Do You Know How Many Colored Alloys Gold Comes In?

Ever since before the beginning of recorded time gold has been considered a valuable and highly sought after substance. People the world over have lived and died and spent their entire lives immersed in one way or another in all that glitters. Whether a financier in the hallowed halls of The City in London or a South African laborer chained by the ankle to a mining site, gold has held mankind captive and captivated since our earliest memories of humanity on earth. There are stories on stone tablets written in Cuniform, the language of the Sumerians telling about the precious metal and how it was sought out and used by our ancient ancestors of prehistory. I wouldn't mind owning this 294 troy ounce Alskan gold nugget. I wouldn't even mind being chained to it by the ankle or around the neck! That's 18 pounds of pure gold!

It's often been said that one ounce of gold can buy a good man's suit and whether back in the 1930's or today, this still holds true in our world economic structure. Let's face it, gold holds its value and is the all time haven for safe investment whether through the purchase of bullion coins, mining stocks or jewelry. I'm sure you most likely already know all of this and if you do and still don't own at least a little bit of gold in your portfolio or in your jewelry box you're either watching too many hours of The Real Housewives of Atlanta or from another planet! Take the quiz to see which "Real" Atlanta Housewife you are!

But how much do you really know about how gold is made? How does it get from 24 Karat pure gold to 10 Karat and did you know there are at least six different colors of gold jewelry? It's never too late to find something you like made from gold. The prices can go from ridiculous to the sublime for jewelry, but there's nothing like it when you hold it in your hand. The magic is always present. I never tire of having gold in one form or another near by. Boullion is my favorite but I'll take it in any form, any karat and any size, large or small!


I love to touch it and wear it and it makes me smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Here's a few tidbits about karat gold and gold alloys to wet your whistle and help you know more about what you are buying.

Gold is a precious metal that is very soft when pure (24 Kt.). Gold is the most malleable (hammerable) and ductile (able to be made into wire) metal. Gold can be applied to things in the form of gold leaf or bent and formed into anything you can think of! Gold is alloyed (mixed with other metals, usually silver and copper) to make it less expensive and harder, thus more durable. The purity of gold jewelry is measured in karats. Some countries hallmark gold with a three-digit number that indicates the parts per thousand of gold. This system works in the following manner:

"750" means 750/1000 gold (equal to 18K) or 18K gold contains 18 parts gold and 6 parts of another metal(s), making it 75% gold.

"575" means 575/1000 gold (equal to 12K) or 14K gold contains 14 parts gold and 10 parts of other metal, making it 58.3% gold.

"335" means 335/1000 gold (equal to 9/10K) or 10K gold contains 10 parts gold and 14 parts another metal(s), making it 41.7% gold. 10K gold is the minimum karat designation that can still be called gold in the US.

Alloyed gold comes in many colors:

• Yellow Gold = gold + 50% silver and 50% copper

• White Gold = gold + nickel, zinc, copper, tin and manganese or nowadays, the addition of palladium is added to make white gold. It's more expensive than nickle thus, white gold is usually higher priced in than the other colored golds used for jewelry.

• Pink (rose) Gold = gold + copper and silver. The more copper added the deeper and rosier the color.

• Green Gold = gold + high proportion of silver or cadmium

• Blue Gold = gold + iron

• Grey Gold = gold + 15-20% iron

Black Hills Gold Jewelry is a great example of mixed alloyed gold jewelry of different colors, usually yellow, rose and green gold all in one piece. Black Hills gold jewelry is a style of said to have first been created in the 1870's by a French goldsmith named Henri LeBeauold, who is said to have dreamed about the design after passing out from thirst and starvation. Black Hills gold jewelry depicts leaves, grape clusters and vines, and is made with a combination of green, rose, and yellow gold. The jewelry must be manufactured in the Black Hills of South Dakota in order to be called Black Hills Gold Jewelry. It's beautiful, fascinating and shows off some of the many colors.

