Valentine's Day

Valentine's day is nearly upon us once again and it's time to start thinking about how to celebrate..

We are offering a special prosecco afternoon tea for two at the Rooftop Kitchen, plus £100 in Alfies gift vouchers in a special Valentine's giveaway! To be in with the chance to win, keep an eye on the Alfies Instagram account (@alfiesantiques), tag a friend in our promotional post and DM (direct message) the Alfies account with your email address*. Simple! The winner will be announced Saturday 10th February. 

*Entrants will be added to the Alfies mailing list

Of course it's also time to start thinking about what you might gift your loved one. With the holiday symbolising all that it does, it's a perfect time to express appreciation for those who are important to us. Traditionally, Valentine's day is the holiday representing the Roman saint and has been associated with love and romance since the Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love and chivalry flourished. Over time this has evolved into the practice of card and gift giving. 

There are the usual gifts that are given at this time of year, such as flowers and chocolates, but how about something a little more unique? Read on to see some of our favourite pieces from around the store that we think would be perfect for the occasion.

Early 20th century oil painting, oil on board. Available from Robert McKoy Fine Arts

A 1950s Aurora Borealis heart carriage brooch. Available from Tony Durante

A 1960s gilded cupid brooch. Available from Good Time Antiques 

A 20th century signed floral painting, oil on canvas. Available from i Fine & Contemporary Art

An American 1940s floral brooch. Available from Tony Durante

A selection of antique gold and silver charms. Available from Good Time Antiques

January's Birthstone: Garnet

The January birthstone is the stunning garnet. The name Garnet is derived from the Greek word 'granatum,' meaning 'pomegranate seed,' due to the small garnets which resemble the bright red seeds found inside pomegranates. It is also known as the 'Stone of Happiness,' which is rather useful during the bleak Winter months!

In celebration of January birthdays, we've chosen our favourite garnet pieces at Alfies...

Pearl and garnet gold bracelet, c1900s. Available from Zeeba Jewels

Garnet gold pendant, c1900s, available from Zeeba Jewels

Garnet gold flower earrings, English. c1980s. Available from Kieron Rielly

Garnet gold earrings, French. c1880. Availble from Kieron Rielly

Garnet gold brooch, c1880. Available from Naneen Brooks

Garnet and aquamarine earrings, c1900. Available from Naneen Brooks

Garnet gold earrings, c1890. Available from Naneen Brooks

Garnet Bohemian bangle, c1890. Available from Gareth Brooks

Garnet gold bangle, c1890. Available from Gareth Brooks

Garnet gold necklace, c1890. Available from Gareth Brooks 

Services: A spotlight on Creative Jewellery Company

Over the coming weeks we will be highlighting our many services available at Alfies Antique Market. This week's blog post puts the spotlight on Lawrence who runs Creative Jewellery Company.

Lawrence launched the company in 1999, close-by on Marylebone High Street and spent twenty years there honing his craft and building up a customer database before moving to Alfies last year. His work includes repairing and restoring jewellery, as well as custom jewellery design. Lawrence's passion and speciality is hand made unique jewellery, custom made to suit each individual's design and personality. His beautiful pieces are carefully crafted and make perfect unique gifts for special birthdays or occasions.

A cross necklace shown in development, from start to finish.

A ring that was driven over and flattened was restored to its former glory rather than being scrapped.

The beautiful handmade Daisy Swann ring, made from 29 separate pieces of platinum.

Second Floor | Stand S052

Tel: 07754 059 856

help@creativejewellery.com

May's Birthstone: Emerald

The Emerald is a jewel of long history, legend and fascination. Whilst there are other green gems such as Jade, Tourmaline and Peridot, it is always the Emerald that is associated with landscapes and nature because of its vivid colour - Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle and Seattle is referred to as the Emerald City. Even Thailand's most sacred religious icon is known as the 'Emerald Buddha'. The name is derived from Ancient Greece and the first known Emerald mines were in Egypt, with Cleopatra being particularly fond of the gem, using them to adorn many of her royal outfits.

The stone is part of the 'Beryl' family of gemstones and legend says that it holds a number of mystical properties, including being able to see into the future if the stone is placed under the tongue. Not to mention its use to reveal the truth and ward off evil spirits.

The colour of the Emerald is said to reflect new Spring growth, making it the perfect birthstone for the month of May, and of course here at Alfies we have some perfect Emerald pieces to offer.

An Austrian/Hungarian emerald and pearl silver bracelet, 1860s/70s. Offered by Zeeba Jewels.

