A New San Diego Trend in Pre-owned Gold & Used Luxury Handbags?

According to San Diego Jewelry Buyers & Loans (SDJBL), increasing numbers of San Diegans are purchasing pre-owned designer handbags and gold jewelry. “On the surface, this might appear strange considering the current economic conditions,” says Carl Blackburn, owner of SDJBL, “but there is a logical explanation for this trend.” Read more

Silverware Master Maker: Georg Jensen

San Diego owners of sterling silverware often ask just what brands of silver flatware are worth the most money. If you are fortunate enough to have any silver flatware or holloware by Georg Jensen then that is exactly the kind of silverware that second-hand sterling silver buyers are looking for and will bring you very high buying offers.

Take for example the Georg Jensen silver pieces recently sold on auction at Christie’s. A Danish silver six-piece tea and coffee service set went for $27, 500. And a Danish silver flatware set was sold for $50,000.

Jensen’s naturalistic silver designs took their cues from the aesthetics of the Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau movements, and his stylized fruit and floral motifs reinvented new shapes for established silver forms. The Blossom pattern is one of the most classic examples of the early Jensen style and can be found in the tea and coffee service and Blossom pattern silver flatware.

Georg Jensen also employed several skilled silversmiths and designers to work with him. Among the most celebrated of these designers was Johan Rohde, who joined in 1917 and is perhaps best known today for designing the Acorn pattern flatware. In contrast to Jensen’s work, Rohde’s was more spare in its use of ornament, illustrated by his incredibly sleek silver pitcher designed in 1920 and considered an iconic 20th century silver design. His pieces show less interest in naturalism, instead finding inspiration in historical styles, as demonstrated by the Acanthus pattern flatware which draws upon a classical vocabulary. A classic fish dish, one of few to feature a fish on the mazarine, epitomizes Rohde’s talent for stylized forms.

Remember to always seek out a professional San Diego silver buyer if you ever on the possession of a set of precious silverware like those made by Georg Jensen.

Louis Vuitton: Ultimate Luxury Brand

Louis Vuitton Malletier (commonly known as Louis Vuitton or simply LV) is a French fashion house founded in 1854 that has become synonymous with ultimate luxury products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories, sunglasses, and books.

The Louis Vuitton story begins with its founder and namesake Louis Vuitton (1821 – February 27, 1892), who once served as the luggage maker of Napoleon III of France. He created the Louis Vuitton label in 1854, introducing a series of innovative luggage products and travel cases. It wasn’t until after Louis’s death that his son, Georges Vuitton, began a campaign to build the company into a worldwide corporation, exhibiting the company’s products at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.

By 1913, the Louis Vuitton Building opened on the Champs-Elysees, becoming the largest travel-goods store in the world at the time. Stores also opened in New York, Bombay, Washington, London, Alexandria, and Buenos Aires as World War I began. In order to broaden its luggage line, the company revamped its signature Monogram Canvas in 1959[3] to make it more supple, allowing it to be used for purses, bags, and wallets.

In 1987 Moët et Chandon and Hennessy, leading manufacturers of champagne and cognac, merged with Louis Vuitton to form the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH. After introducing its pen collection in 1997, Louis Vuitton introduced the following year the company’s first “prêt-à-porter” line of clothing for men and women. Also in this year, the company introduced the Monogram Vernis line, the LV scrapbooks, and the Louis Vuitton City Guide.

By 2001 the first Louis Vuitton jewelry appeared, a charm bracelet, followed by the Tambour watch collection in 2002. In 2004, Louis Vuitton celebrated its 150th anniversary, opening stores in New York City (on Fifth Avenue), São Paulo, and Johannesburg. It also opened its first global store in Shanghai. By 2005, Louis Vuitton reopened its Champs-Élysées store (reputed to be the largest LV store in the world), and released the Speedy watch collection. Today the Louis Vuitton brand stands as a testament to fine handcrafted manufacturing with the highest quality materials.

Patek Philippe Watch Sold for Millions at Auction

San Diego watch enthusiasts will be glad to hear that rare timepieces continue to command top prices on the international market. A Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch went for nearly 6.26 million Swiss francs ($5.86 million) at a recent Christie’s auction. It was sold to a Swiss private museum and set a record for the highest price paid for a yellow gold watch sold at auction, according to Christie’s.

The 1943-44 watch features an avant-garde case design and was a forerunner for future generations of complicated wristwatches. It was sold as part of a 20-piece collection put up by an anonymous seller.

“I started buying watches in the 1970s, at a time when these amazing objects appealed to very few collectors and even fewer scholars were exploring this charming field. In my opinion, wristwatches are the most beautiful wearable item created in the 20th century,” Christie’s quoted the anonymous seller as saying.

Aurel Bacs, international co-head of Christie’s watch department, called it the “Mona Lisa of all watches.”

“European bidders were fiercely challenged by international collectors, especially buyers from China,” he said of the sale.

The name of the museum wasn’t revealed, but Geneva is home to a Patek Philippe museum, which contains the best pieces made by the independent watchmaker. The entire collection netted 16 million Swiss francs, making it the most expensive private collection of watches ever sold.

