The Collector’s Eye is an interview series about how people I admire cultivate their personal jewelry collection and style: where it began, how they hunt for pieces, and what their pieces mean to them today.
Meet Viv Chen, the mind behind The Molehill. I’ve been quietly following her since the beginning of my time here on Substack, and Viv, she just hits different.
Staying true to her point of view, she hasn’t wavered, even as the opportunities have gotten bigger, from bylines in Vogue and Architectural Digest to being written up by Vogue Business and the New York Times. People come to her for that distinct POV, not in spite of it.
I’m obsessed with the fact that Viv shops secondhand. And it’s not just that she does it (so many of us do), it’s how she does it, treating it as an ‘ambient 24/7’ activity, as she’s put it. Longtime “Moles” know her Secondhand Sonar drops, the running Google doc of curated finds she updates as she comes across them, because listings move too fast for a single static newsletter post to keep up. Then there’s Japanese eBay (more people need to know about this!), which she stumbled onto through TikTok unboxing videos: pieces from Vivienne Westwood, Issey Miyake, Dries, each wrapped in lime green tissue paper. It felt like a discovery, a secret pocket of the internet most people don’t know to look for. That same thrill of the hunt runs through everything below.
All the truest vintage aficionados have a special relationship with mess; we understand it can be alchemized into something beautiful, rather than something to be ‘fixed.’ It’s the reason why we’re so good at rummaging through racks of old clothes and seeing potential in the things others might overlook.
-Viv Chen
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What’s your earliest memory of jewelry? Was there a specific piece, or person, that first sparked your interest?
Sitting cross-legged on my parents’ bed with my mom, who would occasionally “inventorize” all her jewelry in a show-and-tell format for me. She stored her jewelry in those red Chinese floral pouches with the yellow trim and snap buttons, which were then tucked in hiding places around the house: inside an unsuspecting Royal Dansk cookie tin, in an underwear drawer, in a bathroom cabinet.
Once in a while she would collect them all like Easter eggs and reveal her collection pouch by pouch, explaining what each piece was. It was such a treat. I could tell by her manner and tone what was supposed to be extra special. For example, she would say in a hushed whisper, “This chain is 24-karat gold,” while holding it up to catch the light. Of course, I had no idea what a karat was or what the number 24 was relative to, but it didn’t matter. I learned to value what she valued. Most of these pieces were not worn on an everyday basis—they were hidden and stored with care. In terms of everyday wear, most women in my family wore a jade bracelet or a jade pendant—something discreet that could be tucked under a shirt, rather than something bold and flashy.
My parents immigrated from China to America with very little in the way of material resources, so as a child I thought of my mom’s jewelry collection as a “secret back-up bank account.” I remember being fascinated by the concept that a small shiny object no larger than my Barbie’s shoe could be equivalent to a month of rent. It actually also made me sort of anxious… like, what is something so valuable doing in an underwear drawer?! What if you wore it out and someone tried to ROB you?!
So yeah—my earliest understanding of jewelry was that it was special, it was valuable, it was money in a form that wasn’t cash, and that you had to exercise some level of risk assessment and vigilance when wearing it out in public. What can I say, I’ve always been an overthinker!
Did you inherit any jewelry or have family heirlooms that ended up shaping your style?
My grandmother (who helped raise me) had a set of jade earrings. She passed away last year, and my mom had the earrings turned into three pendants, one for each of me and my siblings. I wore the pendant for a long time after she passed, as a way of mourning and feeling closer to her. I do switch out my pendants now and then, so it’s not a piece that is on me 24/7, but it is sentimental when I’m hanging out with a sibling and we realize we both decided to wear paw paw’s pendant that day. All our Chinese names translate into different types of jade, so that’s why wearing jade feels extra meaningful.
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When did you first start actively expressing yourself through jewelry? How have your tastes evolved over time, and were there any key turning points?
Haha, ok, I laugh because my taste in jewelry as a high schooler was soooooo different from what it is now. Like most teenagers, I started developing a stronger sense of self-expression and wanting to shop for myself. For whatever reason, I was obsessed with Victorian era aesthetics and old English stuff. There was this whimsical shop across the street from my high school called To Herb With Love. It was my personal WONDERLAND. The way it was decorated was so Marie Antoinette meets Victorian powder room—necklaces displayed in birdcages, ribbons on perfume bottles, stacks of hat boxes, that kind of thing. You could buy costume cameo rings and fake pearl necklaces for $10 to $30, so that’s what I would spend my birthday money on. Everything was held together by superglue and cheap silver plating, so of course those pieces did not last.
Then I went to a crunchy liberal arts college where I barely ever wore jewelry…
My next big turning point was around 2021, when I had a major Polly Pocket, chunky, plasticky jewelry phase. This was when I started buying slightly more expensive jewelry ($100+) for myself. I loved Sandy Liang jewelry from this time—giant pink hearts with gems, gummy-looking butterfly pendants, anything pastel-colored and dolly. While that’s not my defining style anymore, I still loveeeeeee a good baubly costume piece. I’m not a precious metal purist.
