Always Treasured

Swank is one of the most well known and famous makers of cufflinks and tie accessories, and has been for many years. We carry quite a few men’s cufflinks and cufflink and tie bar sets for you to purchase, check them out here.

The company that started Swank has actually been around since 1897, and Swank has been making jewelry and accessories since their earliest days, under different names. In 1908, they expanded their line of women’s jewelry, offering men’s jewelry and so began their reputation for cufflinks and tie related jewelry.  Note that Swank has also made jewelry for other companies and was sold under their names, including mega-famous designer brands like Guess, Anne Klein and Pierre Cardin.

How to tell if your jewelry is genuine Swank? Easy, you will find all Swank jewelry (except those marked by other designers) clearly marked with a Swank mark. The mark is quite simple, yet elegant, it has a distinct art deco feel with smooth curved letters and sleek, straight lines. Here is an example of the mark:

The mark has changed very little over the years, maybe more of a slight exaggeration in the letters or some slimmer letters but overall the same. Sometimes the mark will have lines above or below it or may even include a crown.

While the company has been making jewelry since the early 1900′s, the name Swank was not used until the late 1920′s and most jewelry you find these days that is clearly marked as Swank will be from the 50′s or 60′s. Most Swank jewelry is made of goldtone metal, and not of precious metals, but the quality in design and build is well known.

If you are researching Swank jewelry, please refer to this book, it is the only one that I know of that has a section specifically on Swank jewelry: 20th Century Costume Jewelry 1900-1980 : Identification & Value Guide, 2nd Edition

Swank was also known for making women’s jewelry at first, however, in the 1950′s, they expanded their lines of products and offered leather products like belts and wallets, gifts, fragrances, pens and even some clothing items.

However, Swank is most well known with costume jewelry collectors and cufflink collectors these days, with them responsible for making many millions of cufflinks and tie accessories.

Other popular names of cufflink and tie bar makers include Hickock and Anson.

Have any questions about Swank jewelry? Comment on this article and I will do my best to help you!

We have just begun our once yearly sale, our Annual Fall Sale on all vintage jewelry in stock.

You not only get 10% off your order, you also get FREE shipping on all jewelry orders.

We ship fast with USPS Priority Mail.

With your order, you also get free gold foil jewelry boxing, great for easy gift giving!

Check out all our items, including vintage brooches, pins, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, chokers, cufflinks, tie tacs, money clips, cuff link sets and much more.

Check out our brooches and pins, necklaces and chokers, cufflinks, costume jewelry sets, bracelets, tie bars and tie clips, tie tacs and more.

We are excited to announce the start of our annual holiday sale, featuring 10% off plus free shipping on all jewelry orders.

Also, many items just added in several categories, including gorgeous vintage brooches, necklaces and snazzy, classy vintage cufflinks.

Starting on November 1st 2010, Always Treasured is offering 10% off plus free shipping for all jewelry orders!

All of the jewelry in the store is eligible for the discount and the free shipping offer, including all vintage costume jewelry items, vintage brooches, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, chokers, pins and Christmas brooches. All items in the store are vintage or antique, with many designer and signed pieces in stock.

Also includes in the sale are the entire stock of men’s vintage jewelry, including vintage cufflinks, vintage cuff link sets, vintage tie bars, vintage tie tacs, money clips and more.

In preparation for the sale, the owner has just refreshed their inventory of vintage cuff links, including the addition of many sets of signed and unique cuff link sets. In particular, additional sets of men’s vintage jewelry that are made of Mother of Pearl were procured from several estate sales and cleaned for addition to the inventory. Customers can find gorgeous vintage jewelry sets, brooches and pins for those holiday parties. A sparkling vintage brooch adds just the right accent to any holiday wardrobe. Vintage jewelry also makes a great bridal jewelry or a “something old” gift for that special bride.

All orders are shipped fast, same day or next day in most cases. Always Treasured is happy to offer fast USPS Priority Mail shipping, complimentary for all jewelry orders. In addition, Always Treasured carefully packs each order in tissue paper and includes a glittery, gold foil jewelry box for every item of jewelry ordered. Perfect for gift giving this holiday season.

Click here to start browsing (and saving) now:
http://www.alwaystreasured.com/

Since we started selling vintage costume jewelry online, Swank brand jewelry is always among our top selling items. Swank was started in 1897 in Attleboro, MA as the Attleboro Manufacturing Co., and specialized in making and selling women’s jewelry. Not long after the start of production of women’s jewelry,  however, a massive fire destroyed the factory as well as an entire city block of Attleboro. Some jewelry as well as some machinery was saved and the company moved its manufacturing to a nearby building, which remained the center of the company’s business for the next 100 years.

The company didn’t expand into men’s jewelry, like cufflinks and other accessories until 1908, when they formed a new division called Baer and Wilde specifically to produce men’s jewelry. The division had middling success but didn’t start to take off until they released the Kum-A-Part line of products for cuffs.

