A pair of Sunshine Coast women are breathing new life into discarded heirlooms, transforming historic treasures into sought-after jewellery pieces.
Lifelong friends Kirsty Webb and Jacqui Finnegan, who grew up together in Kenya, launched the online venture after discovering a growing demand for rare jewellery with a past.
Vintage Jewellery Hoarders offers a treasure trove of exotic rings, bracelets, necklaces, charms, pendants and earrings that all have their own compelling stories.
The friends research, rescue and repair jewellery from Australia and the world, saving, refashioning and repurposing pieces that would otherwise have been melted down.
As a former English teacher, Ms Webb said when she was searching for an engagement ring, she decided to delve into Australia’s vintage jewellery market.
“What I discovered was a huge amount of local treasures going unloved and, worse, melted for scrap,” she said.
“These were quality offerings that deserved appreciation and a future where they could be enjoyed by a new generation of jewellery lovers.
“As it turns out, there are plenty who think the same as we do and our small venture has quickly transformed into a fully-fledged company based right here on the Sunshine Coast, but with customers from throughout the nation and overseas.”
Ms Finnegan, a former childcare educator, said the appeal of vintage jewellery lay in its history and sentiment.
“Shop-bought jewellery has its place but sometimes you want something unique, something with a story to it,” she said.
“My favourite pieces of jewellery in my own collection are those my grandmother left me.
“What we found when we began our search for treasures were a lot of family heirlooms that had lost their way.
“These included incredible old cut stones, centuries-old rings from around the world and also some Aussie classics.”
The business sources and restores vintage and antique jewellery from across Australia and overseas – from Victorian-era rings to Gold Rush-era pieces – and offer them for sale via the online store.
Pieces include a 1928 sterling silver shilling pendant, a rare 1896 old cut sapphire and diamond ring, and an East African dark teal parti sapphire ring.
Ethical gemstones, including the rare East African sapphires, are sourced through an Australian gem dealer.
Ms Webb said the dealer visited the mines and paid workers fairly, also teaching them to sort, value and classify gems to ensure a thriving ongoing market.
“Cut in Australia by a family-run company, these gems are unheated, untreated and have each been cut to maximise their own beauty,” she said.
Ms Webb said parti sapphires were one of their favourite stones.
“They are only found in three places in the world – Australia, Kenya and Montana (in the US) – are fabulously unique and they have not been able to find a way to make them synthetically,” she said.
“The ones we are getting from Kenya can be traced to a tiny town of 5500 people in Isiolo County, a tiny pocket where the most amazing multi-colour sapphires come out the ground.”
Ms Webb says being a fully digital shopfront allowed the pair to keep prices competitive.
Find the online store at vintagejewelleryhoarders.com or visit @shopvjh and @vintage.jewellery.hoarders on Instagram.
