Collecting Scarf Rings, Pins and Clips

Most scarf wearers and collectors will already have several in their jewelry box, but scarf rings, clips and pins are worth collecting in their own right.

There are masses of lovely vintage ones around, and you can easily build up a decent collection while spending very little. They come in a variety of shapes and all kinds of designs, from cameos and flowers to funky jewel clusters and novelty Scottie dogs! In addition to a variety of metals, materials to look for include enamel, mother of pearl, horn, wood, vintage tortoiseshell, Bakelite and Lucite. Flea markets and antique shops are good places to start looking. As scarf rings aren't so commonly worn these days (sometimes dealers don't even know what they are!) you can often pick them up for just a few dollars. Ebay is a great hunting ground - 589 hits for "scarf ring" when I looked, and over 150 of them priced at under $10.

Alternatively, if your tastes run to precious metals then you can spend silly money on gold, silver and jeweled examples, such as those by Liberatti [update: the site was at www.scarfring.com but is sadly no longer available], who also retail designer scarf rings by Hermès, Ferragamo and others.

At a happy medium, MaiTai Collection offers a beautiful range of horn, bone and mother of pearl scarf rings in different shapes and sizes.

Scarf Collector UK has a short note [update: the site was at www.scarfcollector.myby.co.uk but is sadly no longer available] on collecting scarf rings, pointing out that it's an area still 'in its infancy'. Something to keep an eye on!

Next: Storing and Caring for your Scarf Collection