The feline in me

Hi! How are you?! Lately, one of my biggest obsessions has been collecting vintage animal jewelry (especially felines and snakes), which is not a very easy task here in my city, as there are not many pieces available.

Up to now, my collection is rather small, but I´m sure that with pacience and perseverance it will grow.

I´m a Leo girl (born on August 20th), so as you may imagine, I love felines and gold, although I used to hate golden things when I was younger. I have a soft spot for everything that shines.

I adore felines´ attitude and smartness. I can spend hours looking at my Persian cat, Fara, who is so adorable (you can see her photo on the sidebar). Cats´eyes have a sort of mistery that really attracts my Leo soul, that´s why I think it´s a good idea to always carry a feline on my coat´s lapel. In fact, the feline motive in decoration was born at the beginning of the 20th century, and it was taken by Cartier to create a jewelry line in 1915. But the panther motive turned really famous in 1948, when the Duke of Windsor asked Cartier to create a panther brooch for his wife.

This is my very favorite piece, a beautiful golden panther which I got from a vintage store,  called Bimba, in Buenos Aires.

I love its body, especially the paws. It seems as if it were about to attack...

I found this pair of earrings in a flea market, in a church. The panthers look amazing in spite of the fact that they are so tiny!

My last two feline brooches: I got the lion in Juan Pérez, a vintage store in Buenos Aires, which opened in 1998, and I found the little panther in a flea market in San Telmo neighborhood, in BA as well. The lion looks stunning, believe me. The golden layer is very good quality.

To tell you the truth, Buenos Aires is a good place for vintage lovers and collectors: the prices are very competitive, and you can get very interesting pieces. Anyway, the vintage market in BA has not developed as much as in Europe and the US yet, but I´m sure it will in the next future.

I know this is a very new blog, but if you happen ti visit it, I would be delighted to read your comments. Thank you!!

xoxo, Mariana