On a recent overnight in Rothenburg ob Der Tauber I went back to one of my old favorite vintage/ antique shops. It was by luck really. That is a whole other post on Rothenburg ODT in and of itself, coming soon in Meet Me at the Weekend. It was Christmas Eve Day and we were heading back home soon. I was looking for vintage Christmas decorations. Of course what immediately caught my eye were these Nachtmann beauties. You see where the distraction immediately sets in? These are both sparkly and jeweled colored I can’t just walk by!
She was closing at noon. I had thirty minutes. A quick look around told me although there was lots of vintage Christmas décor, I was much more interested in this find. I consider myself quite the master haggler. The nuance between not offending someone and getting in your mind your best price is tricky. I asked her how much. She said 25 euros each. Hmmm I thought, not a bad starting point at all. But, you never want to expose your hand so early. I kept looking as if I wasn’t sure what they even were. Another customer later and ten min til close, I offered her 100 euros for six and the beautiful set became mine. Really my friends, this is a fantastic deal! I have seen them in several places in Virginia for $250 for a set of six. We had a lovely chat whilst she carefully wrapped my newest treasures. She knows I will be back.
A little history of my love affair for the beautiful Traube crystal glassware by Nachtmann. My mil has a set from her mother. Hers are for sure old. They don’t all match which adds to the charm. Speaking of charms, if they don’t all match, you don’t need charms. How cool is that!? Before that we had to use our lipstick and take our chances! Anyway, I have admired them for years. I did collect two sets of six the last time we were here. Mine came from the Karlovy Vary. The boxes they came in are quite interesting in an oldy worldly way but the stemware itself are good quality crystal knockoff Nachtmann. Coming back overseas gave me the opportunity to get rid of some things in our quest to downsize. Our son and his lovely wife were still setting up house. I gave them all twelve along with a pine and iron bakers rack they had been displayed on since our time in Turkey. I knew I would find more to come home with.
The red and green in center middle are the oldest 
You can see the stems and pedestals can be different too. Great for when you have guests! 
The six on the middle right are from an estate sale in DC
The other set of six on the right is from an estate sale in DC. My dear BFF ( I told you I have the best BFFs) works in estate sales in the DC/Bethesda/NoVa area. What many people consider the DMV. There are some great finds to be had for sure! I am always amazed at 1. what cool things people collect and 2. what cool things people keep, more on that in a minute. Kim is a master at cleaning peoples stuff up, making the house look amazing and pricing things accordingly. Her sales are a huge success because of her. She helped me haggle her boss down to an awesome price on these. I paid $150 for this set and another set of water goblets I also gave to my son and dil. If you are interested in great sales in and around the DMV you can go here for a schedule: https://www.estatesales.net/DC/Washington/20011
The Nachtmann Lead Crystal Glassware was founded in 1834. Nachtmann was bought out by it’s Austrian competitor 2011. Prior to that Nachtmann stopped making the beautiful jeweled colored Traube Stemware. In the last couple of years under the umbrella of crystal maker Riedel, Nachtmann is now producing these lovely gems. At a cost however, 100 euros each! The locals retailers consider it Austrian Crystal now. I found them on line for 120 euros. I also found three outlet stores here in Germany. If I don’t find what I am looking for in little shops or flohmarkts, you will be sure to find me taking a day trip to Geislingen.
This brings me to the second part of the story…. how to know you are in a really good place.
These handsome fellows were in what my family fondly refers to as a Hummel holder, in my mil’s home. They are old. Maybe not antiques yet but she knows they were old when her mom gave them to her.. One year she was visiting us here in Germany. I think the conversation started on the topic of the Hummel holder and I happened to mention how pretty I thought the Turquoise roosters were. Fast-forward to Christmas and next thing I know I am unwrapping a box of beautiful Turquoise colored roosters! She had taken them out of her Hummel holder, wrapped them up and sent them to me. Today they sit on my hall table welcoming everyone and carefully shadowing an ugly key holder.
At first I was mildly embarrassed for coveting something like that. I didn’t mean it in that way. Then humbled by the fact she would just give them to me. Once I really stopped to think about it, I realized what a good place in life she is. I became grateful for the example. It reminded me my mom does this too. I have some old books I loved from a bookcase in their home, my sister has my grandfather’s desk. It’s not like they are finished using, displaying and admiring these things. They have come to a good place in their lives where things that were given to them, whether it reminded them of their childhood, needed because they were just starting out, they are ready to pass on for someone else to enjoy, or Love! What am I saying here? I am not waiting either. I am giving away the good stuff whilst I can still enjoy seeing others enjoy.
My son knows those Nachtmann Traube Stemware I gave them are knockoffs. But he also knows his mom is hunting around for the best deal, the hidden gems, the best use of someone else’s stuff. Partly because I can’t see buying brand new when plenty of good durable vintage and antique finds are still out there and partly because well……quite frankly I am easily distracted by sparkly things and know how to keep my purse loaded!
