"Do you guys know what that is"? I ask to a couple of our younger employees. I'm pointing at the picture of the Spruce Goose airplane on the wall of of our pawn shop. "Isn't it a submarine-airplane"? one of them answers. She's 20 and giving me the usual type of answer we get when young customers are visiting the store and see our memorabilia hanging on the walls. "Do you know...
Seven little know facts about platinum At our San Diego pawn shop we see a lot of platinum jewelry. In fact the vintage estate pieces we get that are made in platinum are usually our favorites. They will often contain older, “European” cut diamonds and usually have tons of character. Here is a great example of an art deco platinum ring from circa 1930's. What you may not know...
Forget what you think you know about pawn shops. It's an old industry with well established laws and success history. And like every other mom and pop industry with these qualities, the model is being turned on it's head by more sophisticated players. Just take Pawngo and Borro that have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to do collateral lending over the internet. Basically the customer submits his item (which must be valued...
Ever wonder who started the designer handbag trend? Well wonder no more. According to Curator Rachel Ward of The Courtauld Gallery this bag is believed to be from 1300's Mongolian Noblewoman. It was discovered in Mosul Iraq and thought to be the oldest know handbag in existence. It is brass and inlaid with gold and silver depicting a courtly scene. There are musicians, hunters, and revellers depicted. This would have...
Four hundred and sixty BILLION dollars. That is the amount spent on Chinese counterfeit goods each year according to some. Luckily some very smart people over at Entrupy Inc. developed a handheld device that can detect fake designer handbags. Now for those of you who may not be well versed in the luxury handbag market let me tell you there is a lot of money at stake. The typical Louis...