Anyways, from there, my jewelry fever heated up—I got into all kinds of metals and gemstones. I started learning about sterling silver jewelry from Taxco, discovered the beautiful world of vintage Elsa Peretti, collected solid gold charms, and most importantly, learned how to style jewelry in harmony with my outfits! I know jewelry will be a lifelong passion for me, and at the age of 31, I feel like it’s only just begun.
How would you describe your overall jewelry aesthetic today? Are there specific eras or materials you find yourself constantly gravitating toward?
This is tough because my taste truly spans such a range of aesthetics and materials. Here’s a list of characteristics I like in jewelry:
Peridot and ruby gemstones
Signet/bezel set rings
Gold charms in the shape of sweet objects
Bean-shaped jewelry
Lockets with a twist (aka looks different than your traditional oval locket)
Do you have a signature piece or a go-to type of jewelry you wear most often?
Right now, my engagement ring! Which is a scalloped band with diamonds by Karmila Darling. I have a bunch of bean-shaped pendants I wear a lot.
How does jewelry function within your everyday wardrobe—is it the starting point of an outfit or the finishing touch?
It’s definitely part of the outfit. Sometimes it is the outfit—especially in summer, when it’s unbearably hot, and all I can wear is a cotton slip dress. A chunky necklace and a cuff bracelet become the focal point in that instance. My jewelry on any given day is also just an expression of my mood. Some pieces are for festive, celebratory days. Others are for energy protection when I’m feeling anxious about something.
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Where do you typically find your jewelry? You’re known for your eBay, Etsy, thrift, and flea market finds — is jewelry part of that same hunt, or does it have its own separate sourcing ritual?
I usually find my jewelry in one of two ways. The first is through eBay saved searches. This is especially great for things like gold charms and pendants. I could get lost looking at vintage 14k gold charms—there’s just so MUCH of it.
Some of my current saved searches:
Jade pendants with 14k gold settings, peridot charms, and cabochon cut rings. (I don’t really have favorite eBay or Etsy sellers; I rely entirely on my saved searches for discovering pieces!)
The other method is through commissions from small jewelry designers, like Soft Good Studio or Karmila Darling! For a bigger purchase, I enjoy collaborating with them on a bespoke design and being involved in selecting gemstones.
Sometimes I will buy jewelry from IRL secondhand shops, but that’s usually when I am traveling. They make for lovely souvenirs. I got a gorgeous golden pear pendant in a Roman shop that I now call my “Genovian pear” because of how much I love The Princess Diaries lol.
What draws you to secondhand jewelry?
The uniqueness, the patina, and sometimes it can be a bargain compared to buying new—but not always. With certain designers like Elsa Peretti, I am drawn to the history.
Do you have a preferred sourcing method (in-person vs. online)?
Online is more accessible in the sense that I can do it whenever I want, and it’s easier to find better deals. I do enjoy IRL shopping, but I have to be in a specific mood, and sometimes I am disappointed if I make the trek to shop and the curation isn’t to my liking. Pound for pound, I prefer online.
What do you see as the biggest differences, advantages, and challenges of sourcing new versus secondhand?
I think the biggest difference comes down to the shopping experience. With secondhand, it can be super time-consuming. For people like me who enjoy sourcing, it can feel more like a hobby. But if you get overwhelmed by looking through piles (or pages) of objects, maybe secondhand shopping isn’t for you.
Any tips for identifying quality and authenticity in secondhand jewelry?
I’m really no expert, but I look for two things:
Stamps — like the 925 stamp for sterling silver or a 14K/18K stamp on gold
Photo of the piece on a jewelry scale so you can see what the weight is. A solid piece will weigh a lot more than a hollow one, and you can also compare the price against the metal melt price per gram to get an estimate of how much the “upcharge” is.
Have you ever stumbled upon a piece that turned out to have a hidden detail, a secret mark, or was far more valuable than it seemed?
I have not. But I know a friend of a friend who bought one of those sub-$100 Goodwill bulk jewelry boxes and discovered a vintage Tiffany & Co. necklace worth over $75,000!
[ED. NOTE: In my years in estate buying, I’ve priced out everything from gold fillings to rare blue diamonds—but a $75k Tiffany find in a Goodwill bulk box?! My trade brain is officially short-circuiting. Viv, I’m going to need the full provenance on this story ASAP!]
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Looking at your jewelry as a whole, how do you view your personal collection—is it an investment, a personal archive, or something else entirely?
My collection is definitely more of a personal archive than a financial investment. I hope I never have to liquidate it. Looking through my jewelry box is similar to flipping through a scrapbook or stack of journals — it connects me to previous versions of myself and past memories.
Finally, for someone looking to build a distinct jewelry collection with a secondhand focus, what advice would you give them for starting out?
My advice would be to start by looking at charms. I think there’s less margin for error or miscommunication. With rings and bracelets, sizing can be tricky. It’s hard to go wrong with a cute 14k gold charm, and you can find tons of cool designs under $300. Once you start poking around the world of secondhand jewelry, I think you will naturally discover style keywords and eras that lead you to more specialized pieces.
Thank you all so much for reading. Viv, congratulations on 5 years of Molehill, and thank you for being so generous with this share!
If there’s someone you’d like to see featured here, reach out and let me know. I always love hearing from you!
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Until next time,
xx Veronica
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