August 2009
Monthly Archive
Where To Shop For Vintage Jewelry
admin 30 Aug 2009 | : Where & How to Buy and Sell
There are a variety of places where you can look for great vintage jewelry. However, if you don’t have any experience in purchasing vintage pieces then it’s a good idea to spend a little time doing some research before you start shopping. That said, here are some fabulous spots to explore when on the hunt for your vintage baubles.
Resale shops: Think Salvation Army, Goodwill, and other thrift type stores. People regularly make donations to these shops and they usually have a very big inventory running across all of the vintage time periods. They are a great source for purchasing vintage costume jewelry. And, if you’re lucky and have done your homework, you can even find some finer vintage pieces.
Vintage clothing stores and consignment shops: These locations don’t just sell clothing. You can often find fabulous vintage rings, necklaces, brooches, and other jewels at local vintage consignment shops and clothing stores. Many times the shop clerk or manager will be able to tell you something about the vintage pieces they have for sale. At a minimum they will likely be able to advise you regarding the type of gemstones (or fake gemstones) that are used in each. Prices will probably somewhat higher than at resale shops but you should still be able to find vintage jewelry at a fair price.
Garage and estate sales: That‘s right. Get up early on Friday or Saturday morning, hop in the car, and start hitting garage and estate sales to find some marvelous vintage jewellery deals. You may have to paw through a lot of stuff to find a few good vintage bracelets, rings and other gems but they are there to be found if you are willing to do a little work. Estate sales are a bit different because the seller generally has some knowledge of antiques and vintage items. Nevertheless, you should be able to find reasonable prices at both types of sales. Look in your local classifieds to find these events.
Antique sales: Visit antique malls and larger antique sales to find fine quality vintage jewelry. You should expect the prices to be higher than when you purchase from the prior three sources mentioned in this article. However, the payoff is that you will find authentic pieces and the sales people will have a larger amount of information and knowledge about the items.
Online auction sites: No article would be complete without mentioning the large assortment of vintage necklaces, rings, earrings, and other vintage jewels available for purchase online. Of course, ebay is the auction site that usually jumps immediately to mind when we think of online auctions sites. However, there are other such sites on the internet and if you take the time to find those smaller sites you may just be able to get a great deal as there is likely to be less competition on those websites than on ebay.
Vintage Jewelry Has Many Ages
admin 30 Aug 2009 | : History of Vintage Jewelry
Vintage jewelry is a broad category that describes jewelry created anywhere from the 1920′s through the late 1980′s. However, there are many smaller periods of time that fall within the general ‘vintage’ category. These periods have their own names to identify jewelry created during those years. Generally, these periods are as follows:
Arts and Crafts (1894-1923): During this period designers created pieces with intricate craftmanship. Designs were simple and the jewelry was colorful.
Art Nouveau (1890-1915): This period began with French designers and American designers quickly followed them. These pieces often contain graceful flower designs, dragonflies, and other insects.
Edwardian (1901-1910): After Queen Victoria died this period began. These pieces are very decorative and most often have an elaborate and lavish feel to them. The vintage jewelry created during this era contained an abundance of pearls and diamonds often accented with rubies, emeralds and other gemstones. accents.
Art Deco (1910-1930): The pieces made in this period contained many geometric shapes and contrasting bright colors. Japanese, Egyptian, and African themed jewelry became popular. At the same time many bakelite and celluloid pieces were created by designers during this era.
Retro (1940s – to about 1980): This period was inspired somewhat by Hollywood. So, the pieces were often big! The jewelry was very elaborate and colorful. It generally was gold and was created with a large variety of gemstones. Charm bracelets became favored during this time.
You should be aware that the time periods set forth above for each period are fluid and flexible. In other words, even the experts in this field disagree somewhat regarding when each era begins and ends. But the discrepancies are relatively minor and only vary by 5-15 years at most.
Vintage Jewelry: What Is It?
admin 26 Aug 2009 | : General Information
What is vintage jewelry?
Many of us hear the word vintage and tend to think it means “old.” And, sometimes that is true. But jewelry doesn’t necessarily have to be old to be vintage. Vintage jewelry usually describes jewelry created from the 1920s through the 1970s. However, some say that the term really relates to jewelry created after the 1940s. And, there are those who feel the term applies to some pieces created as late as the 1980s. So, the time period that defines vintage jewelry is somewhat fluid and will vary depending upon who you ask about it.
Vintage jewelry describes many types of jewelry and includes costume jewelry as well as fine jewelry. It can be made of gold or silver or rhinestones. But these are just a few materials that you might see in vintage earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings.
The marvelous thing about this type of jewelry is that it not only comes in all shapes and sizes, it also comes in all price ranges. You can spend just a few dollars on a great piece of vintage costume jewelry. Or, you can purchase a more expensive fine vintage piece.