See our website, Posh Adornment or our Posh Adornement Etsy Store for a great selection of gold and gold filled antique jewelry. We specialize in gold filled Victorian pieces, usually rose gold in color, and we often have solid gold pieces for sale to fulfill your fantasies and enrich your collection of fine jewelry.

A New Twist On The Wearin' O' The Green!

I was thinking about St. Patrick's day coming up and how festive a holiday it is. Such a fun time when I was younger and could still hold my liquor! And how everyone wears green and become Irish by osmosis for the day. Of course it's so much easier to become Irish when you're rubbin' shoulders with folks and your blood is thinner from the green beer.

These days, with 'green' being the new catch phrase for all things recycled, reborn, reinvented and reclaimed, I couldn't help thinking about a new twist on the wearin' O' the green! Nowadays we can wear 'green', wear GREEN and be green all at the same time! And if you're anything like me, having one drink does the trick when it comes to being green... :-) So, start celebrating early and scroll down for our new 'green' ideas.

Once upon a time, these beautiful earrings were antique clothing buttons or antique cuff links just sitting in a drawer discarded for lack of use. Since we at Posh Adornment hate to see things go to waste, especially beautiful things that no longer have use in today's fast paced, electronic world, we were inspired to convert them into wonderful, wearable earrings that can be displayed to their fullest glory once again. How unique and absolutely one of a kind! We have been going 'green' with these beautiful old buttons and cufflinks and recycling them for some time, giving them a new lease on life and selling them at our mall space. Now we've decided to make them available in our online stores. Our expert jeweler removes the original backing and attaches wires of sterling silver, 14K gold or gold fill. We have made the wires nice an long which balances the weight of the earrings and helps them hang just right on the ear. They look absolutely fabulous!

This week we're rolling out our first offers on these beauties and wanted to share them with you. You like? Let us know please, please. You can find these earrings for sale on our website Posh Adornment or in our Posh Adornment store on Etsy.

Art Deco GF 14K Gold Engraved Earrings

Antique Cut Steel Sterling Silver Earrings France




Lg Antique GF 14K Gold Portrait Earrings Goya

Victorian Art Nouveau GF 14K Gold Engraved Earrings

And if you're a little more traditional and like to WEAR the color green for St. Patrick's Day we've paired some of our gorgeous green jewels with a few other Etsy seller's and their gorgeous green frocks for a bright, cheerful look for spring that can't go wrong. Read on!

Art Deco Green Spun Satin Glass Czech Necklace

The Queen of Spring Party Dress
from violetfolklore on Etsy


Natural Emerald Marcasite Sterling Cocktail Cluster Ring
70s green mini dress
from dustyrosevintage on Etsy


Art Nouveau Green Slag Glass Filigree Drop Earrings
60s Tropical Print Sundress
from brycehill122 on Etsy


Art Deco Green Chrysoprase Glass Necklace Czech
Bright Green Sailboat Sundress
from alleycatsvintage on Etsy

I hope you like some of our ideas for going green this St. Patrick's Day and everyday this spring! Enjoy the day and stay safe.

The Bells Are Ringing...Is There a Wedding in Your Life This Year?

Are there wedding bells ringing for you or someone you know this year? Are you ready to tie the knot, get hitched, bite the dust and exclaim undying love and devotion forever for your sweetheart? If so, have you found that all important dress, chosen your flowers and caterer, decided upon a location and most important of all...decided on what jewelry you will wear? Are you in a quandry, not quite sure how your dream will unfold? If you haven't made all your plans yet and imminent panic has struck, have no fear! We at Posh Adornment have a great direction to point you toward! How about going VINTAGE or ANTIQUE?!