When the United States joined WWI, the company contributed by making metal dog tags for soldiers, as well as other emblems for the military. Around this time, the men’s jewelry line had really taken off, so the women’s jewelry lines were discontinued.

The company then focused all of their attention on producing men’s accessories like tie clips, pins, collar buttons and dress sets. The name Swank was used in one of the company advertisements as early as 1927, but the company did not form Swank Products, Inc. until 1936. In 1941, the company shortened the name again and they became what we now know as Swank, Inc.

The company sprang into action to contribute to WWII efforts as well, making parts for guns as well as award items like purple hearts and bronze stars. After the war’s end, Swank expanded into other areas, including fragrances, wallets, belts and other accessories for men.

In the 1950′s and 60′s, Swank, Inc. began acquiring other brands in order to continue expanding. The company acquired Prince Gardner Company, Crestline Manufacturing Company and Alco Leather Manufacturing Corporation.

In the 1970′s, the company invested in a large expansion, renovation and modernization of their manufacturing facilities.

In the 1980′s, the company re-introduced their women’s line under the name Anne Klein.

Nowadays, you may be surprised at the number of recognizable brand names owned by Swank, Inc., they include Guess?, Liz Claiborne, Geoffrey Beene, Tommy Hilfiger, Kenneth Cole, Nautica and Chaps.

We’re having a Spring Sale on all porcelain and pottery items, including all of our English and Japanese porcelain inventory. Enter code SPRING20 to receive 20% off your order.

Click here to start shopping now!

Always Treasured is ecstatic to announce the beginning of our annual Fall sale. We only have a sale once each year, so be sure to take advantage of this one! This year we are offering 10% off PLUS FREE US Priority Mail shipping on all jewelry orders!

Check out our hottest categories this year:

- Vintage Cufflinks and Cuff Link Sets
- Vintage Tie Bars, Clasps and Tie Chains
- Vintage Brooches and Pins

eBay is a great place to get bargains on antiques and collectibles, but it’s also easy to get scammed or pay too much.

Here are some tools to help you dig for the best deals on eBay:

AuctionSniper – It’s difficult to get a good price if you don’t use a sniping tool, since everybody else seems to be using one. AuctionSniper is my favorite! Very easy to use and effective and free!

GetItNext – This is a fantastic search tool if you are looking for something specific and are sick of irrelevant results from eBay’s lackluster search tool.

RSSAuction – If you’re in the market for a very specific item, try this tool that will alert you to the latest items available according to your preferences. Very handy! You can also add it to your RSS reader or portal, like My Yahoo or iGoogle.

ShoeBoxed – This is a handy one, where you are provided with a free email address to use for eBay shopping and most other online shopping purchases. When you make a purchase, the receipt is emailed to your account and the site automatically organizes your receipts. Very handy if you plan to do Christmas shopping online, make those returns easy!

GoofBay – This tool helps you find misspelled auctions and auctions with poor grammar. Could be a real bargain finder.

The antiques business changes constantly. What was hot a couple years ago, may not be so hot now. So what’s hot or, at least, selling well in 2008?

Sterling Silver

A quick view of eBay will tell you that sterling silver items are selling fairly well right now. The economy almost certainly has something to do with this and the fact that silver is way up compared to last year. In 2007, silver was just $13 an ounce. In June 2008, it’s now well over $17 an ounce, inching closer and closer to $18 an ounce. It’s sad to think that some lovely silver items, like heirloom silverware, trinkets, jewelry and other vintage and antique items with some history may be melted down instead of enjoyed for their antique value. Silver may go even higher as the economy continues to weaken, so look out for low priced heavy silver items at garage sales and flea markets.

Decorative Items

Interior decorators are using antiques more and more these days, driving prices higher and higher. Art deco furniture, lamps, chairs, desks and accessories are an old stalwart, always doing well. Empire, Victorian, Mission, gothic and French furniture and decorative items are also doing well. Keep an eye out for these types of furniture at estate sales especially. Mirrors, chandeliers and clocks are the most popular accessories.

Dolls and Toys

Antique and vintage dolls and toys are always popular, but seem more so right now, with new collectors coming into the market all the time. Included in this area are vintage video games and consoles. Especially popular are the rarer video game consoles and video game cartridges from the early 80′s. Keep an eye out for these at garage sales.

Our annual November sale, which is our only sale of the year is on now. Enjoy 10% off all items in our store plus free shipping (continental US only) on all jewelry orders over $25.

We’ve just added many items to our vintage cufflinks and vintage tie bars sections, so check those out.

As always, we ship fast, same day or next day for most orders. Plus get free fancy gold foil gift boxing for all jewelry items you order, perfect for gift giving!

Head over to the store now to take advantage of our sale.