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Chrysolite, chrysoprase, chrysoberyl … chryso whaaat? A guide for antique jewellery collectors

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Chrysolite, chrysoprase, chrysoberyl … chryso whaaat? A guide for antique jewellery collectors

A yellow-green chrysolite set beside a large cabochon garnet in a richly enamelled Holbeinesque pendant from about 1870, just sold by Karen Deakin Antiques in Sydney

Chrysoberyl, chrysocolla, chrysolite and chrysoprase. That’s a lot of gemstones with confusingly similar names. And then there’s chalcedony, which in my head I lump in with the four named above because of its “ch”.

It can be hard to keep them all straight. Do you know the differences between them?

It’s chrysolite I really want to talk about here but let’s get the others out of the way first.

Before we start, let me stress that I’m not a gemologist, and I’m not going to list chemical names or specify crystalline structures. As an antique jewellery dealer I’m interested in how stones look, how they react to light, and how they have been used in the jewels from the periods I deal in, broadly 1700 to about 1960.

An early to mid Victorian chalcedony cross in 15-carat gold, available for sale

I’ll begin with the last one I mentioned, chalcedony, because it appears in several semi-precious forms. These include agate, moss agate, carnelian (as it’s commonly called today, though in my years in the antique markets of London we called it cornelian) and onyx.

Pure chalcedony is white – it’s impurities that add the colour. One often sees white chalcedony in antique jewellery, along with pale blue, mauve and grey versions. It was always shaped and polished rather than faceted because of a special quality that is the result of its crystalline structure: translucence.

When at its best this translucence – and the accompanying distribution of colour – lends itself to large earrings. I’ve written before about how earrings are better than any other type of jewellery at showcasing the beauty of gemstones.

Three chrysoprase pins, all for sale in my store in central Sydney

Let’s move on to chrysoprase, which is actually yet another type of chalcedony. It’s the green version, and can look very similar to jade. In the west it was at its height of popularity during the Art Deco period – as indeed was jade and all things oriental.

Late Georgian and early Victorian white chalcedony long-drop earrings were the inspiration for their later Art Deco chrysoprase counterparts, as seen in these examples I’ve previously sold (and kindly modelled for me by their new owners).

A Victorian day-to-night earring along a chrysoprase and marcasite jewel from the Art Deco period

I’m not going to say much about chrysocolla, a blue-green stone sometimes confused with turquoise, because it isn’t common in the antique jewellery I sell. But I do admire the intense greenish blue of another, similar gemstone with a yet another similar name – chrysocolla chalcedony, also known as gem silica. Extra confusingly, it’s not a form of chrysocolla. It is a chalcedony, though, and top-grade gem silica can demand the highest prices of all the chalcedony variants.

Now on to chrysoberyl, a hard gemstone that is (again bewilderingly) not a beryl – the best-loved beryls are softer and more brittle emeralds and aquamarines. It appears in three main varieties.

The first is ordinary chrysoberyl, which is yellowish-green. The second is chrysoberyl cat’s eye which, when cut in cabochon shape, can display a strong band of opalescence reminiscent of a feline eye. This optical effect is known as “chatoyancy”, from the French “oeil de chat”. The third is the highly prized and extremely rare alexandrite, which has a similarly spectacular trick up its sleeve: it can change colour from green to red depending on the light.

And so finally we can move on to chrysolite, a name derived from the Greek and Latin words for “gold stone”.

Textbooks will tell you there is no such gemstone. Strictly, this is true. It’s is an archaic term that refers to a number of different gems that all display yellow and green hues. These include chrysoberyls, peridots, topazes, sapphires and tourmalines.

Because of this ambiguity, the word chrysolite is no longer used by gemologists. But I believe it has value.

Many antique dealers still use the term, myself included. We do this because it identifies stones of a distinct yellow green that were often seen in late Georgian and early to mid Victorian jewellery.