Not only will you be able to reuse and recycle freeing your conscience and saving your bank account, but best of all, you'll be able to take advantage of the most gorgeous dresses and jewelry available and much that is no longer made or made with the kind of quality and detail that they used in the 'good old days'. Now, I'm not suggesting a vintage or antique dress to help save the silk worms or reusing your aunt Josie's polyester flowers! But there are tons of ways to romanticize your wedding, save a little money if that's your thing...or not, get exactly the perfect dress that will make you feel like a princess and that perfect necklace to make you feel like a queen. Have a look at some of the fabulous antique and vintage dresses and jewelry I have featured here for some new ideas to add to your wedding brew! And while you're looking, remember the mother of the bride, the groom and of course your brides maid's gifts!

When I got married sometime just after the dinosaurs roamed I wore a beautiful antique Civil War wedding dress which I would love to show you but unfortunately our house was victim to a flood a few years ago and we lost many of our valuables and photos :-( so I can't show you my dress...but it looked something like this antebellum styled Oleg Cassini silk beauty featured on Etsy by Eclecticas. Wow, this one would even have fit me then! It was very romantic and my hair was swept up in a curly, whispy do! And best of all, I wore this fabulous sterling silver Art Deco marcasite necklace with matching earrings from Germany, studded with a fabulous genuine amethyst and I was fit to be a queen. The necklace was one of many pieces of amazing jewelry my husband (now my ex, but who knew then?) gave to me. At least he had great taste! (You gotta look on the bright side.)


What about one of these incredible dresses below for your special day? There's genuine antique and antique / vintage style. Etsy has a wealth of goodies and I didn't have to look very far to find these. I'm sure if you search the internet there are more, so have fun with it.

An elegant Vintage Wedding Dress featured by Little Town on Etsy.


Pair the stunning dress above with our fabulous antique, LOOOONG Edwardian Rock Crystal necklace and wrap it three times for a knockout look!

Do you prefer a simpler, more sedate or mo-dern look? This unusual Edwardian Great Gatsby antique linen dress offered by Neatcurios is stunning and a marvelous twist on the more decorative wedding dress, offering a lovely pallete for any jewelry you might want to add.

How about pairing that amazing Gatsby dress with this feminine Art Nouveau Pink Sapphire Glass Czech necklace?

Or... for a more contemporary look, visualize the Gatsby dress with this eye popping necklace of Large Natural Amethyst Royal Purple and Gold Beads? Just be careful when your eyes pop to keep track of where they might roll! :-)

Are you a die hard romantic whose gotta have lace, fantasy and the top dog most feminine antique dress around? If so look at these two amazing antiques. First, is the most divine and quintesential Victorian silk wedding dress replete with hand made lace and the perfect look! Offererd by fadedrosevintage.

Accessorize this outstanding dress with an outstanding piece of Victorian jewelry, our Victorian Porcelain Protrait Cameo Necklace a 2die4, great find from the mid 1800s.

And look at this remarkable, romantic Edwardian Gauze wedding dress offered by myfavoritevintage. Totally hand made and so cool for a hot summer wedding!

Wear that summery gauze dress with our stunning Edwardian Rock Crystal Necklace long and languid or doubled or try it with a deep heart throb red Antique Art Deco Natural Faceted Cherry Amber Necklace for a marvelous, different look!

And last but not least, for those of you wanting something intensely romantic and very different, here's a beautiful vintage Gone With The Wind inspired dress from ForeverClassique. Pair this with our Art Deco Topaz Vauxhall Glass Festoon Necklace for a smashing summer wedding look that will make all your friends envious!

For some it's about the dress and for others it's the flowers or the location. For us, it's all about the jewelry of course. Remember the mother of the bride, the groom who needs a wedding band and studs, your bride's maids gifts and have a look at what we have to offer in vintage and antique jewelry at our Posh Adornment! website or at our Etsy Posh Adornment store.

For more great wedding day ideas for Etsians and non-Etsians alike, check out the Indie Wedding Guide where you'll find a complete directory of vintage wedding suppliers, contests, and lots of relevant and helpful information for your big day!

