Leila's Lockets and Crafts

Leila's Lockets and Crafts Sharing estate fine jewelry, personally assembled gemstone lockets, and vintage fashion jewelry for timeless style & sustainable fashion.

Leila's Lockets and Crafts - Every piece has a past and a purpose. I curate estate fine jewelry, design gemstone lockets by hand, and revive vintage fashion finds — all chosen for their craftsmanship, history, and enduring style. Repurposing what’s already beautiful means less waste, more meaning, and jewelry that never goes out of fashion.

Mid-century modernist jewelry has a design philosophy behind it — clean lines, bold materials, and a deliberate rejectio...
06/17/2026

Mid-century modernist jewelry has a design philosophy behind it — clean lines, bold materials, and a deliberate rejection of the fussy Victorian and Edwardian styles that came before. Renoir of Hollywood leaned into that fully, and their Matisse enamel line is the best example of it. This wide copper bangle is stamped Matisse © Renoir and covered in a deep red vitreous enamel with a spatter pattern that gives it real visual depth. Vitreous means kiln-fired — not painted, not coated — which is part of why these pieces have held up so well over 60+ years. The bare copper interior is intentional contrast, not an unfinished edge. These show up in serious vintage jewelry collections for good reason.

https://www.ebay.com/str/leilaslockets

There's something about a Caravelle. Bulova launched the line in 1962 as their quality-accessible alternative — and by t...
06/15/2026

There's something about a Caravelle. Bulova launched the line in 1962 as their quality-accessible alternative — and by the late 1960s it was the largest selling jeweled watch in America. This pendant version shows you why. A radial sunburst disc, fine parallel lines fanning outward from center to edge, a clean cream dial with gold baton markers. No fuss. Just a well-made piece that knew exactly what it was.
This one tested 18k gold surface on the watch body via Gemoro AuRACLE Analyzer. That's not "gold tone" — that's a confirmed gold surface finish on a Bulova brand piece from the decade they were at their peak. It's in the shop now.

Also just listed: a Waldman Swiss pendant in a scalloped flower frame with 14k confirmed gold surface and engraved star and diamond motifs — and a Brichot 17 Jewels Swiss with one of the most unusual dials I've come across, black enamel Roman numeral cartouches surrounding a baroque scrollwork center medallion.

https://www.ebay.com/str/leilaslockets

Gold and black. It's one of those combinations that doesn't need explaining — it just works, and it has worked for a ver...
05/24/2026

Gold and black. It's one of those combinations that doesn't need explaining — it just works, and it has worked for a very long time. This is a 925 gold vermeil dome ring, size 7, with a face covered edge-to-edge in dark faceted pavé stones. The contrast is exactly what you'd expect: warm yellow gold, near-black stones, no competition between the two.

The open lattice construction underneath the dome tells you this wasn't a quick casting job. Full pavé dome. Gold vermeil. Dark stones with a possible navy undertone depending on the light. Statement ring energy without the statement ring price tag.

https://www.ebay.com/str/leilaslockets

Copper doesn't ask for much. No stone, no setting, no karat stamp. Just metal and a pattern that's been etched into jewe...
05/22/2026

Copper doesn't ask for much. No stone, no setting, no karat stamp. Just metal and a pattern that's been etched into jewelry since people first figured out how to work the stuff.

This one is a vintage estate find — solid copper, size 7, 6.5mm wide, with a repeating compass star motif running the full band. The interior has the kind of warm patina that only comes with actual time. The outside is clean and sharp.

A little context worth knowing: copper is one of the oldest metals humans ever wore as jewelry, predating gold and silver use in many cultures. It's also had a long parallel life as a wellness material — people have worn copper against the skin for centuries based on the belief it supports joint health. Whether you're in it for the folklore or just like the look of a solid metal band with good bones, the market for copper rings has stayed surprisingly consistent.

https://www.ebay.com/str/leilaslockets

Mid-century American manufacturing had a moment in Providence, Rhode Island, and this brooch is a small piece of that st...
05/21/2026

Mid-century American manufacturing had a moment in Providence, Rhode Island, and this brooch is a small piece of that story. Catamore Jewelry Co. ran out of Providence from the early 1940s until 1981 — a family operation that, at its peak, manufactured all precious metal jewelry for Coro, one of the biggest costume jewelry names of the 20th century. When you see the Catamore stamp, you're looking at a maker with real production credentials, not a generic import.

