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.
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