Then they seemed to disappear. It’s my guess that most of these stones were uniquely coloured peridots from a rich seam that was eventually mined out.

Infuriatingly, my valuer was unable to test the chrysolites set around a cabochon garnet in an opulent Holbeinesque necklet from about 1870 that I have for sale in my shop (see the photo at the top of this blog). The curvature of the large central stone prevented his equipment from getting a proper reading. This means my description for these beguiling beauties must remain, correctly and emphatically, “chrysolites”.

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Enduring love: how to find the right antique or vintage engagement ring (hint: don’t pick opal)

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Enduring love: how to find the right antique or vintage engagement ring (hint: don’t pick opal)

A three-stone diamond vintage engagement ring, available online or at Karen Deakin Antiques in central Sydney

As a dealer in antique jewellery based in Sydney, Australia, I’ve sold countless antique and vintage engagement rings over the years. I could have sold many more … but I’ve turned several potential customers away.

That’s because my rings they most admired just weren’t suitable for everyday wear.

When it comes to engagement rings, some antique and vintage rings are too delicate; others are set with stones that can’t be worn day in, day out.

Hard stones – gems that are not easily scratched – are the ideal choice. It’s here that diamonds, being the toughest precious gemstone, reign supreme. (Of course, this is one of the main reasons they are the most popular stone for engagement rings.)

But sapphires and rubies – differently coloured varieties of the same mineral, corundum – are the next hardest and are also terrific, durable choices.

I have sold some couples emerald engagement rings, but always with the advice that these gorgeous green gems are brittle and can be chipped quite easily. If your spirit is drawn to them – as mine is – you may be prepared to take that risk. But try to avoid a setting that places the emerald at the highest point of the design, as this is the most exposed and thus the most vulnerable.

It saddens me to see opal rings being promoted as a good choice for engagement rings. Australia’s dazzling national gemstone is my favourite stone of them all … but robust it is not. An opal is just far too easy to crack with a careless knock.

Pearls are also up there among the most unsuitable stones. They are extremely porous and will absorb dirt and oils from your skin, which quickly discolours them to grey. This happened to my sister-in-law, who had bought her engagement ring from Harrods.

And semi-precious stones such as garnet, amethyst, citrine, morganite peridot and moonstone should be treated with caution – no matter how appealing their colours are. Hardness is the main point of physical difference between precious and semi-precious stones; the prices they command follows on from that quality.

Finally, I must warn that delicate rings exquisitely set with multiple small stones might be so very appealing, but they are also just so very unsuitable for everyday wear.

Goldsmiths in Georgian England made an art of using as little of the precious metal as possible – and, given the advent of platinum, Edwardian jewellery was similarly light. In ring design the emphasis was placed on the gemstones, allowing them to dominate in jewels that displayed the fineness that only platinum could achieve with reasonable strength.

But all this this was at a time when the women who could buy fine jewellery neither went to the gym nor did hard housework.

I give the same advice to all my customers, outlined in full in my blog last year: Caring for antique engagement rings. Take your rings off when you get home. Put them in the same place every time – somewhere you can easily put them on just before you leave the house. And don’t wash up, garden, sleep or bathe wearing them.

Then they might survive for another hundred years.

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Buying antique and vintage jewellery: your seven-point guide to working out how much a piece is really worth

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Buying antique and vintage jewellery: your seven-point guide to working out how much a piece is really worth

A superbly crafted and designed sapphire and diamond Art Deco ring, for sale here

What makes a good piece of antique jewellery? Why are some jewels more desirable than others? And what is a piece really worth? These are questions that new and not-so-new collectors ask themselves constantly.

The short answer is that a jewel is worth as much as you are willing to pay for it. Jewellery is decoration: it satisfies a basic desire for adornment in humans – and every person is unique in his or her appreciation of beauty.

Yet long ago I noticed that as a dealer and collector I use a rough mental checklist of seven factors I consider whenever I am buying. I thought I’d run you through them – I hope they’ll help you too.

