Nineteenth and Twentieth Century costume jewelry is an exciting area of collecting for personal enjoyment as well as an excellent for-profit business opportunity. The first and best piece of advice to the novice collector/merchant is to surround yourself with quality reference books and websites on the subject. Of course, start with the pictures! A week or two of just searching and comparing images of these magnificent works of art will whet your appetite for the never-ending adventure looming before you. A few recommendations from among hundreds of books include: Angie Gordon's "Twentieth Century Costume Jewellery," Lillian Baker's "Fifty Years of Collectible Fashion Jewelry 1925-1975" and anything by Harrice Miller.

   Soon you will develop a personal taste for both the type of jewelry, i.e., bracelet, necklace, brooch or fur clip and also for construction materials, i.e., enamel, faux pearls, rhinestones (clear or colored), art glass (polished or carved) sterling silver or gold vermeil. The list of designers and manufacturers is endless and will require considerable learning via texts, online viewing and in-the-field experience to develop second-nature knowledge of who made what and when they made it. Many pieces are engraved or stamped on the metal mountings and findings (clasps, clip mechanisms) with the manufacturer's or designer's name as well as certain production symbols that are specific to certain years of manufacture. Some offhand examples are the TRIFARI crown, the CORO pegasus (winged horse) and the BOUCHER Phyrigian cap (bird head).

   To make it all a bit more complex, many of the companies didn't sign their creations initially and some never did. A few costume jewelry houses had paper or foiled paper hang tags tied to the pieces by string. These tags are rare treasures when found but can also be suspect of having been falsely applied to a given item. Only time and experience will help in this regard. Some companies signed earlier pieces without the tiny copyright circular mark, but in the 1950s added the mark in front of or behind their signature which now helps significantly in dating their merchandise. An excellent tip for the novice in the field of costume jewelry is to begin as a collector and to buy what you like and can afford. In some cases you will come away with a bargain and in others you may have paid a bit more than is commonplace to the market. In our experience, if you are willing to own the item solely for its appeal, then most of your initial purchases will even out over time.

   In just these few paragraphs you can see that costume jewelry is a very subjective field that has both certainties (signature pieces) and uncertainties (unsigned pieces). Later on we will discuss reproductions, the current big "monkey wrench" in the costume jewelry world. But for now, if you will allow a comparison to the criteria for selecting genuine diamonds, there are several categories in which to judge the plethora of merchandise available in this genre: personal appeal, age, construction, quality of materials, rarity and condition. We find these are six important points of reference.

   Particularly as a collector but even as a merchant, the appeal of the merchandise is of utmost importance. You want to collect and display what you like and will be more eager to invest time and effort in marketing items that hold your interest as you will know more about them. What catches your eye will also ignite your desire to learn the pertinent details that define the other categories.

   The Nineteenth Century and Twentieth Century have multiple design periods including but not limited to Victorian (1837-1901), Edwardian (c. 1901-1910{11-18}), Art Nouveau (1890-1914) and Art Deco (1908-1935) to name a few. Jewelry pieces can then range in age from approximately 170 years old to 30 years old. In our opinion, the Golden Age of costume jewelry spans the forty years from the mid-1920s to the mid-1960s but by no means precludes earlier or later time periods.

   Construction is determined primarily by sight and "feel." A pin mechanism that is constructed as a protrusion from the frame or mounting is preferable to one that is tacked on with a rivet. Clips that close tightly with superb tension will keep you in better stead than clips that rattle loosely and have too much play. Strong prongs, deep channels and quality bezel settings for rhinestones and faux pearls are other construction details to seek. Larger pieces, especially brooches, that are bolted or screwed together are also well constructed and durable. Weight and heft, things that can only be determined by the feel of the piece in your hand, are also indicators of quality construction. Excellent examples of supreme construction features include jewelry manufactured by Miriam Haskell (hand-wired elements), Eisenberg and DeRosa, to name a few.

  Finding quality materials includes searching for clarity of rhinestones and glass elements, finish (nacre) of faux pearls, eveness and density of gold wash (vermeil) over metalwork, plating (i.e., rhodium, a bright reflective silvertone metal), hardness of woods and plastics (lucite, thermoset, celluloid), genuineness of natural materials such as turquoise and coral, and the richness of color and coverage of cold-painted and fired enamels. Again, knowledge and appreciation of materials comes with experience in the field and constant comparison of individual merchandise manufacturer to manufacturer.

   Rarity is quite the important category for both collection and marketing. An outstanding example is the sterling vermeil Eisenberg mermaid brooch. The design is so exquisite, the materials of such high quality and the company's reputation so untouchable that this one piece among their thousands of designs has become increasingly rare as collectors fortunate enough to come upon one squirrel it away with little intention for marketing.  The days of finding a treasure such as this at an estate sale, yard sale or antique shop are long gone which both increases desire and market value. Production years and volume can often be determined by patent numbers displayed on some costume jewelry items, but almost every manufacturer has a piece or pieces defined primarily by their limited production numbers and subsequent removal from the marketplace by virtue of collection. Rarity may be the number one element determining value. Keep in mind that value is the most subjective element in the costume jewelry field and is determined by a multitude of factors (including the six discussed here) along with many that fluctuate with time, supply and demand.

   Condition, again, is a category best explored in person though multiple high quality photographs are a fair substitute when searching online markets. Metalwork should be free of wear, rot, rust, bends, dents and other blemishes that cannot be restored. Patina, the general aging of a lustrous finish over time, should not be confused with tarnish or other damages that do not add value. Stone, glass and plastic elements should be free of scratches, chips, cracks, nicks and fleabites (chips visible under magnification).  Faux pearl nacre should not be flaked or chipped. Frames, mounting and findings (clasps and catches) should not be bent, loose or dysfunctional. Glue residue and other discolorations are primary indicators that items have been repaired or some of their original elements have been replaced (often with little accuracy which includes bad color and size matches). Enamel should be free of chips, cracks and fading.

   In recent years many domestic and foreign companies have started producing reproductions of jewelry items made famous by now-defunct manufacturers or from defunct production lines of companies still in existence. Some common reproductions include the CORO rock fish brooch and the STARET liberty hand holding a torch. There are giveaways to be noted between originals and the reproductions, i.e., the loops on the edges of fins on the original CORO rock fish brooch are closed whereas they are partially open on the reproduction. Knowing the difference is again a product of time and experience.  Reproductions can be costly and the only value we can find in them is their limited ability to substitute for items of such rarity missing from a personal collection. To us a fake is a fake and won't do.

  This guide is little more than the most cursory discussion of how to select vintage costume jewelry and more than anything just a reference for how to begin the process of collection/marketing. There are hundreds of variables in the costume jewelry field, any number of which apply to any given piece at any given time. Remember that the field is subjective, influenced by personal taste, availability and other select factors and that value shifts back and forth from what's hot to what's not! The marketplace is quite cyclical, i.e., the discovery of DeLizza and Elster as designers of the Juliana brand bringing that name to the forefront of current collectibility and market frenzy.  Collecting is more stable than marketing, though even the most avid among collectors have designs and manufacturers that slip on and off our favorites list.

   The best part of selecting vintage costume jewelry pieces is the thrill of the hunt, the delight of discovery and the fact that you can wear your treasures on a daily basis! Good hunting, good luck and good deals. Remember that eBay is a major asset when it comes to self-teaching, collecting and marketing costume jewelry.

G. Ian Gioseffi of Burcaggio House