I hope this has been an enlightening and helpful article as well as enjoyable. It's always fun to look at gorgeous dresses and jewelry! Congratulations if it's your big day coming up. We'd love to see what you choose to wear, so send your photos to poshadornment@yahoo.com and I'll post them on our blog!

And REMEMBER! This gorgeous jewelry is not just for weddings. You can wear it every day! :-)

TODAY IS MY SON’S BIRTHDAY … AND OF COURSE IT INVOLVES JEWELRY!

Twenty two years ago today I had my second child, my first son …my only son. He was a feisty little bugger who kicked and battled his way through 9 ½ months of life inside me. And then he took another 25 hours to get the heck outa me. He has not changed much but he is taller and has hair now. Without being too graphic or personal, I’d had a series of terrible disappointments around my pregnancies and several miscarriages. Colin was a miracle baby and my last pregnancy …thank the sweet lord! My body didn’t take well to ligaments stretching from breakfast to Timbuktoo or to spending many months with my head in the nearest trash can. It was finally rebelling and way too fat and cumbersome. I’d spent too many hours in every bathroom I could find and started writing a book called “Bathrooms I have known …How to take the PEE out of pregnancy”. But of course the minute I saw the little beastie I adored him!

Why am I telling you this? Because of course, this is a jewelry story and giving birth to my child was just an excuse for more jewelry!

For nine and a half miserable months I found jewelry at the bottom of boxes of Cheezits, rolled up in a taco filled with ground beef, avocado, salsa and sour cream, in the cookie dough ice cream, even in the heart of an artichoke for heaven’s sake! There were baubles, bangles, sparklies and little friends to help remind me that yes, Virginia, there is glamour after pregnancy. My ex is still my ex, but it wasn’t for his lack of jewelry smarts that he became my ex. I was indulged …it kept me nice and pacified at least some of the time.

And during the birth, jewelry and the face of my now partner, then three year old daughter Bryana, kept me from killing one of the doctors.

I wanted Colin’s birth to be au natural and then it started, the excruciating pain that even jewelry couldn’t mask. A few minutes later I wanted an epidural and never mind being an earth mother. They called for the anesthetist and it was at night. Of course all the real doctors were home in bed or watching late night TV so I got the attending resident gynie who I dubbed “The Weanie”. I’d been in labor for 23 hours and I was pissed, pooped and in pain. The guy came in with his sour little face, heavy horn rimmed specs pretending to be a doctor but I knew better. He was a 24 year old intern right out of the school of economics pretending to be a doctor with a practice …and I was his practice subject and my spine was his embroidery cloth. NO %$^&*% WAY was this guy sticking me in the spine. I was worried he’d use his bubble gum to hold the needle in my back.

He told me he didn’t want to give me an epi because I was having back labor and he didn’t feel comfortable administering the anesthesia. Imagine that! He didn’t feel comfortable!! And I was on a train to Miami to sit in the sun and drink Mai Tais. My contractions were coming about 5 minutes apart so I realized that gave me time to kill him in between.

My hands formed claws with long red talons at their tips and up I rose like a reincarnated whale, out of the bed dragging my IV and the fetal heart monitor with me, elbowing the nurse out of the way and chased the little putz down the hall. I got him! My hands around his neck, claws around his throat and at that moment comes a contraction. My uterus thought it was a hand and my fingers closed in around his intern-ish throat and I was screaming “You son of a …female dog… I want a real doctor to kill the pain!!!” and so on and so on, you get the picture. Dragging tubes and boobs it took four male orderlies to pull me off this guy and then my ex appeared, white as a sheet, blue eyes popping out of his head, with the prettiest little antique diamond brooch you have ever seen. Right there in the middle of mayhem and murder in the halls of the hospital I went all soft and gooey eyed. My eyes filled with tears and I kissed him and smiled. “Aw honey, that is the sweetest thing you have done for me in two days of labor.” He said it was my ‘transition’ gift and if I could just get through the next phase of this agony and was a good girl and settled down and stopped trying to kill the doctors, he had something even better planned for after the birth. And then I had another contraction. I left claw marks in The Weanie’s throat.