My jewellery-buying checklist:

1. Authenticity: my first criterion. There are so many reproductions around today, and some of them are very good. South America, in particular, is producing a vast amount of them; so is Portugal, along with several other countries. It really does take many years of buying to pick what can be extremely subtle differences between reproductions and genuine antiques. You may want to buy from someone knowledgeable who will guarantee the age of piece. That won’t always be the most expensive jewellery shop in town.

2. Condition: a main driver of prices in antique and vintage jewellery. There are a lot of damaged old pieces out there and the more damage there is the more their worth tumbles. If a piece is very rare or very old a little damage may be acceptable. Minor, difficult-to-see dings will affect the value less than obvious blemishes. But beware of hidden faults not easily seen. It can be reassuring to buy from dealers who will stand behind the soundness of their pieces.

3. Design: imagine what a jewel would look like as a drawing. Consider here the arrangement of the component elements, the choice of colours and materials, and the surface treatment – whether solid, worked or using negative space.

4. Materials: these give a jewel its intrinsic value. What you would pay for the gold, diamonds and gemstones that were used to create it? When high-quality components are present it is often a sign that other factors such as design and workmanship will be good – the maker will not want to have squandered valuable materials. But of course that’s not always the case: we have all seen beautiful stones in ugly settings and poor materials in a beautifully worked pieces.

5. Rarity: an obvious factor in value. The price for good antique earrings is very high owing to their rarity. (My previous blog, on antique earrings, explains why they are so scarce). Georgian and earlier jewellery can command astronomical prices because so few pieces survive from so long ago – a time when few people outside the nobility wore jewels. Rarity has to be combined with wearability, though – the next consideration on the list.

6. Wearability: this comes down to fashion and depends on place and time. A few years ago it was extremely difficult to sell anything with an inscription or a monogram. Now such pieces are being avidly collected as repositories of history. And brooches are for the most most part out of fashion – so are relatively underpriced because of it. In Australia some years ago there was a huge fashion for women wearing men’s watch chains as necklaces. Prices soared accordingly. Now most are languishing in jewellery boxes and are worth far less.

7. Workmanship: this comes down to the jeweller’s skill in transforming raw elements into a harmonious whole – where the human hand works a metamorphosis. Occasionally jewellers who are true artists emerge. Lalique, perhaps, was the greatest of these. But there have been many including Castellani, Fabergé, Giuliano and Cartier, just to start.

So that’s the full checklist. Every jewel will score more highly on some factors than on others.

For example, a low-quality diamond in a cheap cast ring setting might be worth less than a Bakelite necklace. The diamond might outscore the plastic in terms of the materials’ intrinsic value, but an original necklace in a rare design and pristine condition could still be the more appealing piece of jewellery – and thus more valuable.

You should, of course, buy what you love. But educate yourself, too. A 10x loupe could be your best new jewellery friend. And there are several excellent jewellery reference books available. If you can’t afford to collect them, your local library may be worth a visit.

Finally, do speak to jewellery dealers. Ask questions! For my part – as followers of my @karendeakin.antiques Instagram account will be aware – I absolutely love to share my knowledge with my fellow jewellery lovers. Please do shoot me an email: if I can help I will.

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Why is it so hard to find good antique earrings?

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Why is it so hard to find good antique earrings?

One of a pair of mid-Victorian earrings with banded agates in high-carat gold. They’re for sale – email me if you’d like to know more …

Vanity drove me to buy and thus collect good antique earrings in my early days of dealing. I was 28 and my face seemed more attractive when I added earrings, especially if they had movement.

Rings weren’t for me – my hands have always been short and square with unloved nails. So, as a fledgling dealer, I was ready for my first serious pair.

It was very early on a Wednesday morning at Camden Passage antique market in London that I found them. In the window of the only shop open at 6am was a pair of early Victorian garnet earrings. It was love. I went in and examined them with my loupe.

