Vintage Costume Jewelry

Vogue Italia January 2007 

Steven Meisel & Edward Enninful.  See Vintage Jewelry Collects fabulous vintage jewelry worn on these famous

stars in the January issue of Italian Vogue:

 Vintage, Estate,  Contemporary and Antique Jewelry

“A good piece of jewelry has a permanent interest and value.” Lillian Purdy Goldsborough 

Throughout this website  we present for your enjoyment our jewelry galleries with such categories  as:  vintage jewelry,  contemporary costume jewelry, Austrian jewelry, Victorian jewelry , Art Nouveau jewelry , Deco jewelry  and fine jewelry such as sterling silver jewelry . Other categories include: Bakelite Jewelry,  and Novelty jewelry.  For the collector of vintage jewelry we have such great designers as Chanel, Eisenberg, Trifari, KJL, Napier.  Our special Couture Gallery includes the latest hot fashion accessories seen in today's fashion magazines.

The summer months are here and fashion has never been better.  Please visit our online galleries of vintage jewelry collections.  From the whimsical to couture, there's bound to be vintage jewelry for every style. 

 Click Below To View Some of Our Favorite Galleries

Our Galleries Include

 Signed Vintage Costume Jewelry and Unsigned Vintage Costume Jewelry

For your convenience you will find links on either columns or below for quick reference of this site.

What Is Vintage Jewelry?

The age of an item or collectible to be considered "vintage" varies from item to item.  There is no specified period of time associated with the word "vintage" so this often poses a perplexing question.  Is it contemporary or is it vintage? 

With regard to costume jewelry,  most people would agree that a piece aged 15 years would adequately qualify as vintage.  At VJC,  we look at the jewelry styles of each decade and from there take note of  the design changes in relationship to today's fashion.   Because the style of most fashion accessories from the early 1990's  is distinct compared to the jewelry fashions of today,  we would classified the designs from the early 1990's on our website as vintage.   In making this determination, we also take into consideration additional factors such as materials, and methods of manufacture which contribute to the overall aesthetic of the jewelry piece. 

With that said, a piece of jewelry manufactured today in the style of the early 1990's would NOT qualify as vintage by the mere fact of its actual manufacture date.  This is important as many pieces sold as "real vintage" are actually being manufactured today.

 Often the consumer is being charged a premium for that "vintage" piece of jewelry.  We tend to see this in designs characteristic of the 1920's through the 1970's--the "Golden Years" of vintage fashion jewelry. 

Now with the styles of the 1980's becoming popular again we will most likely see a surge of both the "Punk Rocker - New Wave" jewelry and "Dynasty" style jewelry  hitting the market which has actually been newly manufactured.  The challenge for the consumer will be to determine what is actually the authentic vintage pieces. 

We here at VJC hope to provide you with some resources to help you make your purchase of vintage costume jewelry a successful one!

  Our Book Shelf

Fabulous Fakes

By

Carole Tanenbaum

Vintage Jewelry Collect

P.O. Box 446

Benicia, CA 94510
USA
Phone: 707-751-1665
Email: webmaster@vintagejewelrycollect.com
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