This one is a gold flower brooch — six petals with a fine diagonal crosshatch texture, curved stem, faux pearl center. 1/20 12K gold filled, which means a bonded layer of 12-karat gold permanently fused to the base metal under heat and pressure. Not plating. The distinction matters because gold-filled pieces from this era routinely survive 60+ years without wear-through. This one has.

https://www.ebay.com/str/leilaslockets

Dark silver, clear stone, zero subtlety — and that's the point. This estate marcasite pendant is the kind of piece that ...
05/19/2026

Dark silver, clear stone, zero subtlety — and that's the point. This estate marcasite pendant is the kind of piece that doesn't ask for attention, it just takes it. Oxidized sterling silver, dense iron pyrite coverage from frame to bail, and a 19x10mm teardrop CZ sitting center stage in bright prong contrast against all that darkness. The finish on the back is clean bright silver — so yes, the drama is fully intentional yet affordable.

Quick material note since people always ask: marcasite isn't a gemstone in the traditional sense. It's iron pyrite — the same mineral as fool's gold — cut into tiny flat-backed stones and set flush into metal. The result is a surface that glitters without sparkle, more like texture than light. It's been used in fine jewelry since at least the Georgian era, and it pairs with silver specifically because silver's cool tone and capacity for oxidation gives marcasite its best possible backdrop. Gold reads warm and rich; oxidized silver reads moody and architectural. Marcasite needs that contrast to do what it does. Which is exactly what's happening in this pendant. The darkened frame makes the CZ look brighter. The CZ makes the dark frame look richer. They're working together.

https://www.ebay.com/str/leilaslockets

Nobody needs a pendant watch anymore. That's kind of the whole point.When these were made, checking the time meant somet...
05/16/2026

Nobody needs a pendant watch anymore. That's kind of the whole point.

When these were made, checking the time meant something. Now we've got phones, smartwatches, and approximately 47 other ways to know it's 2:17pm. So a pendant watch in 2026 isn't really about time at all — it's about the moment someone designed a tiny mechanical clock to hang around your neck and thought, yes, this is exactly right.

A small collection of vintage pendant watches is dropping soon. Caravelle. Lucerne. A few others. Gold tone cases, enameled dials, textured frames — each one a little different, each one unmistakably mid-century. The kind of piece that reads as jewelry first and watch second, which honestly was always the idea.

I need to go on vacation more often... for some reason that was a very productive week for me. Fortunately, I'd put an o...
05/12/2026

I need to go on vacation more often... for some reason that was a very productive week for me. Fortunately, I'd put an out of office message on Ebay 😎 I have new fun things on the way... including a bunch of mid century and vintage pendant watches. Stay tuned.

https://www.ebay.com/str/leilaslockets

05/09/2026

The 80s are having a moment — and honestly, the jewelry earned it. This is late 1980s American fine jewelry doing what it did best: sweeping gold forms, confident proportions, and diamonds that meant business. A 14k yellow gold slide pendant with a round brilliant center and nine channel-set baguettes running along the lower arm. The design has that fluid, bold energy the era was known for — organic curves, polished surfaces, a little drama without trying too hard.

Slide pendants are also just genuinely clever — no clasp, no chain attachment, threads onto whatever you're already wearing and moves with you all day.
Real gold, real diamonds, wearable every day. Listed in the shop now, well below what you'd pay for the same piece in a vintage boutique.

In the shop now - before there were synthetic dyes, before ultramarine blue existed in a tube, there was one source for ...
04/11/2026

In the shop now - before there were synthetic dyes, before ultramarine blue existed in a tube, there was one source for the most coveted blue in the ancient world: lapis lazuli, pulled from the mountains of Afghanistan for over 6,000 years. The Egyptians ground it into powder for eye makeup and pigment. Renaissance painters paid fortunes for it to mix into their blues. For most of human history, that color was rarer than gold and treated accordingly.

What makes lapis valuable hasn't changed in six millennia: uniform, vivid royal blue with no white calcite streaking. This pendant has that color. Set in solid 18k yellow gold frame, oval cabochon, vivid and clean — the kind of stone that stops you.

Priced just above the intrinsic value of the gold and stone — well below what you'd pay for comparable material at retail. At current gold prices alone, the metal content carries real weight. The lapis is a bonus.

https://www.ebay.com/str/leilaslockets

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