I’m flashing back in time to my first antique show at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles in 1975 or maybe 1976. I had been to the Rosebowl and up and down the California coast at flea markets galore and thought it was about time to step into the big time and do a “show” like a pro. I had my cases and my 1966 vintage light blue VW bug with the new engine in it and a coupla friends and off we went.

The show was an eye opener for sure. I had so much fun, didn’t sell much but who cares! I found my first official piece of Scottish Agate jewelry and I was off on a 30ish year collection binge.

Standing in the back alley behind the hotel like a thief with the other smokers, I was taking a drag on my cigarette when I looked down at the mouse scampering across the back door. It wasn’t really a mouse but do you really want to be completely disgusted if I tell you it was a humongous $&%^$%ing rat at an antique show? And right there to my horror and amazement was a shoe box upturned that he or maybe she ran out of and when I looked closer I saw ….drum roll …. JEWELRY! An entire shoe box of stuff that someone had thrown out. And in the pile was my first Scottish Agate pin. I had no idea what it was then nor did anyone else and it was not very popular in LA or collectible, or so I thought. I loved it even more for that and became obsessed with finding more. For years wherever I went I looked for and bought these fantastic works of art in the form of jewelry. Inlaid with blood stone and jasper and sporting the biggest yellow orange Cairngorm you ever saw, I was in heaven with my new find and years later it is still my favorite piece.

So back in the hospital where all the action was, my hands were being pried off the throat of The Weanie and I was taken back to bed, the evil ones turned up the pitocin drip and then the contractions started in earnest. I no longer had time to kill the doctors in between contractions. A short time later I was yelling that the kid was coming and the “real” doctor (who was a stand in for my nurse midwife who had the flu) was telling me I was imagining it and it was too soon. What the heck! (You KNOW that’s not what I really said, but we’re in public here and I have an image to protect.) It was 25 hours after I had my first rupturing pain and it was too soon?! Rising up out of the bed to attempt to commit murder again was not an option but what a great idea it was. Baby coming out doctor doing a little dance across the room. Baby coming out doctor still dancing and writing in my chart. Baby coming out and fell into the garbage can, mom swearing like a sailor. And then the pin appeared! OMG it was a gorgeous, gorgeous Scottish Agate attached to my little boy’s baby blankie. I looked at him, my brand new, wrinkly baby, thanked god that I would not go to jail for doctorcide and drooled on my beautiful new anchor brooch. Life was good.

Made from one exquisite piece of translucent banded agate, carefully and loving hand carved and wrapped in engraved sterling silver, this is one of my prize anchors. The anchor represents steadfastness, heart felt love and safety, home and security. What a wonderful symbolism for me as the mom of a new baby. I had it then and was able to give it back to my son, all of it, most of the time and there was never a lapse in love for even one second.

So in honor of that day and that beautiful piece of jewelry and of course in honor of my son whose birth was the reason for that seasoning, I dedicate today to him and my unending love for him.

It’s a great laugh for me remembering this moment in my history and my son is still a little bugger but at least he does have hair and he turned out just fine in my opinion!

IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD ...AND THE WORD WAS JEWELRY!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was JEWELRY...and the Word had a name and the name was Jeanne, I mean Sayde....um, no! I mean Etta, my great grandma’s name...and forever after her legacy has been passed on to me and my daughter in the form of an unending love and enjoyment of antique and vintage jewelry. And with that in mind, Posh Adornment was born and the jewelry gods smiled on our new venture.

Welcome to the Posh Adornment blog! I’ve had so many people ask me about me, about how I got into the jewelry business, what it is I love about it, wanting to know who the face is behind the jabber and how and where I find our jewelry that I have decided to blog about it…tell you some about us and our journey, how we think, and show you some fabulous jewelry along the way…mine and others’.

So here the journey begins!

