Before you begin collecting vintage costume jewelry for profit, you need to know what makes any particular piece valuable. For decades, costume jewelry has been mass-produced with the use of few precious metals or gemstones, essentially creating an affordable alternative to the finer pieces made from gold, silver and diamonds or rubies. None of the fashion pieces sold in department stores today will ever appreciate in value, but this is not the case with most vintage pieces. For anyone who can identify the valuable pieces, collecting vintage jewelry can be a very profitable hobby. One needs to look at five different components to determine value:
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Rarity
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Market Demand
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Originality of Design
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Craftsmanship and Materials
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Condition
Dozens of different-sized manufacturers led to dramatic differences in batch sizes which, ultimately affected the available supply for any given design. Coventry, Coro, and other larger manufacturers often made thousands of pieces for every design. However, Barclays, DeMario, and many of the smaller companies had limited facilities and thus tended to have far smaller batches. When other pricing variables are held constant, signed pieces from the small companies tend to be worth more money. But caution is advised before passing up a piece of jewelry, however, because there are examples of very small production runs by some of the larger manufacturers-- making these specialty pieces highly coveted by collectors due to their rarity.
A piece of jewelry can be rare but command little demand for some reason or another which will greatly affect value. Eisenberg jewelry will likely always be a hot item in the collectibles market, but always keep a lookout for Miriam Haskell pieces as they are the hot tickets right now. Being able to identify the hot items from the pretty imitators is what separates the successful collectors from mere hobbyist. Investors must remember to keep their personal tastes out of the process or they will end up with a collection of beautiful vintage pieces that don't appreciate in value.
You will often find seasoned investors sometimes avoid collecting signed vintage jewelry, because everyone is already looking for them. Instead, they will focus on unsigned, but well-designed pieces that tend to be more profitable than many of the signed necklaces, brooches, etc. Most of the vintage costume jewelry is unsigned so true collectors must be able to recognize quality designs in order to spot the most undervalued acquisitions. Exceptional quality of jewelry designs by companies like Hollycraft and Bergere will rarely be signed, making pieces from these companies both easy to spot and very profitable to collect.
Manufacturers known for their high quality materials and original designs likely to command top dollar for collectors include:
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Boucher
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Bergere
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Weiss
Bogoff
With some pieces of vintage costume jewelry nearing 100 years old, it is quite common to find the rare necklace, bracelet or earrings showing significant signs of wear including scratches, discoloration, or missing stones. Despite having noticeable signs of wear, most vintage jewelry pieces are still worth more today than when they were originally sold. Collecting vintage costume pieces is still a very profitable venture for anyone knowing how to identify the truly profitable pieces.
Jon Kreps is a vintage costume jewelry collector specializing in period sets, Cameos and Authentic Indian jewelry.