I asked the trade price; they were 120 pounds. I had never spent that amount on anything before. Half that or less was my usual. In the late seventies money went further and antiques were far cheaper.

With a pounding heart I said I would buy them. I didn’t really know if I could sell them on quickly, and that was a necessity given my limited finances. But I was determined to take the risk.

They were the first of many beautiful pairs I’ve bought since then. I’ve kept just a few over the years. I tend to gravitate to the mid-Victorian period, as I think they suit me best. Large, long and articulated, they balance my wild curly hair. Most are gold, though I do have a silver pair in the same strong Archaeological Revival style. I look forward to showing you them in a later blog.

Good antique earrings are rare, although they were usually in fashion through most of the 19th and early 20th centuries – with the exception of the 1890s, when they were small or not worn at all.

Yet few pairs have survived. As a result they have always been relatively expensive for the modern collector.

Why have there been so many losses to the market? First, two have had to survive together without one being lost or damaged.

When short earrings were fashionable a pair might be split into two smaller pairs. A mother’s earrings might be split into two pendants by loving daughters, each to have a memento.

When pierced ears went out of fashion in the mid 20th century, many earrings were ruined by having screw fittings applied by crude workers who used lead solder, which eats into the metal it is attached to. Many were also light in weight, though they looked substantial. When made of hollow gold, a dropped earring soon becomes a crushed earring.

I have seen many examples of beautiful Victorian earrings stuck on to a bar of gold and slathered with lead solder to form a most unattractive brooch. It’s likely that these were victims of the 1890s lack of love for earrings.

This is a shame because, of all types of jewellery, earrings are the best at showcasing gemstones. Light is able to shine through them in a way that rings, brooches and pendants – all worn next to the body – just can’t manage.

If ever you come to my shop, please seek out my collection of antique and vintage earrings. I’d be thrilled to get them out for you to hold up beside your face in the light – to bring them to life.

You might also be interested in: Caring for Antique Engagement Rings!

The best antique & vintage jewellery in Australia

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How to photograph jewellery using a smartphone – the low-tech guide

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How to photograph jewellery using a smartphone – the low-tech guide

Nothing beats holding a piece of antique jewellery when it comes to making a decision about buying it. My photographs and videos do their utmost to put my rings, necklaces and earrings into my online customers’ hands … and I’m so grateful to them for putting their trust in mine.

The photos are taken by Nikki of @life.is.short.diamonds on Instagram, who changed my life when she came into my Sydney store nearly two and a half years ago. For years I’d dreamed of putting Karen Deakin Antiques online … but I’m a techno-idiot. (Really I am. Just last week l learnt how to copy and paste!) With Nikki’s help and encouragement I joined Instagram, then Etsy, and now I have this website – which is very much a work in progress. It’s a sharp learning curve.

Most weeks Nikki – now a dear friend – visits my shop in the city after she finishes work. After catching up we pick out a mix of pieces and begin. (What you see here in my online store is just a fraction of what I have for sale … as I said, it’s a work in progress.)

While Nikki wields her iPhone and wrestles with the tricky artificial lighting in my shop, I measure, weigh and do my best to describe each piece – and why I love it. (And if a jewel has a flaw of any kind I will include it in my listing and make sure the photos show it.)

Nikki uses a clip-on macro lens ($20 from Bondi market) to get in close, but that’s only part of the story. She takes A LOT of photos. She isn’t a professional photographer – and we use her phone rather than a camera because it’s easier and quicker to process the images – but both of us are extremely picky about the end results.

It always comes back to the light – how it hits a ring, how it illuminates a diamond. Images have to “pop”. She’ll work a jewel’s angles and run through a checklist to make sure we have:

● The “hero”: the photo I’ll use for the main image and, often, for Instagram ● “On skin”: pictures that show it worn and in a hand ● The rear view: beside a metal ruler for scale ● The video: these are emphatically low-tech – we have to mute the sound if we’re chatting too much – but their job is to show customers just how each jewel would look if they could handle it themselves

For props we use raid my treasured collection of antique jewellery boxes. While I’ve long known which colours best set off the gemstones in my display cabinets, it’s almost startling to see how drab a vibrant vintage engagement ring can appear to the iPhone lens if it’s in a box whose colour doesn’t suit it.

