Collecting Vintage Signed Costume Jewellery
Books To Help You
Collecting signed vintage costume jewellery can be exciting and profitable as you can pick pieces up quite cheaply as many people do not know what they are selling. They may not see the signature on the back or sides of a valuable piece of jewellery and list it as say for example a vintage flower brooch. I would suggest if you like jewellery and you enjoy collecting then go for it. The positive side of collection signed vintage jewellery is that you don’t need a lot of storage space.
I have chosen three books that they will help you in your quest to become a vintage, signed, costume jewellery collector. I have answered some general questions about collecting signed vintage jewellery so you can determine if it is worth, you starting out on your new journey of collecting vintage signed costume jewellery. These books will help you decide what type of jewellery to collect and from what era or style. Much will depend on what appeals to you. You may like big, chunky, statement pieces with coloured stones like from the 1980’s or, vintage jewellery of animals for example.
Once you have looked through the books you will know exactly what type of signed vintage costume jewellery you want to start collecting as the fabulous images and designs are bound to help you choose. I find having a few books on the subject of vintage jewellery collecting helps a lot as there is nothing better than seeing up close all the beautiful glossy images and having them at hand to browse through whilst sipping a drink. They make great coffee table reference books that you can pick up and read over and over again flitting through the pages whilst looking at the beautiful images and reading the riveting text knowing that it is to enhancing your knowledge.
Is it worth collecting vintage costume jewellery?
Yes. I would suggest that if you have a passion for vintage signed costume jewellery then it. Ask yourself are you collecting for a hobby, or for extra income? If you are collecting as a hobby, you will enjoy the work of learning and collecting. If purchasing for resale you will enjoy the challenge of making a decent profit on each piece.
The profit that can be made can range from a few pounds to several hundred pounds per piece. Most pieces you will collect can be picked up quite cheaply and sold for a decent profit.
I personally have purchased a bag of vintage jewellery for a few pounds that I presumed were unsigned and after looking closely at them all I have found signatures on some of them including a Christian Dior brooch in the byzantine style valued on average at £600. That was just one item in the bag so I was already a winner. You will be surprised at how many people cannot even see a signature on the back but if you know what you are looking for it is easy to spot.
When you look through the books that I have chosen you will see many famous faces wearing the jewellery. That is because they actually loved the pieces that resembled real diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds as well as pearls but were a fraction of the cost of the real thing. They were made so well that you couldn’t tell the difference so many celebrities wore them including royalty, wives of presidents and the top actresses of the time. This enabled the wealthy to wear the brilliant fakes and leave the valuable ones safely at home.
They can be seen on actresses on the big screen and on tv as they looked realistic in programmes such as Dynasty and Dallas where oil rich families were portrayed and they needed the jewellery to match the wealth. Signed vintage costume jewellery will always be sought after and as fashions go around certain pieces will become more desired and sought after than others. When there is an Art Deco revival for instance women will be looking for pieces in that style and prices will rise further.
Wear your vintage signed costume jewellery like royalty does and feel like a million dollars whilst wearing it than keeping it under wraps waiting for a buyer. That way you will appreciate collecting more and more if you actually use the jewellery.
Is collecting vintage signed costume jewellery profitable?
Yes, it is. Some people may come to the conclusion that the market is flooded for vintage costume jewellery but the number of buyers there is makes it profitable. So much cheap jewellery is on the market today all made in China for as little as under a pound or a dollar. This type of jewellery does not last long is made in the millions in factories with cheap materials where the stone out and the metal tarnishes. You don’t see royalty and mega film stars wear this type of cheap, unsigned jewellery. By buying signed vintage you are more likely to sell it on and make a good profit as this type of jewellery will always be in demand.
Vintage signed costume jewellery is made of the best high-quality materials and paste and semi-precious stones were set well. Let’s face it no designer wants to put their name to a cheap piece of tat. They would receive bad reviews and would not be held in high esteem in the fashion world if they did so. It was and still is, important for designers to choose the best materials when creating their pieces. The gold or silver plating on the jewellery was often coated in a higher carat gold or silver at least 9ct and 925 sterling silver or platinum. Swarovski crystals or high-end cubic zirconia was used so the quality of the paste stones was higher.
