We have some incredibly exciting news to share: we wrote a book!
After more than a year of researching, writing, photographing, and countless rounds of editing, we are thrilled to announce that Vintage Jewels, our first book, is officially available for preorder.
As sisters, GIA Graduate Gemologists, and the owners of Maejean Vintage, we've spent the past 15 years surrounded by antique and vintage jewelry. What started as a shared love of beautiful old pieces has grown into a business, a community, and now, something we never quite imagined when we started in 2010: a published book!
What Is Vintage Jewels About?
Vintage Jewels is a beautifully photographed and researched guide to identifying, styling, collecting, and preserving antique and vintage jewelry.
Inside, we share gemology insights, jewelry through the eras, advice on collecting and styling, and a little bit about our journey building and growing our sister-owned vintage jewelry business, Maejean Vintage. The book features over 150 pieces of specially sourced and carefully researched pieces, that will be available for sale when the book is published in March 2027! These pieces span centuries- from the Georgian era up until the bold gold of the 1980s. Whether you are a new jewelry collector or a longtime one, an environmentally conscious consumer, a history nerd, a fashionista, an entrepreneur, a gem lover, or just a hopeless romantic... there is so much in here for you!
How did this book start?
When we were contacted about writing a book on vintage jewelry - we were almost in disbelief. There are so many incredible, well-researched books on the market about vintage jewelry. But the more we thought about our unique perspective - as sisters starting an e-commerce business from scratch in 2010, as GIA Graduate Gemologists, as longtime collectors ourselves - we realized we could talk about vintage jewelry in perhaps, a new and fresh way. We signed the book deal and got to work - traveling all across the United States and even over to the UK, to save gold from being melted to feature in this book. We continued adding to our library of vintage & antique catalogues, and read every book we could get our hands on by other jewelry historians.
What was your research process?
The jewelry we sourced for this book was our inspiration. We sought out pieces from each era, and as they came into our care, they sparked questions that led us deeper into research. For example, an exquisite Victorian beetle exoskeleton stick pin made us ask: why were the Victorians so fascinated by science and the natural world? A figural jack-in-the-box charm from the 1950s made us wonder: what made these joyful little charms so popular during that decade?
We explored those questions through original jewelry catalogues, historical sources, and the incredible books written by other jewelry experts. We wanted to understand not just when and how these pieces were made, but why people wore and treasured them and how we can continue to do so.
Why does the world need this book? What makes it different than other books on vintage jewelry?
There are a few things that make this book different than other similar books currently on the market. Most importantly, we focused on sourcing and writing about pieces of jewelry that are and were more accessible to the average person. We wanted to feature the kinds of jewelry that perhaps aren't featured in museums but deserve to have their stories preserved and told just as well.
We also had the privilege of doing everything in house - we sourced these pieces, our team of four gemologists researched and tested them in our gem lab, our two jewelers refurbished and restored them as needed, and our talented photographer, Shelah, did all the photography and editing. Even the modeling was done by our very own Jess!
We have spent the past year getting to know these over 150 featured pieces, uncovering their stories intimately… and we are so excited to connect them with jewelry lovers all over the world in March!
Lastly, this book is written by two sister gemologists that have spent the past 15+ years building a vintage jewelry community that we are so proud of. We took all the curious questions we get from our followers and clients and compiled them into one book. From “when were synthetic gems invented?” to “how did you start a vintage jewelry business?” and everything in between - our community helped shape this book!
What are your personal favorite jewelry eras and why?
This is one of the hardest questions we get asked, because there are truly things to love about all the eras!
In researching and writing this book, I (Amanda) fell deeply in love with the Victorian era. We were so lucky to have found two acrostic rings during our sourcing trip in London, which feature gemstones that spell out an endearing term (you’ll have to read the book to find out what they say!). I am so fascinated by how the Victorians used jewelry to show their emotions, at a time when there were so many restrictions and societal expectations.
Laura has always been drawn to the Art Deco era, but in writing the chapter on Georgian era jewelry, she found herself deeply attached to another era. The way jewelry of this era was painstakingly handmade, beautifully personal, and made with so much intention has a way of earning so much respect from jewelry collectors. There is something incredibly moving about holding a jewel that someone made, wore, and treasured more than 200 years ago, and realizing that we now have the chance to preserve it for someone else to love and study.
What advice do you have for people who want to start collecting vintage jewelry?
I would suggest starting with looking into your own jewelry box. What do you already have in your collection that you love? What pieces are missing? And then get inspired - follow social media accounts of vintage sellers and collectors, learn about the stories of the styles and motifs of the eras, and remember when you find something that truly speaks to you- snag it right away if you can! The thing that makes vintage jewelry so special is also what can make it so heartbreaking -finding another quite like it can be difficult, if not impossible - which makes discovering a piece you love feel especially meaningful.
Were there any challenges in writing this book?
Inside the book we share many original jewelry catalogues from our library. For this project, we were limited to reproducing advertisements published in 1927 or earlier. In our collection, we have so many incredible catalogues from the 1930s-1980s and it was challenging not being able to use those to show readers how pieces were being marketed across those decades.
The other challenge we had was just finding time! Turns out, owning a vintage jewelry business that is open online 24/7 while also writing a research-heavy book with your sibling is a daunting task! We had a few sibling disagreements along the way :)
What do you hope readers get out of this book?
We hope readers fall in love with vintage jewelry the way we have. It is our desire that in reading this book, people learn not just historical and gemological facts, but the why behind vintage jewelry. Our greatest hope is that readers see that vintage jewels are more than just beautiful objects- they carry history.
How can someone preorder? Will there be any book signings or events?
You can preorder now through this link!
The book’s official publication date is March 16, 2027! We have a lot of exciting plans in the works, including offering the jewelry featured in the book for sale as part of our book launch celebrations. Stay in the know by joining our email or text list, and we will keep you in the loop as more plans unfold!
Thank you to Quarto for reaching out to us with the idea for this book and seeing something worth sharing in what we do. Getting to write this book together as sisters, after 15 years of building Maejean together, means more to us than we can put into words.
As first-time authors, preorders mean so much to us and are such an important part of helping this book succeed. If you preorder, please let us know so we can personally thank you! 🤍
