March 26, 2015

a bug's life





We love a good antique find, but we especially love
a good refurbished antique. When we discovered
we fell immediately in love with the unique pieces of jewelry

Antiquarian Couture is run by local, John Bauer.
 John is a  jewelry designer who uses vintage antique 
watch parts and other jewelry findings to create interesting and 
new pieces of jewelry. His style is one that is mostly steampunk 
  inspired with a bit of fantasy mixed in.  He mostly makes pieces interesting 
to have and look at.  Each piece is unique and while he may have 
some pieces that look similar, no two pieces are exactly alike.
  All pieces are made using care and precision to make them
 safe to wear (no sharp edges or points that can snag or damage clothing.)  
Also, everything is coated in resin, making it almost
 unbreakable as well as easy to clean.
He create the pieces by using a mixture of industrial materials 
as well as natural ones. 

This particular piece we became immediately obsessed with
is a necklace is made by making a jeweled beetle and
 attaching it to a dog tag.  The dog tag has a flower image on both sides of it and 
on top of that is the beetle over a coat of resin.  The body of the beetle is made
 using an oval-shaped antique watch movement from a ladies watch 
piece from the 1930’s.  Two bronzed, metal wings are on either side and two green 
shells are actual jeweled beetle shells. A single green, glass bead is 
on top as the head.  There is also a yellow topaz, at the top of the dog tag. 
 The pendant hangs from a 22 inch long stainless steel chain. 
We were immediately drawn to the way the emerald
was so striking against the pink. It looks even better in real life!


You can find more of these amazingly unique pieces by visiting his website,  

The online store is set to open this spring so if you see
any pieces to your liking, email John at
for jewelry inquiries. You won't be disappointed.



fox + gypsy


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