Estate Sales & Auction Blog

From family heirlooms to fabulous secondhand finds, nothing evokes fun yet elegant entertaining like antique and vintage sterling silver and silver-plate. What's not to love about the sparkle of silver when entertaining family and friends during the holidays? Polishing ... that's what. Check out this de-tarnishing hack that'll make you yearn to start your own silver collection.

Every August, National Wear Your Mother's Jewelry Day occurs without much fanfare and without much notice. But this year, we got to thinking, what might be so special about your mother's (or grandmother's) jewelry that there's a day dedicated to it? That question led us to consider all jewelry passed down from our forbears ... heirloom jewelry and to inquire for industry experts their tips for sourcing and passing down heirloom jewelry.

From the BRG family to you, have a happy Independence Day. In addition to family picnics and BBQs we take some time to reflect on what this holiday embodies -- American freedom -- with 13 notable quotes from historical figures.

Whether the day is spent enjoying the outdoors or video chatting from afar, the entire BRG family wishes fathers everywhere a very happy, safe, and relaxing Father's Day.

Some terms don't necessarily fall into the neat categories of gemology or metallurgy, but are nonetheless good to know. We've collected some miscellaneous jewelry terms -- most of them have to do with embellishments. Here are our terms of miscellany.

Since the dawn of the Bronze Age, metals (precious, semi-precious, and non-precious) have become ubiquitous with jewelry. From tin to gold, popularity and values of metals ebb and flow. In our sixth installment of our jewelry series, learn some key terms and metals used in jewelry today.

A defense attorney and former mayor of Burlington, NC turned interior design firm entrepreneur, William ("Billy") Lewis Durham's career path was diverse, to say the least. He was a life-long connoisseur and collector of fine home furnishings. Billy's passion for home furnishings fed his entrepreneurial spirit and led him to begin two design businesses which sourced, curated, and provided exceptional design, antiques, and extraordinarily well-designed home good items. His name became ubiquitous for fine design in the interior space.

Styles and forms of jewelry have transformed through the ages, while others have become ubiquitous with good design. Join us on a brief trip back in time to explore key eras in the history of jewelry.

When it comes to jewelry, knowledge is definitely power! How can you tell the difference between something that is pure versus plated? How can you determine the difference between a real diamond versus some of the really beautiful modern-day high-end cubic zirconias on the market? It just so happens, that BRG has its own jewelry lab and now we're giving you an inside peek inside.

What "holiday" promotes awareness of apparel industry waste with the end goal of reducing that waste? Learn more here.