As a collecting community, there’s no one that celebrates with each other more than Joy of Joy’s Tiny Treasures. She cheers you on when you add a new piece to your personal collection and she kindly roots for you when you make a sale. There’s no one that understands holy grail pieces like her! Joy recently pulled a move I’ve been doing recently, which is selling off several smaller pieces to acquire one huge/amazing/insane piece. This is such a smart thing to do for a collector, especially once you’ve been collecting for quite some time. Those pieces you once thought were unattainable are now just 10-20 sales away. Think about that the next time you buy!
Anyway, after her latest acquisition of a stunning 5.37 carat Old Mine cut solitaire, I knew she HAD to sit down with us and reveal more from her personal collection — hope you enjoy!
“I’ve loved & collected jewelry for as long as I can imagine. My first jewelry memory was at my Grandma’s house–I must have been about 3 or 4. I was an extremely picky eater…the only way my family could get me to eat was to put out a treasure trove of my gram’s costume jewelry. While I was distracted by the sparkles, they would feed me a bite!
My collection was initially formed by family giving me jewelry. I have vivid memories of my mom and I having “swap nights” where we would sit on her bed and trade jewels. I’m sure I made out much better than her on every occasion. 🙂
As I got a little older, I loved making my own jewelry from beads and making friendship bracelets too. Once I began to work, I could afford to buy some of my own jewelry. My favorite piece that literally never leaves my hand is a purchase I made at about age 20. It’s a simple silver ring I wear on my thumb. It cost me maybe $12 and has been on my entire life’s journey with me.”
“My favorite motifs come from the Art Nouveau era. I absolutely adore the scrolls and designs. Oftentimes I seem to gravitate to French Art Nouveau. Some of the rich buttery gold and enamel works are simply breathtaking. The subjects of ladies and nature speak to my soul.
I also have a weakness for Georgian and Victorian jewelry as well. Another passion of mine are portrait miniatures.
To have the opportunity to handle and care take for some of these jewels that look as though they are straight out of a limning has been such a mind blowing experience. Holding history for sure!
Another favorite era of mine is Art Deco. Who can resist the bold shapes, colors and lines that are so appealing. Wearable works of art!”
“Jewelry has become my passion mainly for sentimental reasons. I can’t think of anything tangible that can bring you back more to a particular moment than jewels that have been handed down within families.
Everything changed for me when I had the idea of making jewelry my dream job when I was pregnant with my daughter almost fifteen years ago. I had received a mother/baby blue agate machine-crafted cameo as a gift from my parents. I immediately became infatuated and obsessed. I taught myself everything I could learn about cameos: their history, the types of shells and other mediums that were used for carving, how to date them, etc. I realized so many were more than just a “face/profile”. Some had mythological influence. I was completely under their spell! I got my hands on as many as I could and read every book I could find.
When my personal collection became “too large” I decided open a shop on Ruby Lane as a way to par down a bit. I had no idea how HOT cameos were in the jewelry market. My shop attracted collectors from all over the world. I made so many wonderful contacts and friends who also were enamored by these wearable works of art. I enjoyed every aspect..hunting down the pieces… photographing them… and placing them in happy homes.
Much to my delight, I was asked to write some articles for Ruby Lane on collecting and care of cameos which I enjoyed immensely. My cameo collecting, as I mentioned, branched out into portrait miniatures, and through portrait miniatures into the jewelry that the ladies of that time wore in the portraits.
The rest, as they say, is history. Here I am now 14 years later using Instagram as my main venue, placing all sorts of jewels in the hands of new caretakers. So besides my own personal mantra “I’m a collector at heart,” knowing I am finding caretakers that truly love and appreciate these jewels as much as I do is a real passion. I absolutely adore every aspect of what I do.”
“I love to find my jewels all over…local antique shops, when traveling. However, my FAVORITE place for my own personal collection is definitely through the many amazing sellers I’ve met on Instagram. It has opened up a vast opportunity to scour the world just by visiting my favorite friends/sellers pages and shops.”
“My Grandmother’s high school ring has a neat story…not really my story to tell, however I’m sure every collector and sentimental jewelry lover can relate to a missing piece of jewelry. I had to be about 8 or 9…my parents had been raking leaves all day. My mom was the current caretaker of my gram’s 1940 High School ring.
At the end of a long day of yard work, my mom discovered the ring was not on her hand. My parents headed out to the garage and opened bag after bag of leaves. Thankfully, they found the ring! This ring is now mine and is such a treasured piece in my collection.
I’ve also had a couple pieces of jewelry that were ones that “got away.” I missed out on purchasing them and was, by miracle, able to get a second chance at adopting them. These are among my #rideordie rings that I’ll never part with and have such a soul connection.”
