Part one of a million pt.3

Posted on by garbagefinds

This was one of my better hauls from this spot. There were only two bags out, but they contained a well tousled collection of jewellery. I assume some pieces were kept, but there was still lots left for me.

Here’s the collection after my first round of sorting. It was quite the mass of stuff! At front right is a vintage Gubelin watch box that I sold quickly for 80$.

This jewelry box is very old – there’s some writing on the bottom indicating that it was gifted way back in 1881. It’s in pretty good condition for its age!

Many pieces were touristy, made from shells, stones, or other materials from their area of origin.

A lot of these are made from different kinds of shell. I don’t think any of it is particularly valuable, but it’s still quality costume jewelry.

I saved a bunch of those colourful, nature themed brooches/pendants. None are marked, but I suspect they were made in Japan. That scarab pendant is nice, I think it’s made from silver & turquoise.

I think those pink necklaces are made from some kind of stone. The one on the bottom is made from wood, and I think the black and white one is plastic. Those beads in the box are either glass or stone.

There’s a few nice necklaces here, including ones made from amber, pearl, and coral. I’d guess that the coral one up top was made in a French colony, because the round part of the pendant was made using a French coin.

We have a little silver here, including that Catholic charm, the Mayan calendar set, and the Bluenose pendant. I don’t think the pendant attached to that top piece is silver, but the necklace might be. It’s hallmarked with a picture of what looks to be a cow. Those white earrings at top right were made in India, and are probably ivory.

Most of the stuff up top is silver, including that RCAF sweetheart bracelet. On the back is an engraving dating to 1943.

On the right is a piece of scrimshaw, and a blue flower pendant that I’m told is probably made from anodized titanium. The rock on the left looks to be a hunk of turquoise.

I realized relatively recently that old ring boxes sell for pretty good money.

Both of these were made by Birks, which gives them a little extra pedigree. I recently sold the one on the right for 65$, and have the one of the left listed for 125$. That might be a bit of an ask, but not by much. It’s in great condition and probably about 100 years old. The exterior is covered with a thin layer of blue leather with gold accents. Hidden inside was a winder key of some kind.

This, I suppose is the cream of the crop. At top left are three sterling silver & mother of pearl pocket knives. They should sell for between 50-100$ each. That bird brooch is Mexican silver, and quite large at 9.5cm tall. The watch to the right of it is marked “Apex 18k”. It needs some work, but the case is very pretty. The watch below is a Langendorf, which seems to have been a decent brand in its day, while the other is an “M&O’s.” Otherwise, we have another Scottish silver & agate brooch (I’ve found a few of these now), a Marcel Boucher ribbon brooch, a neat pill box made using an Indian coin, and a cool (but unfortunately unsigned) brutalist style pendant.

Overall, it was a pretty good haul! I’ve found some other nice jewelry here, but never this much at one time.

I still have tonnes of stuff to share from this spot. It hasn’t produced anything too exciting the past couple of weeks, but the trash is still coming out. I was pretty lucky with bigger items this week, including a couple of quality electronic pieces. I’ll post about it all here at some point.

I took today (Friday) off for weather related reasons again. This time it was really cold, and I didn’t feel like going out in it. Last week it was snow, and the week before that it was the huge dump of snow. Fortunately, being my own boss means I can make my own schedule. Also, the weather should improve soon enough…

Links

1. Facebook page
2. My eBay listings, Sign up for eBay, Search for something you want / research something you have (I’m a member of the eBay Partner Network so I make a bit of money if you buy things [even if they’re not mine] or sign up for an account via these links)
3. Help me pay off student loan debt / Contribute to the blog
4. Follow me on Instagram
5. Email: thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com – note that it might take me some time to reply, and that I am unlikely to be able to fulfill requests for items

13 thoughts on “Part one of a million pt.3”

    1. Who…the **ck throws jewellery out? And that much of it to boot?! Glad you saved it. Upsets me to think of everything else that ends up in a landfill because of people like that 😔

  2. I cannot believe this.These people must be millionaires.Even then this is shocking.Congratulations for making these finds.You make my jaw drop too often.

  3. I am a landlady in the Ottawa area.I own an apartment building with 10 units.If I were to find such beautiful jewelry in the trash,I would keep it for myself and my family.I do not need to sell it to make money.
    Martin,I think people who throw out such things can often be those suffering from dementia.People with dementia often throw out valuable things in the trash.What do you think?

    1. I’ve personally never heard of people with dementia throwing nice things in the trash. I have heard of them “stashing” things places and then forgetting about them, and I think some of those stashes end up in the trash when relatives deal with their belongings and don’t pay much attention to what they’re throwing out. I think most of my finds come from people moving, or people clearing out a house / estate of someone who has passed away. I’d say that this spot is due to the latter.

  4. If you are wondering what is plastic or ivory or other bone, try turning/moving it against your tooth edge. You can feel and hear ridges on real bone. Plastic is too smooth. I do this at thrift stores. No, I don’t care about germs.

  5. Wow … that 1881 jewelry box is wonderful! What a treasure!
    I can’t believe the quantity and quality of jewelry here. And almost all of it the kind of (nature and nature-themed) stuff I might have picked up back in the day when I wore such things.
    I’m wondering what that two-pronged key-like doohickey in the pic with the hunk of turquoise is.

  6. Love those Victorian/Edwardian mother-of-pearl and silver pen knives! I am always so happy for you when I see that you scored a bunch of bigger-ticket items. Spring is on the way, with Moving Day in July coming up fast, so here’s hoping for more amazing finds a great great blog posts soon!! Thanks for all you do.

  8. LOVE the finds. I would love to buy the pendant in photo #11 gold color round shape with black detail. How long before you list it?

  9. Of course another timely post from you! I was just gifted a box of costume jewelry from an elderly friend. Not as Int’l or authentic as your finds, but still interesting and fun to look through. I already took some cooler, retro pieces to the trendy consignment store but they weren’t interested. Might try to list some as a lot on eBay or just sell it next time I go to the Flea Market. I agree, Martin, dementia sufferers stash in hiding places but don’t toss. I think the stuff you find is just family or hired help cleaning out spaces to get them ready to sell or rent. Just people tossing because they don’t have time to deal with it. So glad you save this stuff from the landfill and make money to boot. Think of all of the collectors and buyers who have been delighted to buy your finds!

  10. Wonderful haul! Like others have said, I’m so happy you save these things from the landfill. It would be a shame to have them destroyed when there are folks happy to give them a good home.

  11. My word, what an astounding haul of jewelry! I can’t believe that people put such beautiful and valuable items in the TRASH! Clearly, they don’t need the money and don’t want to spend the time selling the items, just want to get rid of it the easiest way possible. That would be the trash, for sure. Anyway, thanks to you for rescuing it. You deserve every cent you make from it. My favorite from your post today is a little brooch in the shape of a narcissus flower in the sixth photo from the top in the upper left corner. I wonder if you’ve sold it and how much you might want for it. I love it as daffodils and narcissus are my favorite flowers.

    Thanks again, for rescuing all these treasures!

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