| Of A New Hobby? | | | | like demand. You need not like the jewelry to |
| Mother’s Day is just around the corner | | | | make money from collecting ityou just need |
| already but what do you get the person who | | | | to know it. If you want to collect vintage |
| already has the fancy watches, diamond earrings, | | | | jewelry and make money, then you need to do a |
| etc? | | | | little homework and find out which pieces are in |
| Vintage costume jewelry, first popularized in the | | | | demand and which are not. Avid collectors tend to |
| 1920’s and a common fashion accessory | | | | include popular pieces in their collections because |
| for decades thereafter, is as beautiful and dazzling | | | | they are more profitable. In many cases, the |
| today as the day it was first made. And, unlike | | | | collector doesn't even like the particular piece! |
| the cheap fashion jewelry you find at the stores | | | | While it is easier to locate and collect the signed |
| today, vintage costume necklaces and other | | | | vintage pieces, avid collectors know that the |
| pieces have appreciated in value since first being | | | | unsigned pieces tend to be the most undervalued |
| sold. Buying mom a vintage Eisenberg bracelet | | | | and thus have the highest profit potential. Plus, a |
| might not only make the perfect gift this | | | | large portion of the entire vintage costume |
| Mother’s Day and take her back to her | | | | market is filled with unsigned pieces making it |
| youthit might very well be the start of a new | | | | imperative to recognize well-designed and valuable |
| hobbyperhaps even together!! | | | | pieces. |
| But to purchase vintage costume jewelry is to | | | | But fret notyou can usually spot the unsigned |
| know itotherwise, you never know if | | | | pieces based upon the design characteristics. |
| it’s truly worth anything or not. | | | | Hollycraft, Florenza, and all of the top |
| Five Factors Affect The Value of Vintage | | | | manufacturers of costume jewelry during the |
| Costume Jewelry: | | | | 1900’s through the 1960’s had |
| - Total Supply on Market | | | | common design traits. Costume Jewelry: A |
| - Market Demand | | | | Practical Handbook and Value Guide by Fred |
| - Originality of Design | | | | Rezazadeh is a great resource for anyone looking |
| - Craftsmanship and Materials | | | | to learn about the design traits of each |
| - Final Condition | | | | manufacturer. |
| With so many producers of costume jewelry, | | | | With the vintage costume jewelry, pay particular |
| there never was any uniform batch size so some | | | | attention to the type and quality of the |
| pieces are rarer than others. The relatively | | | | gemstones as they play huge roles in overall |
| larger manufacturers made a lot of jewelry that | | | | value. A handful of vintage jewelry |
| is still fairly abundant in the market. Thus, they | | | | manufacturers were famous for using gemstones |
| are not in great demand so pieces made by | | | | of exceptionally high quality. Some of the best |
| companies like Coro, Trifari, and Accessocraft will | | | | manufacturers to seek out when collecting |
| not command as much value as similar pieces by | | | | vintage costume pieces for profit include: |
| smaller companies like Barclays and DeMario. | | | | - Hollycraft |
| Although signed pieces from the smaller | | | | - Weiss |
| companies tend to be rarer and thus more | | | | - Bogoff |
| valuable than those made from the larger | | | | - Bergere |
| companies, you still need to be careful. Even | | | | - Boucher |
| many of the larger companies produced special | | | | Eisenberg costume necklaces, earrings, and other |
| seasonal batches in limited quantities | | | | pieces tend to be hard to find at the flea markets |
| making them more valuable than typical pieces | | | | or via online auction. Locating the most profitable |
| from the same company and quality of materials. | | | | pieces to collect means finding pieces that still |
| Supply does not by itself determine overall value | | | | have a lot of room to appreciate. Hollycraft and |
| as demand can actually play the biggest factor. | | | | Bogoff pieces tend to be undervalued on the |
| Miriam Haskell necklaces, brooches, and other | | | | current market and should make for profitable |
| signed pieces are all the rage right now and | | | | acquisitions for the foreseeable future. |
| commanding top dollar. Next year, it may be | | | | But, perhaps you and mom don’t want to |
| Bogoff vintage jewelry that becomes the next | | | | start collecting costume jewelry |
| hot thing. | | | | togetherthat’s ok, who needs her?! |
| To truly collect vintage costume jewelry | | | | Seriously, if you are looking for a great |
| successfully and make maximum dollar, there is | | | | Mother’s Day gift that will take her down |
| no way to avoid doing your | | | | memory lane while making her dazzle, look into |
| homeworkespecially when it comes to thing | | | | vintage costume jewelry today! |