Some vintage signed costume jewellery contains semi-precious stones including turquoise, amethyst, lapis lazuli, tanzanite, spinel, tourmaline, rose quartz and garnet. Others include freshwater pearls rather than synthetic pearls.
I have selected three costume jewellery books; one for collecting vintage costume jewellery by an American designer, one vintage costume jewellery book by British designers and one on looking at the styles that designers used from both countries.
Where can I buy vintage signed costume jewellery?
Go to car boot sales if you can for the best bargains as most people don’t know the value of what they are selling so pieces can be picked up quite cheaply. Look at Facebook, eBay etc and get a feel for the prices and if you see a piece going cheap then place a bid or buy it. Once you get to know the styles and where to find the signatures you will become more familiar and confident when purchasing.
Should I stick to one designer or several when collecting vintage signed costume jewellery?
I would suggest collecting several designers although it is a personal choice. Much would depend on your budget. If you have a very low budget say £100 or less then go for any signed piece of vintage costume jewellery that appeals to you or is a bargain and you know you will make profit from. If your budget is higher go for higher end vintage such as Chanel as their pieces are highly sought after by collectors.
The more you become familiar with signed vintage costume jewellery the more profit you will make. Researching through books and handling vintage jewellery will help you enormously.
Faking It by Kenneth Jay Lane
This book is a really good starting point for anyone interested in collecting Kenneth Jay Lane jewellery. His pieces of jewellery that were inspired by famous women including the American President John F. Kennedy’s wife Jackie Onassis and English royalty. His jewellery creations were also inspired by his travels and his love of art.
He created some beautiful colourful pieces of jewellery to resemble real diamonds, rubies and emeralds and his pieces are highly sought after around the world. You can see some of his gorgeous jewellery in Faking It.
The book contains the following:
- A forward by Suzy
- The introduction Harrice Simons Miller
- My Introduction Kenneth Jay Lane
- The egg cracks
- A design is born
- A design is born deux
- Les girls
- Acknowledgements
- Photograph credits
From the book you can decide if you want to collect certain pieces of jewellery such as brooches, necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings or vintage signed costume jewellery sets. Bear in mind if you concentrate on collecting all the pieces, he ever created then this may become expensive if you are just collecting to keep rather than to make a profit.
Rough Diamonds The Butler & Wilson Collection By Vivienne Becker
Butler and Wilson created stunning jewellery from 1969 using Swarovski crystals to imitate real diamonds and some of their creations were stunning and wild. They created some beautiful eye-catching costume jewellery heavily filled with high end Swarovski crystals which gleamed like real diamonds. As diamonds are considered a girl’s best friend many women wanted them and do to this day.
The book Rough Diamonds is packed with images of the most dazzling jewellery that you will come across including full page images. You get a good feel for Butler & Wilson jewellery and the styles that they adopted. Many famous faces are depicted wearing the jewellery such as Joan Collins who is seen lying by a pool in all her glitz and glamour.
Part One of the book looks at:
- The jewels
- Art Nouveau
- Art Deco
- The cocktail jewels
- Butler & Wilson revivals
- Butler & Wilson originals
Part two comprises: Creating the image
- The billboards 1982-1990
- The billboard models and photographers
- Photography acknowledgements
This book can help you decide which Butler & Wilson jewellery to collect, whether it be Art Deco style pieces, animals, insects and such or to set out and try to collect all of them. As a buyer and seller, you will soon learn which ones will appeal to people to make the most profit.
A Collector's Guide To Costume Jewelry By Tracy Tolkien And Henrietta Wilkinson
This book shows the key styles and how to recognise them and has lots of descriptive text and over 200 beautiful images in colour including full page images. The book aims to help you understand and appreciate classic costume jewellery including fabulous fakes. With glimpses of the leading trendsetters including Chanel, Tiffany, Schiaparelli and Butler & Wilson.
The contents of this book include:
- Collecting influence and inspiration
- Aristocratic adornment
- The age of sentiment
- Garlands and pearls
- The sinuous line
- Simply modern
- Cocktail jewelry
- Swinging times
- Contemporary trends
- Glossary
- Index and credits
The thrill of finding a more expensive piece of signed vintage costume jewellery makes you so eager to stick at it and find more great bargains that you can a few hundred pounds from. Good luck in new vintage signed costume jewellery search.