enamel surprise

I was randomly looking at some of the jewelry I inherited from my grandmother years ago and I found a pin, which I have never worn and probably never will. It just isn't quite my style. I sold a few things on eBay last month, so the thought crossed my mind to sell the pin there too. It seemed wise to do a little background research first since my grandmother typically had nice/refined taste in jewelry. The back of the pin had an imprint for David Andersen Norway, so I googled that name and came up with a neat webpage explaining the various jeweler marks for this company, which helped me figure out the age of the pin. As I read more here about the contributions of the jeweler to enamel-painted pieces, I realized that another piece I have, a bracelet, is by the same jeweler. I don't know why, but figuring this out was exciting to me. I really love the bracelet, which is a series of linked leaves painted with white enamel. I haven't been able to wear the bracelet in a couple of years because the clasp broke and I haven't had a chance to get it repaired.

Anyhow, from there, I looked up the name on eBay to see what else was being sold by that jeweler. I was surprised to see some pins by the jeweler being sold as a Buy-It-Now for as high as $250! I found another post which featured a slightly different version of my bracelet in a set (with earrings), which was being sold as a Buy-It-Now for $325. I really didn't think the jewelry would fetch that much, so it was a fun finding.

Later in the afternoon, I had the rare chance to watch a CSO (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) rehearsal! It was a very neat experience to watch the conductor, Riccardo Muti, pause and ask for changes in how the instrumentalists played and how the chorus sang--even made facial expressions--as they prepared for the weekend performances of Verdi's Requiem.