USD for this one. Even now as I write, with 2 hours to go, it's already over $500. Who will be the lucky winner? At a guess, it'll be that buyer who's been buying up all the Shermans on ebay. Her bid is currently the high one: surprise, surprise ... NOT!

In the event that you stumble across this post in a month or two when the auction is no longer showing on ebay, here's the ID number for that auction: 360142850200 You'll be able to locate it for a while. In the meantime, let's talk about why this bracelet is one "to die for".


The first thing that should jump at you is the gorgeous design: pure artistry. This features a gorgeous array of various shaped stones. Now look at the symmetry! As for color, the stones apparently are a combination of purple, clear, bronze, gold and clear. And then there's the other rare factor: the width of the bracelet: it's a little over 2 1/2" wide! Now that's a wide Sherman bracelet! Do you know how hard it is to get Sherman bracelets of that width, let alone one with this fabulous design? That's what makes this bracelet one to die for!

Unfortunately, I can't afford to die for it. Way beyond my budget but I'll happily watch someone else win it. I'll let you know in my next post (which will be about some of the Sherman bracelets I've got for sale and that we ordinary folk can afford) what this one went for. The photo below shows how it looks on a wrist. Too bad it'll never be on mine. But if you have the good luck to come across a Sherman bracelet like this one at a great price, and I have seen others like this, then grab it. This is a collector's piece all the way! And yes, it's signed "Sherman"




LATE BREAKING NEWS ON THIS AUCTION:

I just checked. Boy was I off the mark. I thought it would go for $750 or thereabouts. Well, as you can see from the headline, it went for $1257 USD! And that buyer who's been buying all the Shermans on ebay missed it by $7. Ouch! But can you believe it? That's more money than I can get for genuine gold, diamond and gemstone jewelry pieces. I don't think Gustave Sherman would have believed his "fabulous fakes" could be worth more than the real thing!

So is Sherman jewellery a wise investment? Come visit OUR SHOP AT RUBY LANE or our site at SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE and start collecting at reasonable prices!