Do you have a piece of jewelry tucked away and wish you knew more about it? Perhaps it once belonged to your grandmother, or it may be an old piece that you bought but you still have questions about it.
Twyla Wright, museum curator, invites the public to a program on Antique and Vintage Jewelry to be held at Old Independence Regional Museum on Sunday, November 6 at 2 p.m. Sisters Kitty Skinner Wilson and Cindy Skinner-Stewart will talk about jewelry in general, show pieces they own, and examine some that belong to the audience. “We have a rare opportunity to gain information from qualified experts while enjoying the experience!” said Wright.
“If a piece of jewelry is more than 100 years old we say it is Antique. Vintage jewelry is usually categorized as from about 1940 to 1980,” said Kitty. “Tools that are used to examine jewelry are: a microscope, a 10X loupe, a diamond scribe, an electronic diamond tester, an electronic gold tester, gold scales, and diamond scales,“ she added.
The public is invited to bring along jewelry that they want more information about, such as its metal type, stone type, and the era of the piece. However, Kitty emphasized that they will not be doing monetary value appraisals.
“I began working in my father’s jewelry store here in Batesville when I was very young. I was not tall enough to see over the counters, so I would stand on the bottom shelf to help customers,” Kitty said.
She worked all through Junior and Senior High School and on weekends during college. After her marriage she moved away, but continued to work when they came to Batesville for family holidays. Eventually, they moved back and she helped her father and uncle run the business and to continue it after her father’s death. The family business closed in February 2011, after 64 years in business.
“My experience is hands-on learning, with instruction through the Gemological Institute of America” Kitty explained. “I love all jewelry, especially Antique and Vintage.”
Cindy Skinner-Stewart majored in Art at the U. of A. in Fayetteville with an emphasis in Jewelry Arts. She continued her education in jewelry arts and hand engraving at Gem City College in Quincy, Illinois, before attending the Gemological Institute of America in Santa Monica, California, to become a graduate gemologist. Cindy has owned her own wholesale business in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the last 19 years. Her company specializes in diamonds, colored stones, jewelry tools and supplies.
Normal museum hours are: Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for seniors and $1.00 for children. The museum is located at 380 South 9th street, between Boswell and Vine Streets in Batesville.
Old Independence is a regional museum serving a 12-county area: Baxter, Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Marion, Poinsett, Sharp, Stone, White, and Woodruff. Parts of these present-day counties comprised the original Independence County in 1820’s Arkansas territory.
