| Vintage Costume Jewelry—Like Finding a Tiffany Lamp in Your Attic!
Much
like Tiffany lamps and light fixtures, vintage
costume jewelry
was a
reflection of the Art Deco movement. The first known pieces
were made in Europe prior to World War I. After the war, the
inexpensive but stylish jewelry began appearing in the United States
and American companies soon began to dominate the industry.
Some of the largest American manufacturers include: Weiss,
Coro, Eisenberg, Coventry, and Trifari.
Costume
jewelry
can be basically classified as any piece that is not made from
precious metals or featuring precious gemstones. Costume
pieces are mass produced and typically sell for relatively low cost
when compared to their fine jewelry counterparts. These
inexpensive alternatives gave buyers the ability to look great without
spending a small fortune and helped account for their widespread
popularity. However, while costume pieces were certainly
inexpensive to purchase when they were first made, this variety of
jewelry can now command some serious cash at festivals, trade shows,
and other venues. There are basically five components that
help determine the value of vintage costume jewelry, including:
1. Rarity
2.
Supply
3.
Design/Originality
4.
Material/Craftsmanship
5. Durability
Rarity
Despite
there being a host of manufacturers, the actual production of jewelry
varied considerably among them. Some of the larger players
like Coro, Coventry, and Trifari typically produced thousands of pieces
for each design. When other factors are held constant, these
pieces will be worth less than those made by smaller manufacturers like
Barclays, DeMario, and McClelland. However, even some of the
larger manufacturers produced some of their designs in small quantities
making these pieces more valuable than the majority of offerings from
the same company. In other words, you really need to do your
homework.
Demand
In basic
economic terms, the greater the demand the higher the price for a good
or service when all other factors are held constant. Some
vintage costume pieces are in high demand right now despite the fact
that individual collectors may not particularly like them.
Signed pieces by Miriam Haskell have a great potential for price
increases in the future despite their not being particularly desired by
many of the top collectors. But for anyone looking to collect
jewelry, be it vintage costume or fine, the more valuable pieces will
also be those with the greatest demand in the marketplace so
don’t be fooled into only collecting the pieces that
“look pretty”!
Design and
Originality
Design and originality
tend to play a
very large role in price determination when other factors are held
constant. A true collector can identify designs by certain
manufacturers even when they are unsigned (which is very common as most
companies did not start adding their “mark” to
pieces until the 1950’s). Most manufacturers had
the same designers for years making it easier to spot vintage pieces
that tend to be worth more money. Hollycraft and Florenza
produced award-winning designs on a consistent basis but those produced
by Miriam Haskell are considered to be the
crème-de-la-crème when it comes to design and
originality with some pieces commanding $400 or more despite only
costing $10-20 originally!
Material and Craftsmanship
By
definition, costume or fashion
jewelry
is not made from precious metals
or gemstones. However, some semi-precious stones are
certainly more valuable than others and play a large role in
determining present-day value of vintage pieces. None of
these stones would ever be considered precious in the traditional sense
but some companies did use stones of superior quality when compared to
other manufacturers making these pieces more valuable.
Companies renowned for using high quality stones and superior
craftsmanship include: Eisenberg, Bogoff, Weiss, and
Hollycraft.
Durability
In
particular, Eisenberg fashion pieces are renown for using stones and
materials of exceptional quality. For this reason, it is very
hard for a collector to find a signed Eisenberg piece that is not
already high-priced but it is still possible to find unsigned pieces
when you know what to look for. Other companies who made
fashion jewelry of exceptional quality on a consistent basis and have
stood the test of time include: Trifari, Kramer, Monet, and
Danecraft.
For a connoisseur of high
quality vintage
costume jewelry, finding a rare bracelet or necklace at a flea market
is akin to someone discovering a vintage Tiffany lamp in their
basement. No, the genuine Eisenberg necklace may not command
six figures at a fine auction house like a Tiffany lamp—but
it will surely be treasured as a rare find and an impeccable example of
American craftsmanship, design, and grandeur!
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