Left to Right: A two carat diamond and three carat emerald ring, 1980s; A French Art Deco emerald and diamond ring, 1930s. Offered by Kieron Reilly

A Wedgwood shell plate 1920s/30s. Offered by W & L Antiques

A diamond and emerald bow brooch, 1940s. Offered by Zeeba Jewels

Art Deco diamond and emerald rings, 1930s. Offered by Kieron Reilly

An American jug with diamond detailing, 1940s. Offered by Renato

An emerald and diamond 18ct necklace, 1980s, Offered by Zeeba Jewels

Amethyst

February's birthstone is the amethyst, a gem which has been hugely popular across the eras, making antique amethyst jewellery easy to find. The fact that purple could for centuries only be produced from natural materials made it labour-intensive and thus highly expensive – at one point the stone was literally worth its weight in gold! As a result the amethyst became linked to royalty and power. The Victorians were big fans - when Queen Victoria wore a gown to the Royal Exhibition in 1862 dyed with the newly available product the colour became extremely fashionable.

The amethyst is popular for is hue and vibrancy and at Alfies our jewellery dealers have a beautiful selection of pieces on offer:

1930s amethyst ring. From Good Time Antiques.

Victorian 18k gold and amethyst necklace. Available from Kieron Reilly.

1900-1915 Suffragette amethyst bracelet. From Zeeba Jewels.

1870/1880 Austrian amethyst necklace. From Zeeba Jewels.

An amethyst ring surrounded with small diamonds set in white gold. 1960s-70s. From Gareth Brooks.

Edwardian Suffragette necklace. 1910-1915. Amthyst and natural pearl. Available from Zeeba Jewels.

Chinese New Year 2017

This coming Saturday, 28 January marks the first day of Chinese New Year. New Year is also known as the “Spring Festival” in China and is the longest and most important holiday there. The New Year’s festivities end two weeks later on the 15th day of the first month and this day is known as the Lantern Festival. London's festivities are the biggest celebrations outside Asia and every year, hundreds of thousands of people head to Chinatown to wish each other "Xin Nian Kuai Le" (Happy New Year in Mandarin) or "San Nin Faai Lok" (in Cantonese). Find out more about events happening in London this weekend here.

2017 is the year of the fire rooster - each Chinese New Year is characterised by one of 12 animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac - which symbolises loyalty, commitment, hard work and family values amongst other values.

Alfies has several dealers who stock high calibre Chinese and Asian Antiques, such as Horner Antiques who has a keen eye for detail in oriental porcelain and is based on the ground floor, and Hongman Yang, who is based on the first floor and deals in a variety of items, including paintings and jewellery as well as ceramics.

Here are some of our favourite pieces:

Large Famille Noir Chinese Vase - Dragons Chasing Through Flowers, 1st Republic. From Horner Antiques.

Chinese 'Blanc de Chine' of a deity holding a peach. From Horner Antiques.

Chinese blue and white plum flower ginger jar with wooden lid. From Hongman Yang.

Chinese tea caddy Qianlong period. From Diplomat Treasures International.

20th century bowl with rooster. From Hongman Yang.

An Antique Halloween

We're getting close to Halloween weekend and here at Alfies we're getting into the spooky spirit of this ancient Pagan festival!

Also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, Halloween was originally the Gaelic festival of Samhain, which was a harvest festival celebrating the last crops gathered in for the winter. The pagans also believed it was a time when the walls between our world and the next became thin and porous, allowing spirits to pass through.  As for the custom of wearing costumes, it was traditionally believed that the souls of the dead wandered among us until All Saints' Day, and 'All Hallows' Eve' gave the dead one last opportunity to take revenge on their enemies before moving on to the next world. To avoid being recognised by the ghosts who might seek them out, people would wear masks and costumes to disguise themselves.

Alfies has a whole host of ghoulish goodies to keep you entertained this Halloween - and Payday! - weekend. Here are a few of our favourites:

'Brain Drain', by Peter Holland, 1966. A mechanism on the back allows red liquid to be inserted to give the impression of blood spewing from the head. From Mark Eaton.

French horse skull From Mark Eaton.

Victoria Frances 20th Century vampire print. From John Cserny Fine Arts.

Vintage mannequin hand,  from Mark Eaton.

Lead Martin Brothers style jug. From Good Time Antiques. 

Victorian brass devil figural inkwell and pen stand, with hinged lid. From Good Time Antiques. 

Set of four 1940s cranberry wine glasses, from W&L Antiques. 

One of a selection of 1960s silver charms. From Good Time Antiques. 

Sphinx enamel frog brooch. From Gloria Sinclair.

Need a break from shopping? What could be better than a spooky stop off at Alfies' Roof Top Kitchen and terrace?