YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO BID ON THESE SHERMANS ON EBAY

If you hurry, you still have time to bid on these Sherman pieces ending tonight on Ebay. Pictured at the top is a superb deep topaz Swarovski crystal glass bead set, all signed, consisting of 2-row necklace and matching earrings. Bidding starts at $125 and right now there are 12 people watching this one but no-one has yet opened the bidding. Of course, they're all either just other sellers waiting to see what happens ... I do that all the time LOL ... or they are actually buyers hoping to snare a lovely Sherman set at a low dollar by waiting till the last minute. Such fun!

The same vendor is offering the delightful Aurora Borealis, very traditional, glass crystal earrings above. Since she offers combined shipping, this is a good chance to get a couple of pieces for one shipping cost. Bidding has opened on this signed set at $24.95 and there are 9 watchers. Will it go any higher? Who knows! She also has another set of signed Sherman earrings on auction. These are the baguette style, 1" high clip-ons shown below in soft topaz. Bidding starts at $19.95. Several watchers just waiting to grab this set for $19.95. A good deal if they do!



So hurry up and save! With combined shipping thrown in, you're well ahead on adding some nice Shermans to your collection. Good luck!

RARE HONEY BEE PIN by SHERMAN FETCHES HUGE DOLLAR ON EBAY

Those who collect Sherman or other famous vintage jewelry designers know that when it comes to "investing" in Sherman and not just "buying" Sherman because you like it, that there's a big difference in what to look for and what you will pay when you find it. Take the honey bee pin shown on the right. It's a Sherman .. no I didn't know he made pins like this either ... and this rare pin recently sold on ebay for $1250. The members of our costume jewelry group were floored. No doubt the vendor was in 7th heaven, especially if he or she picked it up at a yard sale for pennies. Yes, sometimes vendors get lucky and come across a treasure in a box of trash. Not that that happened here. I know nothing about the history of this piece but I thought my readers might like to know what to look for when they're "investing" in Sherman.

As you know if you've been following this blog, I've decided to get out of designer vintage costume jewelry and have been selling off my costume jewelry at cost. I still have some left and invite you to visit my SHOP AT RUBY LANE. I have some Shermans left, along with Alice Caviness, Schiaparelli, Juliana, Kramer, Weiss and others. No reasonable offer will be refused. As long as I cover my cost on the piece, it's yours. So please don't hesitate to make an offer. Several have already taken advantage of my "clearance", including vendors. It's amusing ... almost ... sob ... to see them listing the pieces they purchased from me at a higher price than they paid me and already getting sales on them. But that's the merry-go-round of selling.

On that note, don't be surprised if my postings in this blog become increasingly less frequent. If I'm not selling Sherman any longer, it's pointless to keep two blogs going (my other one is HERE) and it covers both vintage costume and fine jewelry. So if I have something to share with you re Shermans, you'll find it there.

And as I sign off, I have noticed a few interesting pieces at auction on ebay right now that you should consider bidding on for their style and color combinations. You find them at these links:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Sherman-PINK-DOVE-GREY-7-CLUSTER-BRACELET-NR_W0QQitemZ310159668262QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Costume_Jewelry?hash=item4836f4f426&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

and http://cgi.ebay.ca/Sherman-PINK-DOVE-GREY-CLUSTER-NECKLACE-EARRING-SET_W0QQitemZ310159666157QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Costume_Jewelry?hash=item4836f4ebed&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

These obviously go together but the vendor has separated them. You can thank me for the plug later Harry LOL!

This one is also a beauty: http://cgi.ebay.ca/Signed-Sherman-Purple-Pink-Necklace-Earrings_W0QQitemZ150363552251QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Costume_Jewelry?hash=item23025db9fb&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 There's a reserve on it but certainly worth having a shot at.

New collectors might like to bid on this Sherman lot: http://cgi.ebay.ca/LOT-VINATAGE-SHERMAN-JEWELRY-NECKLACE-BROOCH-EARRINGS_W0QQitemZ330348788762QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Costume_Jewelry?hash=item4cea527c1a&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 Great way to start your Sherman collection.

Gee, I really must ask myself why I do this ie. why am I advertising for others? In business, you pay people to advertise for you. Hmmm... maybe I should think about charging for this LOL!

IT MAY BE "ARTISTIC" BUT IS IT REALLY A SHERMAN?

The heading on a recently ended eBay auction for the lovely set shown above read as follows:

DAZZLING HUGE GREEN SHERMAN ARTISTIC NECKLACE EARRINGS

With the word "Sherman" in the title, of course I took a look as I'm sure so did many others. The seller used words like "breathtaking", "fabulous", "unique" to describe the set, and certainly, it's very lovely. But it had only one bid and sold for $65. Why?

My guess is that those who know, buy, collect and sell Sherman doubted it was a Sherman, despite that headline. Even more, they doubted what the seller said about this piece:

I HAVE HEARD A RUMOUR THAT THE "ARTISTIC" COMPANY WAS ANOTHER COMPANY THAT GUSTAV SHERMAN STARTED

THE QUALITY OF THIS SET IS JUST AS GOOD AS SHERMAN

Well maybe the quality is as good as Sherman, but I, for one, have never heard that rumour. Have any of my readers? I've gone through all the vintage jewelry books on my shelf, including Valerie Hammond's "All that Glitters" and the latest "Sherman Jewellery: the Masterpiece Collection" by Sandra Caldwell and Evelyn Yallen and can find no reference to a company called "Artistic" or even an allusion to Sherman having started another company under that name. Can anyone shed any light on this? I wonder who started such a rumor?

My point is this: from the viewpoint of someone who's new to Sherman, how easy is it for them to fall victim to this kind of advertising? If it's not a Sherman, and I don't think it is, what of the buyer who's congratulating herself on snagging a gorgeous "Sherman" for such a low price? She then happily wears it believing it's a valuable Sherman and then one day decides to sell it herself and tells everyone interested it's a Sherman, unless someone clues her in first.

This kind of thing happens all the time, especially on eBay. The most abused is the Juliana line by DeLizza & Elster. Because no Julianas were signed, sellers are taking many lovely unsigned pieces, advertising and selling them as "Juliana". Again, it all comes back to the buyer needing to educate him or herself about vintage designer jewelry: learning what to look for, what makes one piece a Sherman, another a Juliana, another a Haskell, and another an "Artistic".

Most likely, there is a company called "Artistic" somewhere out there but where and when did they produce and where can one find more pieces by them? If any of you know, please leave a comment on this blog. In the meantime, if you're buying Sherman, even if it's artistic and likened to Sherman, don't assume it is a Sherman. Buy it because you like it. Buy it as a example of lovely vintage jewelry. But while it may be artistic, is it a Sherman?

You know where you can be sure you're getting authentic Sherman Jewellery? From SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE and OUR SHOP AT RUBY LANE. It's artistic all right but more importantly, it really is SHERMAN!