I have old hands and Nikki has large ones so occasionally – for a treat – we’ll get someone in to model. We love those days!

Later Nikki will process the images, using Instagram tools to get the light and colour right, and other apps to lessen the amount of fluff on the velvet boxes – and to smooth out wrinkles on ageing hands …

The aim isn’t to enhance reality but to communicate it better – as great as camera lenses are, they just don’t capture what the eye sees. And fluff and blemishes are distracting.

What I absolutely do not want are surprises. I want all my online customers to know exactly what they’re buying and to be delighted with their purchases.

And then I want them to come back for more!

Check out our own antique jewellery collection in Sydney!

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The antique jewels I wear every day

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The antique jewels I wear every day

      Like most women I have a few favourite pieces of antique jewellery I wear every day. Although I have the choice of all my stock I always put on the same Georgian diamond ring, bought in the early 1980s, and a pair of (usually) mid-Victorian earrings – from my favourite jewellery era. I have a handful of beautiful gold pairs and one pair of silver ones, also from the 1870s.

I often add a gold enamel locket on an antique snake-link chain, or a lily of the valley Essex crystal on a slightly finer snake chain.

I bought these core pieces during the time I was a jewellery dealer in London, from 1978 until 1986. It was my great adventure, and my apprenticeship years. My training college was the antique markets of London – Portobello Road, Bermondsey, Camden Passage, Christie’s South Kensington, Sunday antique fairs in grand hotels, and Hatton Garden.

And I associate many of these jewels with the people I bought them from.

A favourite pair of earrings from John Joseph, who many of you know on Instagram as @john_antique_1234, came in their original box. Interestingly, these English earrings have an unusual carat tag applied to the back: 16 – not the normal 15 or 18 from about 1870. This was a time when standards of gold were quite fluid and were still being established.

My Georgian diamond ring was bought early one Wednesday morning at Camden Passage market from Johnny Beslali. He always went buying around the shops in the lanes of Brighton on Tuesdays, so would appear in London with fresh jewels on Wednesday mornings.

I have worn it every day since then. It has been through so much that it is now a part of me. I’m not superstitious normally, but putting this ring on every day empowers me.

We are drawn to jewellery that suits both us and our lifestyles. My ring from about 1830 is beautiful in my eyes because it still has the slight heaviness and irregularity of the time, compared with similar, beautiful Edwardian or Art Deco diamond cluster rings.

As I don’t have beautiful hands I feel comfortable with the understated flash and fire of its old mine cut diamonds. I also appreciate that the open setting of the diamonds means I don’t have to take it off to wash my hands, unlike some Georgian rings which have foil-backed closed settings and will darken if exposed to water.

I’ve loved this ring so much I’ve even had to have my goldsmith replace the band a couple of times because I’ve worn it through!

In the mid-Victorian period when my earrings were made, the discoveries of ancient designs were inspiring all fashionable jewellers. Etruscan, Greek, Assyrian or, as here, Roman styles were all embraced. Italy was the great originator of these fashions, but they soon became the jewels of choice for all stylish women internationally.

I find them as timeless in their appeal as those women from the 1860s and 70s did. Their classical symmetrical simplicity and the soft colour of old gold make them jewels I feel comfortable wearing every day.

I’ll talk more about my other core pieces in a later blog.

Antique diamond & engagement rings Sydney – old antique earrings Australia

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It’s green, purple and white – but is it really suffragette jewellery?

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It’s green, purple and white – but is it really suffragette jewellery?

A suffragette ring. Or is it?

You’re looking at an English-made antique ring from the Edwardian era, featuring an amethyst, a peridot and a natural pearl. It must be a suffragette ring. Or is it?

