Gilt metal and glass gemstones, this is your moment.
From discount stores to Dior, vintage-inspired earrings, antique-looking necklaces and bejeweled brooches – muchos, muchos brooches! – outsparkle all comers in the accessories department this season. Costume jewelry is party-wear perfect.
Few folks know more about Bakelite bangles and Trifari trinkets than Judith Miller, author of DK Collector's Guides: Costume Jewelry. When she visited Palm Beach County, Fla., to speak to antique dealers, we hijacked her for a quick shopping trip.
Her mission: help us compile a primer on purchasing pins and other shiny pieces.
"The exciting thing about costume jewelry is you can still stumble across it relatively inexpensively," says Miller, who made an inexpensive purchase: a pair of clip earrings, with aurora borealis stones, for $10. (She estimated a similar pair would have gone for $50 in London.)
Quick. Give me the 10-second history of costume jewelry.
The term "costume jewelry" is less than 75 years old, but Egyptians, Romans and Middle Ages matrons also created pretty, though not necessarily pricey, baubles. The golden years of costume jewelry were the 1930s, '40s and '50s, and it sold particularly well in New York, Hollywood, Texas and Florida, Miller says.
My grandmother left me a full jewelry box. How can I cash in?
Thanks to Antiques Roadshow and its imitators, "everybody thinks what they've got now is worth an awful lot of money," Miller says. But, old doesn't equal expensive. A collector's guide can help you sleuth through your new slew of stuff before you approach a dealer or open an eBay account.
Didn't the fashion cognoscenti just say brooches are already out (a couple of months after they declared them in)?
Yes, you may have heard rumblings, but Miller says, "It's naive to say the trend is over." A percentage of the trend-setting youngsters will continue wearing it after Vogue issues a death certificate. Unlike those who follow fashion to the letter, costume jewelry "doesn't take itself too seriously. These are just good, fun things."
My wife wants something costume-y. Help!
Peek in her jewelry box and you'll get a head start before heading to the store. "Look at what the person likes and wears and is comfortable with," Miller says. Does she gravitate toward gold or silver? Purple stones or pink? Does she prefer showy pieces or something more delicate? Does she have a interest or passion (Scottish terriers, seashells, lighthouses)? Use that knowledge to make the gift more personal.
What then?
When something catches your eye, ask the clerk for a closer look. "A lot of people see costume jewelry piled in a box, and they think it looks tacky," Miller says. "You've got to take the pieces out and look at them individually."
What determines price?
The name of the designer and the quality of workmanship.
What are some signs of quality?
How are the stones held in place – glued or prong-set? The more prongs, the better. Are any stones missing? If it's a tiny stone, it might not matter. It will be much harder to find a replacement for a large or unusually shaped stone. Look at how much detail went into the piece. How complex was it to make? And once finished, is it pleasing?
What is a maker's mark?
The "signature" found on the back or clasp of the piece, sometimes the mark can only be seen with a magnifying glass. A mark like Chanel, Carnegie or Miriam Haskell means the piece will cost more, but Miller says don't toss an item simply because it's unsigned.
How do I know if I'm getting a good deal?
A fair price is "what a person is willing to sell it for and what you're willing to pay," Miller says. "If you're shopping in a vintage store or antique store, you have every right to ask, 'What's the best you can do?', but that's all you should say."
What about buying on eBay?
Proceed with caution. "You have to know more to buy on eBay. And you can't touch it, you can't look at the stones," Miller says. On the other hand, "you can get bargains because (some sellers) don't do their homework."
What's going to be the next big thing in costume jewelry?
"I'm often asked that question," Miller says. "And I always say, honestly, if I knew, would I be telling you? I'd be out there buying!"
