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1943 Eversharp Skyline Fountain Pen & Pencil Set

1943 Eversharp Skyline Fountain Pen & Pencil Set
Photo Credit: Schieks Antique Digger

1943 Eversharp Skyline Fountain Pen & Pencil Set

Buy It Now Price: $300 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This World War II era Eversharp Skyline fountain pen and pencil set from 1943 features sleek navy blue barrels accented with gold filled trim.

-This Eversharp Skyline fountain pen is a shorter demi size, measuring 4.88 inches (12.4 cm) long when capped and 5.25 inches (13.3 cm) long when posted.  The matching mechanical pencil is 4.75 inches (12.1 cm) long.

-The American pen company Eversharp manufactured the Skyline series of pens in a dizzying array of style and color combinations between 1941 and 1948.  Designed by the renowned industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss, the Eversharp Skyline was lauded for its groundbreaking, streamlined profile.

-This Eversharp Skyline fountain pen and mechanical pencil set is new old stock in its original box.  It is absolutely pristine and has never been inked – a near miracle considering it is over 75 year old!  The only exception to the set’s perfect condition is some minor toning on the gold-filled trim.

-The Eversharp Skyline was a commercial hit, and quickly became the United State’s best selling pen by the mid 1940s.

-These Eversharp Skyline models have wide band trim, which is less common than the company’s thin band trim.

-This 1940s Eversharp Skyline fountain pen has a solid 14 karat gold medium nib.  Vintage Eversharp pens were considered excellent writers in their time and are highly prized by today’s fountain pen enthusiasts for this attribute.

-The clips on both the pen and pencil have the double checkmark logo, indicating that they were backed by Eversharp’s lifetime warranty.

-Both the pen and pencil retain their original paper price tags.  The pen retailed for $9.75 when new in 1943 while the pencil sold for $5.00.  When adjusted for inflation in 2019, these values would be $146 and $75, respectively.

-Neither vintage writing implement has a monogram or other personalization.  This is a nice plus as it can be challenging to find older pens without engraved initials.

-Although the asking price of $300 is a bit high compared to many Eversharp Skyline fountain pen sets in the marketplace, I would be willing to pay the premium in light of this set’s exceptional condition.  I have learned the hard way that when you find a remarkable antique, you had better pay the seller’s asking price or risk losing the gem forever.

 

Cons:

-This Eversharp Skyline fountain pen and pencil set is a pen connoisseur’s dream, but due to its unused condition there is no way any serious collector would consider using it as a daily writer.  If that’s what you’re after, you’ll have to find a different vintage pen.

 

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Burmese Natural Purple Spinel

Burmese Natural Purple Spinel
Photo Credit: captej2012

Burmese Natural Purple Spinel

Buy It Now Price: $498 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This stunning cushion-cut natural purple spinel gemstone from the legendary gem-fields of Mogok, Burma exhibits a tantalizing, grape Kool-Aid color.

-The gem measures 7.7 mm long by 7.1 mm wide by 5.8 mm deep and tips the scales at a healthy 2.49 carats.  This gives the stone a depth to width ratio of 78%, right in the 60% to 80% sweet spot that gives many faceted colored gemstones their optimum brilliance.

-Spinel, a magnesium-aluminum oxide (MgAl2O4), is very similar in chemical composition to ruby and sapphire (Al2O3).  Because of this, spinel was often mistaken for its more famous siblings throughout ancient and medieval times.

-While most spinel have gray overtones (due to high iron content) which kill their brilliance, this natural purple spinel is exceptionally lively.

–Spinel is a tremendously underrated gemstone, with exceptional hardness (8.0 on Moh’s hardness scale), density (3.6 gm/cm3) and toughness.  It also comes in a shocking variety of dazzling colors, including cherry red, neon blue, bubble-gum pink and, of course, grape-jelly purple.

-This natural purple spinel has been tested by the seller with a rare earth magnet to ensure it isn’t synthetic.  Natural spinel will be weakly attracted to a neodymium magnet because of their trace iron content.  Synthetic spinel lack iron impurities and will not be attracted to a magnet, no matter how powerful it is.

-One of the best things about spinel is that they are rarely treated, resulting in stones that possess a pure, natural beauty.  This is in stark contrast to many other well-known gems, such as emeralds, rubies, sapphires and diamonds.  These stones are often subjected to harsh commercial treatments that artificially improve their appearance, including fracture-filling, dying, laser-drilling and high-temperature heat.

-I can understand why some people are reluctant to invest in gemstones; it can be intimidating for beginners.  But spinel is one of the easiest entry points into the world of gem investing you’ll ever find.  If a spinel looks good and isn’t synthetic, then you are pretty much golden!

-I find purple spinel to be the most undervalued color in the entire spinel family.  The delicate lilac and violet hues can be nothing short of jaw-dropping, as in this superb specimen.  And yet it is available for a buy-it-now price of only $498 – a laughably cheap $200 per carat.  If that price still unsettles you, the seller is open to lower offers!

 

Cons:

-I could quibble over the fact that the stone is only VVS clarity (very, very small inclusions) instead of being internally flawless, but that is really grasping at straws.  Realistically, I have nothing bad to say about this exceptionally beautiful natural purple spinel.