The pretty colour combination of green, white and violet – later claimed to stand for “Give Women Votes” – from this period was adopted by the group led by Emmeline Pankhurst, a British political activist who rose to prominence in the first years of the 20th century.

The white stood for purity, the purple for dignity and the green for hope, but these women were no shrinking violets. Members of Pankhurst’s Women’s Social and Political Union did not shy from physical confrontation and the group became notorious for its increasingly militant tactics.

Despite this – or perhaps because of the attention they attracted – their contribution is today seen as central to British women achieving suffrage in 1918. (Interestingly, women across the newly federated nation of Australia beat them by a full 16 years, though the United States came to the party a little later, in 1920.)

The three-colour combination still resonates now – they’re the colours of International Women’s Day.

But today the antique jewellery market is awash with so-called suffragette jewels in these colours, antique rings featuring what are quite obviously crudely swapped-in replacement gemstones. Seeing them has made me very sceptical of all such pieces – I even ended up doubting that the women of the era wore their colours so openly.

Yet after reading about the suffrage movement online, I now feel reassured that women did indeed wear green, white and violet – and did so in their thousands. For example, some 10,000 scarves were sold before a big street march in London in 1908.

And it’s certain that some suffragette jewellery was produced. For Christmas in 1908 the London jeweller Mappin & Webb produced a catalogue of it. Pankhurst herself wore a square silver “Holloway” brooch designed by her daughter, which resembled the House of Commons portcullis and was a badge of honour for women who had been imprisoned.

Yet I’ve been in the business nearly 40 years and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a genuine piece of suffragette jewellery.

Have you? I’d be very interested to hear your views.

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How to care for antique engagement rings

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How to care for antique engagement rings

Diamonds are tough but they need looking after. Photo by Bill Bogenschutz

Whenever I sell an antique or vintage engagement ring, I give its new owner a list of instructions for its care. Diamonds might be hard, and gold and platinum strong, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be damaged.

As I said in my last blog, I’m passionate about condition. I like to do my bit to ensure that a ring in good condition stays that way.

First off, some don’ts. Don’t shower, sleep or do housework with your ring on. Don’t exercise, swim or do yoga or the gardening with it. And don’t wear it while washing up! (A customer in Texas who just bought a pretty Edwardian diamond ring from me said she was thrilled to hear that. The ring wasn’t coming off, she said – so the dishes would from here on have to be her husband’s job …)

Everyday chemicals and cleaning products can damage or discolour precious metals. And moisture is the enemy of jewellery – that goes for all jewellery, not just the antique or engagement kind.

A splash of water won’t hurt most gemstones – though those that are foil-backed (and these aren’t suitable for everyday wear, as engagement rings must be) should be taken off before washing your hands. I know I’ve received odd looks in public facilities for my habit of placing a precious old ring between my teeth before turning on the tap!

It’s important to clean your ring regularly, as grime can harbour moisture and let bacteria thrive. Use a jewellery cleaning dip: most retail jewellers stock tubs of this. If you don’t have dip, toothpaste or dish detergent work well too. A soft brush or cotton bud can help dislodge the dirt.

Rinse well, but be sure there’s a plug in the sink. And dry your ring thoroughly, using a towel or something absorbent.

Finish by polishing it with a soft cloth – either a jewellery cloth or one that’s suitable for wiping glass.

I recommend that you put your ring on just as you’re leaving the house, and take it off as soon as you get home. It needs to have its own safe spot separate from other jewellery – place it in a soft pouch if you need to store it for any time.

And rings need regular check-ups by a professional jeweller: this is a complimentary service I offer for all the jewels I sell.

Does anyone have any other tips?

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Antique jewellery: why condition matters

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Antique jewellery: why condition matters

People age but jewellery doesn’t have to.

When I began my career in antique jewellery in London nearly 40 years ago, I quickly realised the importance of condition when it comes to reselling a piece. Seemingly slight damage made not just a vast difference to price but also to whether that jewel was desirable – at any price.

