Girls' Accessories
Buy and sell girls’ accessories in Guatemala.
Many Guatemalan baby girls have their ears pierced within days of being born, so a pair of small gold studs is often the first jewellery a girl owns and the most valuable thing in her drawer. Around it sit the bows, snap clips and headbands that thin out with every school term, and the crown, veil and white gloves worn for one first communion morning. Pieces come new and pre-owned. A stamped gold pair holds its worth long after it stops fitting, so ask for a close photo of the post before you travel to see it.
Gold baby studs, hair bows and communion veils:
each has its own buyer and its own logic. Gold earrings are bought once and kept, so a used pair is judged on its metal. Bows, clips and hair ties cost little, disappear in the school bag and change hands by the bagful. The communion crown, veil, gloves and little bag are worn for a morning in church and then boxed, which makes them some of the easiest things to find second-hand in near-new condition. The white dress for the same day is under girls’ clothing, the white shoes under girls’ shoes, and her brother’s side of the shelf under boys’ accessories.
Gold, silver and plated metal in a toddler’s ears:
most small baby studs are 10K gold, which is paler and harder-wearing than 14K, while 14K looks yellower and costs more; 925 silver also sits well against young skin. Cheap plated metal can contain nickel and is the one to avoid on a baby, along with anything she can undo herself. Flat studs with a screw back stay put through naps and baths, while hoops and drops catch on blankets and hair and are better left until she can say when something pulls. New, a pair of plain gold baby studs runs from about Q400 to Q900, more once a stone is set in, and silver pairs start around Q150. A used gold pair never comes close to that, because most of the new price paid for the jeweller’s work rather than the metal, and a toddler’s stud holds very little gold: the stamp and the weight set the figure. Silver and plated pieces sell on looks alone.
Bows, snap clips and headbands from cradle to classroom:
for a baby, a soft stretch headband with nothing glued on is the safe choice, since loose beads and tiny clips end up in mouths. Fine toddler hair holds small snap clips and mini elastics far better than a heavy bow. Once she is at school, a bun or a braid needs proper elastics and a clip that grips. On anything used, stretch the elastic: if it stays slack, it is finished. Check that stones and pearls are still glued and that a ribbon bow has not faded on one side from sitting in a window.
Karat stamps, magnets and worn posts on second-hand earrings:
turn the earring over and look for the karat mark on the post or the back, and treat a pair with no stamp as plated until a jeweller has tested it. Gold and silver do not stick to a magnet, so a stud that jumps to one is plated steel. Plating wears through first on the post, where it shows as a grey or coppery tone. Check that the back still grips and the post is straight. On a communion veil, look for yellowed tulle and snags near the comb; press each flower on the crown to see it is still fixed; and turn the gloves inside out, because grey fingertips do not wash out of white satin.
Passing on a communion set or a pair of gold studs:
photograph earrings beside a coin for scale, add a sharp close-up of the stamp, and give the karat, the type of back and the weight if a jeweller has weighed them. If a piece is plated, say so in the title. Lay the crown, veil, gloves and bag out together and give the inside measurement of the crown, since it sits over the hairstyle. Post a communion set well before your parish’s date, because families shop for it weeks ahead, and sell hair pieces as one lot labelled by age. Whoever comes for a gold pair, in Chiquimula as much as in the capital, will want to read that stamp in daylight, so meet somewhere bright rather than in a car park at dusk.