I’m Susan and my daughter is Bryana and we decided to join forces as a team and run this business together. Keeping it all in the family has its pros and cons…mostly pros, and it’s great to be working with the next generation of jewelry addicts in my great grandma Etta’s line. I remember my great grandmother even tho’ I was only two or three years old when she passed away. It was because of her incredible collection of jewelry. She always wore something sparkly or full of lively colors, and even when she was ill at the very end of her life, she wore her beautiful jewelry. I loved the diamond pin, long and graceful encrusted with sparkling stones and always sitting right where I expected it to be at the base of her throat.

I started buying and selling antique jewels thirty four years ago and eventually chose to set up our existing business as a full time entity as a way to feed my addiction and allow me to continue buying and collecting what I love. First I set up my shop Jeweljuggler on eBay where we still run our auctions under the jeweljuggler name. After many years there, I decided to expand developing Posh Adornment which is currently being hosted on Etsy.com. Bryana and I are now on the brink of launching our private website which will be coming soon so keep an eye out here for our announcement on February 18th.

Being born in the Chinese year of the Tiger, I have a voracious appetite for almost everything and lots of initiative, imagination and determination. I was the wild child and everything I have done has been done with great vigor and an intensity that has sometimes been off putting, but always interesting and quirky. Eccentric and quirky are great words to describe me and even as a child I was quirky, talking to invisible friends who I knew were real, ardently digging through mom’s jewelry wearing her baubles and good stuff for dress up and fueling my unending curiosity for information and history all the while.

Nowhere was it written that I had to be ‘normal’ and even today I have no idea what that means. When everyone else was out on the playground I was reading books on history, taking art classes, drawing on everything I could find, dreaming of a life in ancient Egypt and talking in my mind to the oracle at Delphi in ancient Greece. I loved the fantasy of being ‘back there’ and adored the costumes of old European times and the jewelry and buttons of the day. Who woulda thunk it, that I would one day pull all these interests together combining them with my insatiable appetite for eclecticism to form the business that I am now enjoying!

That leads me back to the future…well not really the future…but the nearer past. I found MY first score of gorgeous jewelry and what a pleasant surprise it was. It was 1975 and I was in Los Angeles. I went to participate in the controversial Primal Scream Therapy with Arthur Janov and while living there for two years screaming my head off I made great discoveries. I found the flea markets, the antique shows, the many stores of Rodeo Drive and the Rose Bowl. Not for playing football mind you, but for the largest, once a month colossal flea market you have ever seen and it was there I started officially as the jewelry junkie dealer…but it was an accident.

Working in LA was something of a challenge at that time. I’d found a job on Sunset Strip at an infamous bar called Filthy McNasties and I was the front door girl bouncer who took your entrance fees and screened those customers who could and couldn’t come into the club. The owners affectionately called me “Ruth in the Booth” ! Not the most lucrative or safest job in the world but I got to come in late at night and do some scat singing with the band and a gal named Ruby, had all the Tequila I could drink and never had to wear high heels and pantyhose to work. So I learned to live with it and enjoy.

During my days when not sleeping, I crawled the local flea markets for goodies and fresh air and one Sunday I discovered the Rose Bowl flea market. Exhilaration was my emotional state and I was well on my way. I bought an antique gold ring with three little diamonds for $5 and then another, an aquamarine ring in 14K gold for $5 and another and another until I had all ten fingers decked out. I stood in front of someone’s booth and the lady said, “Honey, I love your ring!” I asked her which one and she said “All of them, how much you want for ‘em?” It only took me two minutes to contemplate and I sold them all for $250 and that’s how it all began. An investment of about $50 and one hour later a profit of $200. Wow! That was so easy and in a flash… an epiphany of light and I started the long trail forward bedecked in incredible jewelry deals for the next 34 years! I will tell you tho’, that I kept those very first two rings and here they are, now in the proud ownership of my daughter’s much beloved collection and worth a few pennies more than the $5 each I spent.