The Timeless Joy of Stanhope Jewelry

In today's society, novelty items and antiques are a very hot commodity. Everything from antique lamps to Grandma's china seems to be available for the right price. One item that seems to never go out of style is Stanhope Jewelry. These fantastic pieces are a treasures when found at a local antique dealers shop and always bring in a great laugh when worn out to parties.If you happen to come across a piece of Stanhope Jewelry some where, be sure to pick it up. You won't be disappointed.

Stanhope Jewelry was created by Charles, 3rd Earl of Stanhope. In the 18th century, when Charles lived, these pieces were in great fashion. A Stanhope is defined by having a small peep hole in a ring or necklace where a micro-photograph is placed. When held up to the light the photograph becomes visible as a projected image on the wall. These pieces have always been great fun at parties and they are a sure conversation starter, at the least.

Although, their popularity has fallen off a bit in the past century, there is still plenty of jewelry out there on the market that could fetch a pretty penny if you find the right buyer. What really matters is what the picture shows on the inside of the ring. Most of the time they have had religious pictures of saints and other religious figures placed inside but from time to time they have had naughty images as well. The religious items will probably be the higher ticket items while the naughty images, which have been made more recently, are more commonly used as novelty pieces.

No matter what your goal is when buying a wonderful piece of Stanhope jewelry, they are sure to become one of the most interesting pieces in your collection.