YOU KNOW IT'S GLITTER SEASON WHEN YOU SEE ALL THOSE SHERMANS LISTED ON EBAY!

Haven't had much to write about lately ... or rather, too busy with other things. But today I thought I'd slip over to Ebay to see what's going on there and wow...what a change from a month or two back. The Sherman listings have doubled! And there's only one explanation: Glitter season is here. This is the time of year that all the costume jewelry sellers, including myself, come out to tempt us with their sparkling rhinestone and crystal necklaces, bracelets, earrings etc. And of course, that makes sense. Unless you move in circles where attending galas and fancy dress events happen all the time, most of us, at least here in Canada, don't doll up in all that glitzy stuff just to go grocery shopping!

So what have I seen that's worth your time if you're shopping for Sherman? Well THIS SIAM RED SET was one to go for but that auction's over. The vendor started it at $199 and got one bid. I guess someone hoped that was the reserve. No-one else even bothered, probably because being a Siam Red Sherman, we know the vendor would want more than than opening bid. Well it'll be interesting to see if he/she lists it again. My guess is it'll be a "Buy it Now" much like we sell our jewels and Shermans in our SHOP AT RUBY LANE ... and I have some beauties listed there right now for those who don't want to be forced to bid higher than they really want to. But more about my latest later.

Pity I can't post photos of the eBay pieces anymore. Once those auctions are over, the links disappear in a week or two so you won't even know what I was talking about. Oh well...

So here's another really pretty set from a guy who sells lots of Shermans on ebay. I keep wondering where he finds so many lovely pieces. This one is a NECKLACE AND EARRING SET in red clear crystals with siam red navette accents ... a super pretty set. The earrings are gorgeous long danglers, 2" long in fact. Unfortunately only the earrings are signed. But I'd have to agree with the vendor that the necklace and earrings are a set. However, since the necklace isn't signed, this might not go as high as it would otherwise. Could be a good buy for you if you don't mind an "unsigned" Sherman. Auction ends at 2:43 on November 16th. Bidding is at $169 right now.

Now the same vendor has a 3-PIECE PARURE listed that is unlike any I've seen by Sherman and it's absolutely gorgeous. You've just got to look at this set. It comes with necklace, bracelet and dangling earrings in a shade that looks like teal and the stones are primarily baguettes. It's just so different. Bidding is already at $188 with 4 days still to go. No surprise there. This one is a keeper. Both necklace and bracelet are signed. Earrings aren't.

Okay, that's enough telling you about other people's Shermans. Now I'd like to suggest you take a look at the one I just listed today in MY SHOP AT RUBY LANE. It too is very different and a real head turner:

When I attended the Christies Antique Show back in September, I came across a Sherman similar to this one and couldn't believe it was a Sherman. I'd never seen a Sherman like this. That pendant hanging from the set above, and in the one I saw at the show, was such a heavy cluster of Swarovski crystals and the glitter was fantastic. But it was the design that caught my attention. So very different. I didn't buy the one at the show as I had only so much cash on me and had my eye on a ring I'd seen in another booth. I later wondered if I should have purchased the Sherman instead of the ring! So, when I chanced on the one above elsewhere at a later date, I jumped on it. I thought it was the same one but it wasn't. However this one was just as exquisite. I thought it ironic that I should find two so similar Shermans in a short period of time after never seeing one like it before LOL! Anyway, if you haven't seen one like this, please just CLICK HERE NOW and go take a look at this fabulous Sherman set available from my Ruby Lane shop and you don't have to try to win it either!

I currently have a really nice assortment of Shermans in MY SHOP AT RUBY LANE that are just perfect for the glitter season and they are all reasonably priced. Apart from my FAUX ALEXANDRITE set mentioned in my previous post and which comes in an original Sherman box, my current favourite is this glorious necklace below:

What a work of art this one is! I swore off clear crystal Shermans a while back but hey, how can you pass up a spectacular necklace like this one? I had a customer over last night to look at some fine jewelry and after she'd tried on this and that ring, I showed her some of my Shermans. When she saw this one, she gasped! She wasn't familiar with Sherman and had never really tried on vintage costume jewelry. But she just had to put this one around her neck and look at it in the mirror. It was so funny watching her reaction, let alone her fiance who, typical male, said he just considered this kind of thing "junk jewelry". Yeah right! He nearly keeled over when my customer turned to him sweetly and said "Wouldn't this go great with my wedding dress!" How right she is! This Sherman would go well with a wedding dress, or any evening dress where classic designer jewelry by Sherman is the finishing touch. You can read all about it and see more photos of this necklace in MY SHOP AT RUBY LANE.

SHERMAN JEWELRY IS FETCHING HIGHER & HIGHER PRICES. ARE OURS TOO LOW??

Have you been watching any auctions for Sherman jewelry on ebay lately? I have. In fact, I desperately wanted the gorgeous bracelet shown below but it just went too high for me:

It has all the elements collectors are looking for: great color (lavender); wide (1 1/8" wide) and from the vendor's description, it's in "excellent condition". The winning bid was $357.52 USD.

