Show me your OLDEST piece!

[diamondyes]

Does anyone have any ancient jewelry? This is my latest interest!

 

[LilAlex]

Like from the '70s?

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Like from the '70s?

Reminds me of my son thinking the 80’s is like the Stone Age

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Okay, back to the topic, I think this is the oldest piece I own, ironically this is a newer acquisition. I think it is late 1800’s to early 1900’s. It was sold to me as ruby and amethyst but I have not had the stones tested.

 

[SandraLynn]

these were my great grandmothers

 

[stracci2000]

I have some jewelry made from old components.
The Roman coin in this pendant is from about 200-400 AD.




The Chinese coins in these earrings date to 1736-1795.


This necklace is made from Georgian pocket watch parts 1780-1837-ish.




But if you're talking whole antique jewelry pieces, I have this gold filled and paste locket and chain from the 1880s


And this sterling locket with Birmingham makers mark dating 1883


Plus, I have some fossil jewelry, but I'm sure you're not talking about that kind of jewelry!

 

[Mrsz1ppy]

My oldest piece is French, dated to 1847, and is by Froment-Meurice. L’Harmonie

 

[RRfromR]

I have lots from the late 1800s, but the oldest that I know of (hallmarked) is a rather modest 9k rose gold ring from 1818. Amethyst is my oldest son's birthstone and I loved the old cut.

 

[Eclectic]

My oldest piece is French, dated to 1847, and is by Froment-Meurice. L’Harmonie

This is just stunning! Froment-Meurice is always the the highest quality and amazing.

 

[lala646]

My tiny turquoise & moonstone locket, which Erica Weiner claimed to be Georgian era.

Or this tiny Victorian mourning locket.

 

[Catmom]

My oldest piece is an English late Victorian diamond horseshoe brooch circa 1890. I truly love all the wonky diamonds in this piece and I can't even begin to describe the sparkle bomb that it is.

 

[glitterata]

Ooo, here's mine! Both my oldest piece of jewelry and my best ebay score ever!

I bought these earrings some 15 years ago, in the glory days of ebay, for $69 including shipping. That was back when gold was cheap. The seller said they were a gift from her great grandmother to her grandmother in the late 19th or early 20th century. She called them Victorian, guaranteed they were gold (at least 14K, if I remember correctly), and sold them to me for the then melt value of the gold. I knew they weren't Victorian, being very familiar with Victorian jewelry, but I didn't know what they actually WERE until an antiquities dealer informed me that they were from the ancient Roman Empire, c. 3rd century AD. The earrings themselves are approximately 22 to 24K, and the screw-on fittings are a modern addition, which I changed to wires so I could wear them more safely. Yes, I do wear them on occasion. Their original Roman owner would have worn them by putting the braided gold wire that's now curled up behind the disk-like part into her earlobe hole from the back and then through the ring at the top of the earring, but wearing them that way would have involved bending that part whenever I put them on and took them off, which I was not about to do.

 

[yssie]

Ooo, here's mine! Both my oldest piece of jewelry and my best ebay score ever!

I bought these earrings some 15 years ago, in the glory days of ebay, for $69 including shipping. That was back when gold was cheap. The seller said they were a gift from her great grandmother to her grandmother in the late 19th or early 20th century. She called them Victorian, guaranteed they were gold (at least 14K, if I remember correctly), and sold them to me for the then melt value of the gold. I knew they weren't Victorian, being very familiar with Victorian jewelry, but I didn't know what they actually WERE until an antiquities dealer informed me that they were from the ancient Roman Empire, c. 3rd century AD. The earrings themselves are approximately 22 to 24K, and the screw-on fittings are a modern addition, which I changed to wires so I could wear them more safely. Yes, I do wear them on occasion. Their original Roman owner would have worn them by putting the braided gold wire that's now curled up behind the disk-like part into her earlobe hole from the back and then through the ring at the top of the earring, but wearing them that way would have involved bending that part whenever I put them on and took them off, which I was not about to do.

I’m struggling to find words. What a find. What a history. What luck those earrings wound up in your care!

 

[diamondyes]

Ooo, here's mine! Both my oldest piece of jewelry and my best ebay score ever!

I bought these earrings some 15 years ago, in the glory days of ebay, for $69 including shipping. That was back when gold was cheap. The seller said they were a gift from her great grandmother to her grandmother in the late 19th or early 20th century. She called them Victorian, guaranteed they were gold (at least 14K, if I remember correctly), and sold them to me for the then melt value of the gold. I knew they weren't Victorian, being very familiar with Victorian jewelry, but I didn't know what they actually WERE until an antiquities dealer informed me that they were from the ancient Roman Empire, c. 3rd century AD. The earrings themselves are approximately 22 to 24K, and the screw-on fittings are a modern addition, which I changed to wires so I could wear them more safely. Yes, I do wear them on occasion. Their original Roman owner would have worn them by putting the braided gold wire that's now curled up behind the disk-like part into her earlobe hole from the back and then through the ring at the top of the earring, but wearing them that way would have involved bending that part whenever I put them on and took them off, which I was not about to do.

These are my dream!!! Thank you for sharing. Just wow.

 

[diamondyes]

Beautifully stunning shares, everyone!

 

[Ally T]

My Victorian torpedo bracelet, which ties for oldest place with my Great Aunts pearl & OEC ring, from around 1895-1900.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

These 2 are probably my oldest pieces although I don’t know how old they are.