As I was only buying from and selling to other dealers in those early days, I decided to only buy items in excellent condition, purely to increase my chances of selling them on. It became a habit.

When I opened my first standalone shop on my return to Australia – having served an eight-year “apprenticeship” in the London antique markets – I decided to stick to my principle of only buying jewels in wonderful condition. I felt then, and still do, that if the new owner ever wanted to sell the piece, they should have the chance to maximise the potential price. And damaged goods only realise low prices on the open market. (I’m saddened today when I see Etsy and Instagram dealers with many thousands of followers charging high prices for items that are quite visibly damaged.)

For me, while an antique jewel must be authentic, its condition is just as important. As I see it, people age but jewellery doesn’t have to.

All this means I’m extremely choosy about the antique and period jewels I buy and offer for sale. Gemstones must be original, not replacements. Antique rings must have started their lives as rings, not as Victorian brooches or Georgian buttons. Enamel should be intact, micro-mosaics complete, goldwork crisp. I like antique Persian turquoise to be bright and even, not green and discoloured.

This insistence is because I still see it as my responsibility to my clients to find them pieces that will not only hold their value as investments, but appreciate.

Of course, not everything I have for sale is pristine. I choose pieces by weighing design, workmanship, authenticity, wearability and the intrinsic value of the gemstones and metals against their rarity and condition. So I may offer jewels that do show signs of wear – as long as they are rare and precious. And I ensure that my listings both mention and show that wear.

All that said, I do understand many will not agree with all that I’ve said about condition. I like it that we all come to appreciating antique jewellery with an individual mindset. This is mine – what’s yours?

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Hello, world. This is Karen Deakin Antiques

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Hello, world. This is Karen Deakin Antiques

I decided I liked shopping so much I’d like to make my living doing it. Photo by Bill Bogenschutz

Hello, I’m Karen Deakin. As this is my first blog for my new website, I thought I should start by introducing myself and tell you a little of what I’m about.

I’m an antique jewellery specialist based in Sydney, Australia. I sell vintage jewellery and offer antique and vintage engagement rings, Art Deco engagement rings, and quality period jewels from between 1780 and 1960. Authenticity, condition, design and wearability are paramount to me. I strive to buy well and price keenly.

Though I’m Sydney-born – I grew up around Bondi in the city’s eastern suburbs – it was when I was living in London in my late 20s and working as a cook that I started in the business. It was 1978, and I decided I liked shopping so much I’d like to make my living doing it.

I began working for a dealer in the Antiquarius antiques centre in Chelsea to learn the trade. It took me several months to save 300 pounds. Then I took a punt: spending 120 of it on what was at the time an extremely expensive pair of Victorian earrings, in the belief I could sell them on. I still remember the trepidation I felt at risking so much money on a hunch – but I backed myself and turned a small profit. Karen Deakin Antiques began there.

I had stalls at the Portobello Road market in Notting Hill, at Bermondsey market and in Camden Passage, and, for a time, a stand at Grays antiques centre in Mayfair. When I moved back to Sydney in 1986 I opened a shop in the Woollahra Antique Gallery, then spent several years upstairs in the Queen Victoria Building.

Since 2001 I’ve had a store on the fourth floor of the Dymocks Building in the city centre. It’s a heritage building – also known as “The Block” – that houses a collection of small specialist businesses. It’s a quaint and quiet haven amid the bustle and noise of the city.

Moving online has been a big step for me, which began in a small way two years ago when I started my Instagram account, @karendeakin.antiques. I began listing jewels online in June this year. (That process is ongoing: what you see here on my site is still a small fraction of my stock, so please get in touch if there’s anything in particular you’re seeking … or better yet, come visit me in my shop!)

Now, nearly 40 years later, I still love what I do. Even after all this time I’m still constantly learning, and I’ve worked hard to gain the knowledge I have. I look forward to sharing some of that here …