“I text some of my dealers like, ‘Hey, what do you got right now?’” laughs Sarah Burns. Always, she’s on the hunt for jewelry. “They'll send me a photo and I'll circle 15 things and buy in bulk. There are dealers that sell by the gram. There are dealers that sell by the markings or the weirdness or rarity. We buy at a variety of levels.” Burns describes her sourcing process for her Lower East Side flagship store Old Jewelry as a matter of obsession; there’s an urgency there, a need to devour the latest magical piece. She has one source in Philly who runs his business old school—he’s often remiss in answering his phone—so Burns will drive from New York for a response and a score.
“I'm always thinking about the piece first,” she says, parsing out the “vintage ecosystem” for me. “It's got to be high quality. It's got to be made well. It's got to be interesting, but then I'm also thinking of the people that are coming in for it.” Maybe that’s a high-rise emerald cut smoky quartz gem bezel set in a tapered sterling silver band. Perhaps it’s a puffy heart toggler bracelet. If you’re looking for a Tiffany bean, just go to eBay. (Though she does stock the occasional Tiffany or Georg Jensen piece, if it strikes her.)
Timothy O’Connell
Timothy O’Connell
A respect for her repeat customers “has informed the more business savvy part of me. Some people really just want a thin little chain,” which she hangs artistically next to an oblong chunky cuff. They keep the aforementioned customers in mind with pieces that start at $125 (most pieces retail below $1,000—still relatively reasonable in the world of jewelry.) Unlike the pervading jewelry trend of dainty gold pieces, silver dominates Burns’ offering. Her reasoning is personal; sterling was the first thing she collected, as well. Dubbed the “people’s metal,” sterling comes at a much more affordable rate than gold or other precious metals.
In fact, the entire physical jewelry store, located in the Mall under the Manhattan Bridge, is an extension of a personal collection she’s been cultivating for years. After one too many cocktail party compliments throughout the years, Burns began sourcing special vintage pieces for friends, then friends of friends. “Where'd you get that? Find me something,” she laughs off her peers’ wandering eyes. After igniting word of mouth, she began an Instagram dedicated to her treasure in 2019, then opened the physical location in 2022. A key component to her success? Burns’ photographer boyfriend and now business partner Adam Caillier snapped vivid close-up shots of each item to post. “He helped me crack the code of how to showcase this jewelry,” says Burns. “It's less about styling and more about how cool the piece is.” The online catalog of uniquities quickly gained a following. Now, the account serves as more than just an entry point for e-commerce. “A lot of jewelers follow us as a mood board.” Some of whom she began DM-fueled relationships with, including Paris-based artist Zoé Mohm, the first designer in Old Jewelry’s new showcase program.
Timothy O’Connell
Timothy O’Connell
Mohm will lead a series of rotating guest designers to feature their work in-store, a program Burns has been wanting to implement for years. She describes it as an “extension of my personal curiosity and buying habits.” Twenty-five specially made pieces hang alongside Burns’ vintage discoveries in her classic no-frills jewelry cases. “They're just as unique and special as the [old] pieces,” she says of the current offering. Jewelers Gala Colivet Dennison and Spratling are slated next on this esteemed list.
An expansion that doubled their physical square footage served as a catalyst for the extra display. “We finally have enough space to have the quantity of inventory that allows that same sense of discovery that I have when I'm buying.” The new space features a broader assemblage of her signature style of jewelry. “In the same way that we think of the collection, gnarly next to clean, the space and the design of the space is high and low.” Burns has nestled vintage furniture (and pieces of her own creation—she began her studies in interior design). “I have a hunger for different mediums,” Burns notes.
“I'm a passive Minnesotan, but I am a pretty straight shooter otherwise,” she continues when asked about the name of her brand. “I'm selling old jewelry.” New designs in the mix? No problem. “Old Jewelry is a brand, and the minute you wear this in the world, it's old. It's old again, and it will be inherited someday, or you'll pass it down or give it to someone someday.”