A fun portion of my trip to California was spent antiquing. We went to two areas–Solana Beach and Ocean Beach, both near San Diego, both totally different. Solana Beach was sort of in an upscale area, while Ocean Beach was right on the ocean and had more of a surfer-dude vibe. It is interesting to compare the two after spending a day antiquing in each. I thought I would be able to find more jewelry in Solana Beach than Ocean Beach–but I was wrong!
Solana Beach has its own “Design District” full of amazing shops and boutiques. In Solana, we focused mainly on one large antique place since time was limited. It is called the Antique Warehouse, known to have over 101 vendors inside. The amount of items was overwhelming, but in a good way. They have about ten large glass cases full of fine, antique jewelry. At the time, nothing jumped out at me and items that I did sort of like were priced higher than I was willing to spend. I always make sure not to buy for the sake of buying when it comes to jewelry–I have to REALLY like something before I purchase. That is the biggest tip I have when it comes to antiquing.
After looking for a whole solid hour, I went back to this velvet jewelry box from the ’70s that I thought was so amazing. I like the color and especially the golden puma on top. I loved that the bottom had “Made in Italy” in gold written, which sealed the deal for me. My grandparents would be proud.
Antique Warehouse
212 South Cedros Avenue
Solana Beach, CA 92075
The final antique trip was made to Ocean Beach a few hours before my plane was set to leave. At this point I had not purchased any jewelry yet! Newport Avenue is full of antique shops and neat places to grab a bite to eat. We started with several shops, and left disappointed at each one. My departure was quickly approaching, but we were told that Empire Enterprises had “a lot” of estate and antique jewelry.
And wow, did we hit the motherload! I was in heaven and it was nice to find out that this place had been owned for over 30 years by the same people who enjoy buying and selling items people don’t want anymore. The neatest thing was something I spotted and had to ask about. It was a large treasure chest full of rings–just piles of them, about 200 I’m guessing. If a customer would like, they can go to town looking through the entire treasure chest and “treasure hunt” themselves. Each item in the chest was priced incredibly well. It took me about 15 minutes to go through all 200 rings, but I came out with three that I love.
[10k white gold onyx ring
14k yellow gold, filigree rhodolite garnet solitaire ring
18k yellow gold curved diamond band]
Empire Enterprises Antiques
4926 Newport Avenue
San Diego, CA 92107
alisha October 19, 2009 at 4:08 pm:
the two rings you got that I hadn’t seen yet are like the ones on the previous post creepy!
San Diego jewelers October 19, 2009 at 7:10 pm:
I am from San Diego and didn’t know that Ocean Beach was such a good place to go for unique jewelry finds so I’m glad you shared π I like that you were able to go treasure hunting for your rings, I might have to go there and do the same. Thanks for the store recs
Alex
San Diego Jewelers
Paris Hotel Boutique October 20, 2009 at 12:52 am:
I love Solana Beach and Ocean Beach. Great antiquing! Looks like you found some great treasures! Lynn
Stephanie October 20, 2009 at 1:53 am:
Those rings are so pretty, you’ve inspired me to want to go antiquing!
Leanna October 20, 2009 at 1:54 am:
that jewelry box is neat and unexpected
gemgossip October 20, 2009 at 2:01 am:
Thanks Alex, I’m glad you stopped by and learned something new! I love San Diego it is always hard to leave when I visit. Will definitely check out Jessops website.
gemgossip October 20, 2009 at 2:02 am:
I know I said that in the post…come in my room and look at them, haha
gemgossip October 20, 2009 at 2:03 am:
Thanks Lynn! Glad you checked it out, I saw your post about your antiquing trip, I gotta check out Northern Cali next time!!
how many toys does a child get October 20, 2009 at 9:52 am:
[…] Antique & Treasure Hunting in Southern California Β« Jewelry Blog … […]
Alice Devon April 27, 2010 at 10:55 pm:
Treasure hunting is really a great experience. You get to know what true art is with every piece that you see.
Alice Devon
Antique Jewelry
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