A Photo Worth 1000 Likes

As I continue to work on improving my social media standing after a brief hiatus, I look back on what worked for me in the past with a photo that got 1000 likes in 24 hours. Repeating my successes is important but for this post I look at what I can learn from my past, understand a little better how Instagram works and of course review some basic metrics.

In a previous post I talked about a post that ‘trended’ on Instagram and got me to 1000 followers. Trended for this post means it made the explore page and was found organically. I have had posts that have resonated well with my followers but do not always make … Read the rest

Skinner Fall 2017 Fine Jewelry Analysis: The Emerald Outlier

Skinner Fall 2017 Fine Jewelry Analysis: The Emerald Outlier

Week one is done of my auctions schedule. I know I was excited to see the results from the week. There were plenty of ways to look at the data from the Skinner Auction and I confess I took a bit longer trying to see what the best story to tell would be. So, after different ways of dissecting the results I am structuring the article to focus first on the mean (average), median (the middle value of the data) and the mode (the number that is repeated most often) with the % breakdown of the types of items sold vs unsold. Then look at our predictions from the last article and finally the stand out piece in the auction.… Read the rest

What to look for at the Auctions: September 18th 2017

Well the fall auction season has begun! I spent my Sunday checking out the Skinner lots in Boston. If you were in New York you could head over to Bonhams to look what they were offering. For this post, I am highlighting a few pieces to watch for the auction tomorrow. Then later in the week I will do a more in-depth analysis of how the auction did overall. I will start with Skinner since I got to see the pieces first hand.

Skinner Auction

There were plenty of opals, diamonds and colored gems to grab your attention but for me I am interested in the less flashy items. I am going to be watching the Georg Jensen items like … Read the rest

Skinner Fine Jewelry Auction: June 2017 Analysis

Back for part two of my analysis of the Skinner Fine Jewelry Auction of June 2017. If you missed my highlights from the Susan Freeman collection that was a part of the June fine jewelry auction, click here.

The results are in! This article will look at how Freeman’s collection of % sold did against the other items in the Skinner auction for this year and last year. Then I will look at what the regular items did by category and see the bottom 6 and top 6 of the auction.

This year versus last year

In my last analysis, we saw that the lots sold were 68% and unsold were 32 % for the Freeman collection. Below a … Read the rest

Susan Freeman Collection at Skinner Auction House

When you travel what items do you buy as souvenirs for yourself? Do you buy any jewelry from your destination? Skinner Auction House in Boston Massachusetts hosted a small sampling of a traveler whose taste veered towards the Arts and Crafts and high-end costume jewelry that went up for sale today. Susan Freeman, a jewelry designer and collector based in New York had 37 items in the June Fine Jewelry sale at Skinner.

I will look at some highlights from Susan Freeman’s collection (to see full collection at Skinner click here) and then look at the results for her collection.

Highlights

For me the top item I wanted to see was the praying mantis brooch by Marcel Boucher. I … Read the rest

Spotting David Webb Jewels at Christie’s June Auction

This month wraps up the summer auctions for fine jewelry in New York and Boston. As I was looking through the auction catalogs I saw a necklace in the sale of Christie’s jewels that had me take a second look at the description and mark it as a must see when I came to the auction house this past weekend. It was a beautiful multi- colored sapphire necklace. Shown below:

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What had me take a second look was the designer…

Sapphire_necklace_description

That’s right, David Webb. The same David Webb whose other jewels in the same auction look like this:

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No date is given, so it might have been a special commission. Either way I wanted to get a look at the … Read the rest

Emeralds at Auction

May is almost over and there are only a few more major auctions before summer is here. So before May ends I want to look at the emeralds that went on auction in the 2015-2016 season. Emeralds are the birthstone for May but they are also the stones for celebrating a 20th or 35th anniversary.  The interesting meaning behind emeralds is that they are called the ‘Stone of Successful Love’. ‘Emerald promotes friendship, balance between partners, and is particularly known for providing domestic bliss, contentment and loyalty. It was dedicated in the ancient world to the goddess Venus for its ability to insure security in love’.(CrystalVaults)

I will look at 4 auction houses: Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Bonhams, and Skinner. … Read the rest

Hearts on Auction

In honor of Valentine’s Day I have put together a few heart shaped jewelry items that were on the auction block. I am looking at items sold by Skinner Auction House in Boston, Sotheby’s, and Christies. All of them are beautiful, a few have some interesting history and one has created a scandal that will put it back in the auction house once again!

 

Skinner Auction House:

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An 18kt Gold, Ruby, and Diamond Pendant sold in 2015 at the Fine Jewelry Auction for $1,230.

 

Skinner_121_12_2015_1An Antique 14kt Gold and Pink Tourmaline Necklace sold in 2015 at the Fine Jewelry Auction for $9,840.

Skinner diamond blog

Important Diamond sold in 2015 at the Fine Jewelry Auction for $3,947,000.

Note: I saw this … Read the rest

4 Auctions, 2 Days: My Journey to see a Duchess, a Southern Belle, a Clown and a Woman whose Style is Her Signature

It’s no secret by now when I say that I love jewelry! One aspect of jewelry I really love is the history and craftsmanship that even the smallest piece can have. These qualities can be found in modern jewelry or vintage jewelry. Going into a store and appreciating the work and design is a pastime of mine. Unfortunately, a little guilt can come when going in too often and not buying. A great alternative for me is attending auction previews.  I’ve been to several in New York and Boston over the years. This December was no exception.  The auction houses that I attend were having their previews around the same time so I made a day trip to see three … Read the rest