a little bit about me...

My love for antiques began in childhood, wandering quiet aisles of antique stores beside my grandmother, a devoted collector of Depression glass. In high school, she gave me my first piece of antique jewelry, a ruby Art Deco ring. The piece was modest, in 10 karat rose gold with a synthetic stone, but full of meaning for me. From that moment, I began reading everything I could about period jewelry—its history, its construction, its place in the world and across cultures.

After graduating college, I studied at GIA and entered the world of estate jewelry professionally. I worked doing intake and wholesale which allowed me to deepen my knowledge and gain connections with estate dealers worldwide. A few years later, I founded my namesake brand: Hana Kaneko Antique & Vintage Jewelry. The name honors my great-great-grandmother, the first Hana Kaneko, who emigrated from Japan to the United States in 1910. Hana, meaning “flower,” and Kaneko, “child of gold,” felt like an inheritance in themselves.

I’ve always been drawn to the grace of old things. There's something reverent about objects made by hand, dreamed up by someone long gone, gifted in moments of love, and worn through seasons of change. Working with antique jewelry is not just acquiring beautiful objects, but remembering the past and preserving that history for future generations.

I hope you find something that feels like it was waiting for you.

With love, Hana