This beautiful piece of costume jewelry is a CORO vintage Sapphire Flower brooch with enameled leaves and petals. It was made by this jewelry company in the mid 1960s and features a blue crystal at the tip of the stamina inside the flower blossom. I liked the design a little too immediately, and I confess now to buying the piece on aesthetics (but for a very low price...). It does however bear the mark of CORO on the rear and is therefore a signed piece which was my only mandate.
However, it did not sell on eBay, where it was listed in a seven day auction with very reasonable shipping fees priced at $9.99 as minimum bid.
The back story here is that I paid that Russian lady, Stanya, only $8.00 for the piece at The Sunday Market four days before... I know her husband through a
swimming pools installation company, long story, but yes I was hoping to 'flip this brooch' using the buy local / sell global principles, but it didn't work.
Social marketing? I was also hoping that through social marketing on the internet I could generate some interest in the artifact. I knew I was destined to write more on the subject - one more interesting blog post, or article about the experience of actually selling something for a profit on eBay... but it didn't happen this time.
AMOUNT INVESTED $8.00 + $2.00 eBay fees = $10
AMOUNT RECOVERED = $0Dotty Stringfield gave me more insight on the subject of which costume jewelry designers are the most sought after on eBay. CORO is too common (and nobody wears brooches anymore) so my first attempt was literally doomed to failure before it began... why didn't anyone tell me what I already knew? I blame it all on Stanya.
Now this from Dotty Stringfield's
costume jewelry research site:
Dumpdiggers,
Really good pieces from the following are always hot: Haskell (there is a lot of fake Haskell on ebay), Sherman, Har, Schiapparelli, Mazer, Trifari, Schreiner, Boucher, Pennino, Chanel, Eisenberg. Figural pieces are also popular -- people dancing, etc.
Most of the costume jewelry companies made a wide range of jewelry, from the ordinary and forgettable to exquisite, high end pieces. Others simply stuck with making lower end pieces by the thousands. Just because a name is on the piece of jewelry, that doesn't make it a desired item. Design, rarity, company name, etc., all play into whether or not a piece will bring a high price.
:)Dotty
Thanks Dotty. I guess its time to start reading books on the subject? Wait... Am I really that interested? After I buy my next set of earrings, ring, necklace or bracelet, I'll buzz you again Dotty, and maybe you can give me some idea of the proper keywords I need to plug the items into eBay most effectively? For example, I didn't think to mention the enameled leaves and petals of this brooch until you pointed it out.
Anybody want a CORO vintage 1960's Sapphire Flower brooch? I'll give it up to anyone who asks nicely in the comment box (and pays shipping?).
Lauren Finch recently emailed Dumpdiggers some kind of praise to compliment the overall caliber of writing and high quality appearance of this blogspot. Turns out she's the Public Relations Manager of the Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc and she would like everyone in North America to know about the next Merchandise Mart International Antiques Fair™ which features more than a hundred antiques dealers in a wide range of categories, including: 20th Century Design, 
Folk Art, Furniture, Glass, Jewelry, Paintings, Posters, Prints, Maps, Sculpture, Silver, Textiles and Tribal Art. 
From what I understand the Merchandise Mart is a huge historic building in downtown Chicago that's absolutely stuffed full of 'sets' that have been built by top designers to show antiques blending into everyday decor. This is meant to show sophisticated consumers how to best incorporate antiques & collectibles into their lives. The stuffy living room set pictured here looks like something from the Munster's... So this is an example of ornate furnishings blending into a genteel decor.
