Antique Jewelry Boxes
Are you searching for antique jewelry boxes? Great, but first, let us cover some facts and interesting notes about these wonderfully-styled boxes.
Keep in mind that an antique is categorized in a number of ways; one of them is that it truly is something that has been around for at least 100 years. Though many boxes, and other jewelry display cases, are rare, they may not be antiques. That is not to say rare is bad, they just are not antiques.
Going back as far as the stone age, jewelry boxes were handmade, and although they were not crafted as ‘antiques’ to be, the simple action of passing them to their heirs became the standard to what is antique, or very rare. It was not until the 1800’s when boxes started to be mass produced. Today, it may be hard to actually differentiate between something that is an antique and something that is just rare.
Beginning in the early 1900’s, the Art Nouveau era began, bringing in what today would seem like antiques. They were commonly styled in flowery motifs and female figures. This became the standard, and the boxes were actually made from many possible metals and finished in various precious metals, including Ormolu, an electroplated gold platting, copper, Silver, Zinc, or Ivory.
Here is an example of what might be rare, but I’m sure they cannot fit into the antique category, as though they are hard to find, it is not because there were not that many made. They were actually mass produced, but the quality was not good. The materials wore down quickly, hinges broke; hard to find a box from this era that is in good condition, making it rare.
Another rare, but possibly not antique jewelry box are commemorative boxes, made for specific occasions. The more historic, or unusual the event, the more rare the box will become. Often though, the item is highlighted, and is actually part of a series or limited production of promotional items.
At the time, these trivial gifts seemed nothing more, and usually set aside or even thrown away. Today, these boxes might actually be worth something.
When you discuss handcrafted boxes from scratch as possible antiques, what about the unique crafting, or re-working, of used materials, such as old cigar boxes? These have typically been labeled ‘Tramp’ art boxes. The term Tramp was not used until the 1950’s, however, these boxes have been around since the early 1800’s.
The old, discarded boxes were carved up, notched, and re-glued to fit certain designs, or just as a different looking, plain box. These were very fragile, and would not stand the test of time, though if found today, they would be viewed as very rare.