The seller also had the matching stunning earrings shown on the left in a second auction finishing shortly after the first. The same bidder won both auctions and that, quite honestly, was a smart move as they obviously belong together. I think there was even a brooch in yet another auction but I don't know the outcome of that one and couldn't find it later. The earrings went for $75 USD.

So add it up and this bidder has paid $432.52 for what is now a "set". Is that a good price? I'd say the winner got a good deal for Sherman jewelry in this color and condition. But as you can see, it didn't come cheap.

Buying sets of Sherman jewelry is always a wise investment: they're simply worth more to collectors. These days, when I'm scrounging for Sherman, I'm always on the lookout for sets ie.. a buyer who wears her Sherman prefers a necklace to have matching earrings, or a brooch that comes with earrings. Sometimes people are new to buying Sherman, do as I did initially: they buy up a necklace here, a brooch there, earrings here, a bracelet there and end up with lots of nice individual pieces that have no mates. If you do that, then try to keep an eye out for matching pieces. Surprisingly, you can find them if you wait long enough. And it's actually fun and quite fulfilling when you do find a match.

But for the most part, while it's more expensive to buy sets, or better yet, 2-3 piece parures, it's always the better investment. This past week I've enjoyed sales on several pieces of Sherman from OUR SHOP AT RUBY LANE but most of those have been sets. Smart shoppers those! My pink grande parure from a couple of posts back is gone. So is my fabulous faux alexandrite Brooch/earring and bracelet set. The lovely emerald green and clear navette necklace/earring set has a sale pending too, along with a highy desirable fuschia baguette bracelet.

What is this saying about Sherman? It's still very much in demand. What's it saying about our prices for Sherman? That our prices are still very reasonable. What's should it be saying to you? Get over to our RUBY LANE SHOP now while we still have some good sets left at affordable prices, because quite frankly, with the dollars folks are paying on ebay, which is usually the cheapest place to buy Sherman, our prices are starting to look way too low! So get over to our shop now and grab yourself a bargain while you can. How about this gorgeous necklace/earring demi:

It's yours for only $295! What a bargain!

MULTI-COLORED SHERMAN PARURE IN HIGH DEMAND

Well, did you miss bidding on this beauty on ebay recently? I had put a watch on it and even entertained the thought of bidding. That was when it was sitting on around $200. Of course, I knew it wouldn't stop there. Sherman sets that have just 2 pieces are in demand. But when you get a Sherman set like this one, with all four pieces matching, in superb condition, and all signed, well you up the ante bigtime. Then when the set is one of the rare color combinations that everyone wants, the value goes up again. I'd read about the multi-colored Shermans being enormously popular and highly collectible but hadn't come across one ... until this one.

So I dreamed of winning it. Ha! Yeah right. The bidding was fierce. I bailed when it hit $700 and just sat back and watched. Final dollar for this set? $1636.00 US!! Well it was fun dreaming....

Next time one like this comes up for grabs, I'll try to let you know early so you can get in there and bid - if you can afford it! I can see that seller smiling from ear to ear right now :))

SURPRISE: THIS SHERMAN DIDN'T SELL FOR AS MUCH AS IT SHOULD HAVE!

In yesterday's blog, titled "THE MOST POPULAR SHERMAN COLORS", I told you about a fuschia Sherman set consisting of bracelet, brooch and earrings that was on auction on eBay. Well that auction just ended and much to my surprise, it didn't get the dollar I thought it would. After all, bidders on eBay have been almost going silly for fuschia or red Shermans in the last month or so, fetching not hundreds, but thousands of dollars.

So what happened? Why did this rather lovely set that I would have added to my collection go for only $212.49? (The winning bidder must be grinning from ear to ear!)
My guess is it had more to do with the time of day the auction ended ... 5:45 pm EST ... than it did with the set itself. That's close to dinner time for some of us while our neighbours on the west coast are still at work.

The other possibility is that this particular seller warned bidders that they'd have to pay taxes. For those of us in Ontario, that would add another 14% to the cost of the Sherman. Then add in shipping for another $13 - $15, and hey presto, that Sherman has become an expensive buy. And that's okay if you're only buying as a collector and money is no object: a set like this is well worth it. But it would stop those who buy to sell down the way. You see, like anything you hope to make money with, whether it's stocks or jewelry, you're always looking to buy low and sell high if you can.

In scouting around websites selling Shermans, I find the price range is extremely varied. Only a handful, like myself, have reasonable prices on Sherman, though I'm sure visitors to my SHERMAN JEWELLERY site who aren't familiar with how expensive Sherman Jewelry can be would probably find me expensive too. But let me tell you this: I've been floored by the prices I've seen charged not only on websites, but at heritage and antique shows. I went to one about a month back and well, I couldn't afford the Shermans I saw on display. I did purchase one set and
it's very lovely (pictured here ... click photo to see more views and read about it) but even it cost more than I wanted to pay. The rest, well forget it. In short, if you love Sherman jewelry and want to collect it or wear it, start saving now.