In truth, most people have no idea what authentic costume jewelry is or that it can be worth big money when collected for profit. In fact, vintage costume pieces are considered collectibles worth several times their original sale price. Vintage costume necklaces, bracelets, and other pieces were purchased by American soldiers in French boutiques and brought home after World War I ended. Shortly after the popularity exploded during the 1920’s, American companies began setting up shop and soon dominating the industry. These same companies produced some of the most coveted collectible vintage costume necklaces, bracelets, rings, and other jewelry. Some popular American manufacturers to keep an eye out for at the flea markets include:
Coro
Eisenberg
Weiss
Trifari
Barclay
But what truly makes costume jewelry unique and potentially valuable? Costume jewelry actually originated on the stages and theatres in Europe before becoming popular in the U.S. American manufacturers began dominating the industry from the 1920’s onward. Many American companies like Coro and Eisenberg produced some of the most coveted collectibles on the vintage jewelry market today so keep an eye out for signed pieces as the flea markets. Collecting vintage fashion jewelry for profit all boils down to distinguishing the valuable pieces from those great-looking but worthless pieces. To determine the value of any vintage piece, there are five things you need to look at:
Supply of Design in Market
Demand for the Particular Design
Originality of Design
Materials and Quality of Construction
Final Condition
Vintage jewelry prices vary greatly and one of the big reasons is because the supply is so varied. The jewelry itself was supplied by dozens of manufacturers. Batch sizes could vary dramatically from one company to the next. Trifari, Coventry, and other larger players would have batch sizes numbering in the thousands for any given design. Barclays, DeMario, and many of the smaller companies had limited facilities and thus tended to have far smaller batches. Therefore, if all other factors remain the same, a signed piece from a company like DeMario would typically sell more than a similar piece from Trifari. But be careful, some of the larger companies produced special batches in limited quantities making them more valuable than typical pieces from the same company.
But rarity alone does not determine value and demand is always the largest factor affecting price. Higher demand translates into higher price. The big collectibles right now commanding top dollar are signed vintage necklaces, earrings, and bracelets from Miriam Haskell. Some designs are collectible while others are not. Learning to tell the difference between the two will ultimately determine whether collecting is profitable or just a hobby. Popular designs are not always liked by investors but they tend to be the ones they collect because they are ultimately more profitable.
When looking at the jewelry itself, what actually stimulates demand? The originality of the design ultimately affects demand more than any other variable and plays a large role in determining value. Seasoned investors sometimes avoid collecting the signed vintage pieces because everyone is already looking for them. Instead, they will focus on unsigned but well-designed pieces because they tend to be more profitable than many of the signed necklaces, brooches, etc. Plus, a large portion of the entire vintage costume market is filled with unsigned pieces making it imperative to recognize well-designed and valuable pieces. You can identify the unsigned pieces and usually snap them up for little money by simply being able to spot great designs. Pieces of exceptional design quality, like those made by companies like Boucher and B. David, tend to be both unsigned and more valuable than many of the signed pieces on the market.
The quality of fabrication and materials used to make a piece of jewelry ultimately vindicate or condemn any design. In particular, the gemstone quality is of particular relevance to the value of any vintage piece of jewelry. A handful of vintage jewelry manufacturers were famous for using gemstones of exceptionally high quality. When talking about gemstone quality, the best companies to look for are:
Bogoff
Bergere
Weiss
Eisenberg
Eisenberg costume necklaces, earrings, and other pieces tend to be hard to find at the flea markets or via online auction. If you are trying to find some profitable pieces to purchase at cheap prices but still command a lot with serious investors, look for jewelry made by these companies:
Danecraft
Kramer
Bogoff
Weiss
Monet
As is the case when dealing with any type of antique, the final condition of the jewelry is very important to its value. It is quite common to find excess scratches, lost stones, rust, and other forms of discoloration on vintage costume jewelry pieces. Eve 1ff8 n with considerable signs of wear or damage, vintage pieces still have considerable value because of their design, materials, supply, and overall demand in the market. As all vintage costume jewelry has some degree of wear given its age, collectors still make handsome profits by collecting and selling even the "ugly pieces".
Author: Jon Kreps
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Tags: Vintage Costume Jewelry, wholesale costume jewelry