 

Read more fascinating Antique Sage gemstone spotlight posts here.

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Edwardian Ketcham & McDougall Thimble in 14K Gold

Edwardian Ketcham & McDougall Thimble in 14K Gold
Photo Credit: antique palace furniture home decor

Edwardian Ketcham & McDougall Thimble in 14K Gold

Buy It Now Price: $225 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This antique 14 karat gold Ketcham & McDougall thimble, circa 1910, has the delicate lines and whimsical feel characteristic of Edwardian design.  It is engraved with “1859 FB 1909”, indicating that it might have been a high-end 50th wedding anniversary gift.

-This old, size 9 thimble is made from an impressive 6.2 grams (0.2 troy ounces) of solid 14 karat gold, which indicates good build quality.

-This Ketcham & McDougall thimble comes in its original fitted cardboard case printed with the name of the retailer – “John Wanamaker; Jewelers & Silversmiths; Philadelphia, New York, Paris”.

-Sewing was a required skill for practically all middle and upper class women in the 19th and early 20th centuries.  Unlike today when clothing is often discarded as it becomes damaged or outdated, clothing was regularly mended, altered or otherwise modified in households before World War II.

–Wanamaker’s was a Philadelphia department store founded by its namesake, John Wanamaker, in 1876.  Wanamaker’s revolutionized retailing via its pioneering use of print advertising, mail order sales and no-questions-asked refunds.  It eventually became a template for Sears, J.C. Penny and other great American department stores of the 20th century.

-This antique 14K gold thimble was made by the well-regarded firm of Ketcham & McDougall.  Established in New York City in 1832, Ketcham & McDougall produced exceedingly high quality thimbles that are quite collectible today.  The company finally ceased production in 1932, during the depths of the Great Depression.

-This Edwardian thimble is in good condition, with no apparent dents, holes or other major defects.  The plain gold band around the bottom has some tiny scratches, which is to be expected on an item over 100 years old.

-At the current gold spot price of $1,315, this Ketcham & McDougall thimble has a scrap value of about $152, meaning that the premium above melt for this wonderful antique is a paltry $73.

-Because it was made by a famous firm and comes with its original fitted case, I believe this gorgeous Edwardian Ketcham & McDougall thimble is well worth the $225 asking price.

 

Cons:

-Antique thimbles are out of favor right now, which allows you to sometimes find solid karat gold examples for ridiculously low premiums over scrap value.  In fact, I was watching an eBay auction earlier this week where a gold thimble was selling for less than $100 – only $20 over melt.  Predictably, it sold quickly.  On the whole, a $73 premium for this fine Ketcham & McDougall specimen is quite low too – so this is hardly a con.

 

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Set of 12 Antique French Liquor Cups in 1st Quality Silver

Set of 12 Antique French Liquor Cups in 1st Quality Silver
Photo Credit: ricou251

Set of 12 Antique French Liquor Cups in 1st Quality Silver

Buy It Now Price: $215 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This exquisite set of one dozen antique French liquor cups from the early 20th century have gilt interiors and are fashioned from solid, .950 fine silver.

-Each silver shot glass measures 1.5 inches (4 cm) tall by 1.2 inches (3.3 cm) wide.  The lot of 12 cordials weighs in at a substantial 239 grams (7.68 troy ounces) in aggregate.

-These silver cordials are in the Louis XVI style, even though they date from the early 20th century.  The Louis XVI style was originally popular during the reign of the last French Monarch, from circa 1770 to 1789.  It later enjoyed a revival in France from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.

-This set of liquor cups bears two period-correct hallmarks: Minerva with a “1” underneath her chin, indicating French 1st quality silver of .950 purity (which is higher than sterling), and the maker’s mark in a lozenge.

-Louis XVI style revolted against the excesses of earlier Baroque ornamentation and was characterized by simple embellishment and clean, straight lines.  Louis XVI decoration often consisted of elegantly rendered ribbons, garland and fluting, which foreshadowed the later Neo-Classical style.

-This set of antique French liquor cups was made by the silversmith Charles Barrier, who operated out of his Paris workshop located at 7 Rue Réaumur between 1905 and 1923.

-These antique French liquor cups, with their simple form and restrained scrollwork, are perfect examples of the Louis XVI style.  As an added bonus, they are in excellent condition, with only a couple small dings present.  Normal wear of this type is to be expected on silver hollowware that is fully a century old.

–Old French silver is rather undervalued in today’s antique market.  This is puzzling in light of the fact that classic French artistry is world renowned and their workmanship is universally superb.

-With spot silver currently trading for $15.31 a troy ounce, these antique French liquor cups contain nearly $112 in melt value.  Yet you can buy the set for just $215 – less than double their scrap value!  Seriously, you are paying less than $18 for each cordial, which is an embarrassingly low price.  We truly live in a golden age for antique enthusiasts and investors.

 

Cons:

-In my opinion, the only possible con is the relatively high shipping charges ($19 to the U.S.) because the items are coming overseas, direct from France.  But this is really a minor quibble for such a fine set of antique French liquor cups.

 

Read more fascinating Antique Sage antique silver posts here.

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