Indeed, for anyone knowing what they are looking for, it is very possible to find authentic costume jewelry at low prices and resale for massive profits. Unfortunately, most people have no clue what is meant by "vintage" costume jewelry!
The very first true costume jewelry appeared on theatres throughout Europe before being brought back to the States by American G.I.'s returning home from World War I. As popularity increased in the United States, more and more American companies began to design and produce the inexpensive jewelry. Many American companies like Coro and Eisenberg produced some of the most coveted collectibles on the vintage jewelry market today so keep an eye out for signed pieces as the flea markets.
But how does one actually classify or identify costume jewelry and what makes some pieces valuable? Vintage costume necklaces, bracelets, and other pieces were purchased by American soldiers in French boutiques and brought home after the first world war. U.S. companies began dominating costume jewelry design and manufacturing from the late 1920's onward. These same companies produced some of the most coveted collectible vintage costume necklaces, bracelets, rings, and other jewelry. Some popular American manufacturers to keep an eye out for at the flea markets include:
Coro
Eisenberg
Weiss
Trifari
Barclay
Collecting vintage fashion jewelry for profit all boils down to distinguishing the valuable pieces from those great-looking but worthless pieces. One needs to look at five different components to determine value:
Rarity
Market Demand
Originality of Design
Craftsmanship and Materials
Condition
Pricing is directly influenced by the supply and it varies greatly between designs. The jewelry itself was supplied by dozens of manufacturers. Batch sizes could vary dramatically from one company to the next. Most of the larger companies like Coro and Coventry would have large batch sizes numbering in the tens of thousands in some cases. Smaller production batches, sometimes numbering in the hundreds, were more common to see from companies like Barclays and McClelland. Signed pieces from the smaller companies tend to be rarer and thus more valuable than those made from the larger companies. Still, careful research is required because even larger manufacturers sometimes produced specialty batches. These were smaller batches making the pieces more valuable than others produced by the same company.
Rarity is important in determining value but the overall demand for the jewelry will play the greatest single role in determining price. Simple economics dictates that higher demand will command a higher price. For anyone looking for the hot items right now, signed Miriam Haskell vintage jewelry is the best bet despite being a bit eccentric in design. Some designs are collectible while others are not. Learning to tell the difference between the two will ultimately determine whether collecting is profitable or just a hobby. Avid collectors tend to include popular pieces in their collections because they are more profitable. In many cases, the collector doesn't even like the particular piece!
But what actually affects market demand? If all other variables are held constant, the originality of the design itself will ultimately determine its value and be the primary source of demand. Novice collectors tend to focus exclusively on signed pieces but it is often the case the unsigned, well-designed pieces prove to be the most profitable to collect. Collecting vintage costume jewelry for profit is complicated by the fact that most of the pieces are actually unsigned. Identifying great designs is one of the surest ways to identify unsigned pieces and make vintage jewelry collecting profitable. Unsigned pieces by Hollycraft and Miriam Haskell tend to command top dollar because of their exceptional design quality.
The overall design is accentuated by the quality of craftsmanship and materials used to produce each piece. The construction quality is important but the gemstones play a larger role in determining value. There were some companies that were famous for using gemstones of exceptional quality though none of them would be considered precious. Jewelry designs by Bogoff, Weiss, and Eisenberg tend to be high value collectibles primarily because of their exceptionally high quality.
Eisenberg costume necklaces, earrings, and other pieces tend to be hard to find at the flea markets or via online auction. For those looking to find pieces they can still buy at reasonable prices but turn around and sell for maximum profit, try searching for pieces by:
Hollycraft
Danecraft
Monet
Trifari
As is the case when dealing with any type of antique, the final condition of the jewelry is very important to its value. Like any jewelry, value will be lowered for excessive scratching or peeling, lost stones, or discoloration. While some degree of wear is inevitable, the quality of design, materials, craftsmanship, and overall demand still make most vintage jewelry pieces prized collectibles worth serious money. But if you know how to locate the unsigned gems hiding in flea markets and online auctions every day, then you can really make a bundle collecting vintage costume pieces--even those with excessive signs of wear!
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