Fresh Face: Maejean Vintage

Maejean Vintage sisters , Laura Mae and Amanda Jean love a good story. Nothing excites them more than hunting for vintage jewelry at local estate sales and auctions, then piecing together its history using their decades’ worth of expertise. These sisters aren’t just graduate Gemologists (both receiving diplomas from The Gemological Institute of America)–they are bona fide historians. This combination of passion and mastery is at the core of their success at Maejean Vintage, where they provide an online jewelry shopping experience like no other.

“We act like detectives and try to find as much out as we can about each piece,” explains Laura Mae. They begin by looking into its ‘maker’s mark’, if it has one, to determine a possible date and location of its creation. Then, they test its metals and gemstones for additional information and to verify its authenticity. Last, they combine all of these tangible facts with what they know to connect the dots.

This process was born of years of the sister’s genuine curiosity and hands-on practice, but also of their collective education. In addition to earning Gemology diplomas, Amanda Jean’s degree in Business Management from Temple and Laura Mae’s in Education from Millersville University demonstrates not only a depth of professional knowledge, but reveals their affinity for local life and history.

“A majority of our inventory is sourced locally in Lancaster, and then made available to clients worldwide,” says Amanda Jean. Though Maejean Vintage is operated exclusively online, it was important to her and Laura Mae that they lived and worked in the heart of the community they called home.

Today, Maejean Vintage serves customers worldwide as a 6-woman Lancaster-local team from a private office right in the heart of the city. You can take a step back in time with them at maejeanvintage.etsy.com, or browse their exceptional collection on instagram (@maejeanvintage). Vintage jewelry sellers can reach them at maejeanvintage@gmail.com.