SDJBL Launches San Diego Buyer Service for Used Handbags & Purses

San Diego Jewelry Buyers & Loans (SDJBL) has announced that it is now buying pre-owned designer handbags, purses, and wallets from the public. The purchasing of authentic designer bags and purses is a new exclusive service that SDJBL is offering clients, who in the past have benefited from the company’s substantial buying offers and collateral loans on fine jewelry, gold, diamonds, and prestige timepieces. Read more

Carl Blackburn & SDJB’s Gold Buying Business

In the following media interview Carl Blackburn, owner of San Diego Jewelry Buyers (SDJB), discusses the ways in which his company’s gold and jewelry impacts the local economy.

San Diego Jewelry Buyers has been in the gold, jewelry, and watch buying business for some thirty years. In these difficult financial times, what role do you see your company fulfilling with regard to the larger San Diego economy?

CB: Every day, San Diegans bring me items which have been lying around in a dresser or safe deposit box, and trade it in for cash. Yesterday a woman in her 80s traded in her scraps of old gold for about $1800, and said she was going straight to Best Buy to get a brand new flat screen TV and home theatre for her apartment. All things considered, I think she’ll get a lot more enjoyment from that TV entertainment center, than she was getting from some old broken gold jewelry that had been lying around in her dresser drawer for 30-40 years. I joked with her that if someone ever breaks into her apartment, the gold would have been a lot easier to make off with than the new giant flat screen TV mounted to her wall!

So you are saying that San Diego Jewelry Buyers helps customers realize wealth they might otherwise have forgotten about?

CB: In many cases, yes. But it also is more than that. When people find out that they have un-tapped wealth sitting in their drawers and cabinets, wealth that can be transferred into quick discretionary income, this feeds the local economy. Money is moved, circulated, spent, and re-generated through all the businesses that the customers patronize with their sudden “windfall”. In addition, taxes are paid on all of these new transactions, thus supporting local, state, and federal government services.

But at some point doesn’t this all run out? I mean, there is only so much of this “untapped” wealth lying around, right?

CB: On the one hand yes, and on the other hand, no. People often ask me “you keep buying all this gold, don’t you think the public will run out of gold soon?” My answer is to point to the whole eBay phenomenon, which turned millions of everyday Americans into moonlighting dealers of second-hand merchandise. That started long before the current gold rush and economic crisis, and people are still selling their unused possessions on eBay, as much if not more so than ever. So do you think that Americans will run out of diamonds, gold, silver, jewelry, and fine watches anytime soon? Sure, the economy is bad now but it will eventually turn around. New precious items will continue to be bought, which eventually become “old” items, and SDJB will be here to turn those items into cash and transfer that wealth back into the economy.

From what I understand, you also see San Diego Jewelry Buyers’ business as contributing to more than just the economy, don’t you?

CB: That’s right. As a professional jeweler and designer, I’ve been a longtime supporter of sustainable luxury. And when it comes to selling your gold to a company like SDJB, people are helping the environment by reducing the need for eco-harmful gold mining activities. The same thing goes for when consumers sell us their pre-owned diamonds and precious gemstones. It’s a win-win situation for our customers, for us, and for the community.

SDJBL Moves to New Location

San Diego Jewelry Buyers & Loans (SDJBL) has announced that it has moved to a new location across from the San Diego Jewelers Exchange building. SDJBL’s new address is 907 6th Ave. The new showroom and offices take up the entire NE corner of 6th and E Street, at the same intersection as the Jewelers Exchange (861 6th Ave.), but on the opposite side of E Street. Read more

How to Sell Your Designer Handbags & Purses in San Diego for Quick Cash

With today’s economy still struggling, many consumers have been selling old, unused products that they consider a “luxury”. In the past, the list of items for sale has included gold jewelry, silver flatware, diamond rings, and high-brand watches. But lately a new product has been added to the things that people are selling for quick cash: designer handbags, purses, and wallets. Read more

Gold Fuels Pawn Shop Boom

KPLC TV News is reporting that the high price of gold has local pawn shops booming, as more people dig through their jewelry boxes for gold items they can trade or sell for cash. The Lake Charles news team interviewed a local pawn shop owner who says more customers are finding gold and pawn shops a great combination, especially since it’s hard to get fast cash from banks and other lending institutions.

“A lot people have single earrings, broken rings or necklaces that they’re not going to repair,” said the pawnbroker. “With the record price of gold now, a lot of times they’re pleasantly surprise with how much they can get for it.” He also advised customers to go local when you put your gold items on the market.

Many people are also mailing in their gold to companies who advertise frequently on television. Recently several of these businesses have come under intense scrutiny. New York Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) has even called for the Federal Trade Commission to look into one company’s “deceptive practices,” after hearing several complaints from sellers who say the company didn’t give them the promised price for their gold.

And all experts agree (including us at the San Diego Luxury Pawn Shop Report) that before selling or trading to any gold buyer, consumers should get several quotes from different brokers.

San Diego Buyer Predicts Strong Prices for Gold, Gold Jewelry, & Scrap Gold

Although the U.S. economy and the dollar remain on shaky ground, many analysts are predicting that one thing will remain strong during 2010: the price of gold. One of those analysts is Carl Blackburn, owner of San Diego Jewelry Buyers (SDJB). Read more

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