Valentina

Address

Valentina
Kirchplatz 1
8400 Winterthur

Opening Times

Wednesday–Friday
10:00–12:30 / 14:00–18:30
Saturday
10:00–16:00

Contact

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone during our shop opening hours:
052 213 39 94

About Valentina

Original vintage jewelry from 1850 to 1970, selected by Marianne Reiser for 45 years. Of course it is about jewels. Of course it is about fashion. But in the end it is about time.

Silver-coated minutes, gold-coated years

The fact that these jewels have survived, fifty, hundred, one hundred and fifty years feels like a miracle: earrings, necklaces, brooches and bracelets, scarf pins, cuff links, made by hand – and passed on from hand to hand. Carved materials sit next to polished, grinded and cast, fossiled wood next to silver, glas, rhinestone, Bakelite, amber, corals, mother-of-pearl.

Many things feel like a miracle in here, within the range of these few square meters. Entering the shop, laying eyes on the exhibits, touching one or two of them, you begin a journey through longing, fantasies, images, lived and possible lifes.

Of course it is about jewels. Of course it is about fashion. But in the end it is about time. About hours, years, decades, long gone and yet to come. Because this is what you can buy here: Time. Minutes shimmer like pearls, thousands of them lined up between two clasps. Hours and days are arranged in a complexly glittering shape; decades have manifested in flawless forms, playful, geometric, glowing with colors.

Each of the unique pieces that have been gathered here (including Regency, Hollycraft, Miriam Haskell, Joseff of Hollywood) tells a story: About the glamorous beginnings of Hollywood, about roles and images of women, about emancipation, reset and breakthrough, about economic crisis and shortage in material. They talk about technical and aesthetic innovation. About crown jewels that have been dreamed of and treasure chambers that have been longed for.

For 45 years Marianne Reiser has been searching, collecting and selling antique vintage jewelry. In addition to the carefully selected originals from the Victorian era, Jugendstil, Art Déco and the Fifties, she is passionate about mouth-blown drinking glasses (1860–1920). For many years, she has been supported by her niece Lena Reiser, who also runs the neighbouring shop Vary.