Vintage Jewelry: New Collectors

Vintage '50s 'Coro' Clip On Pearls: 1980s Chunky Acrylic Bead

For new collectors of vintage jewelry, a word of caution, if you try to repair, glue, or replace signed/stamped parts of any vintage piece you may devalue it. So before you fix it or chunk it, check it out online to see what you are working with and to get advice. There are some seriously amazing sites for research and message boards to connect you with someone who is very knowledgeable in a particular thing, such as 1950's Coro clip on earrings, or 1940s Bakelite brooches from West Germany.

Sometimes a professional jeweler is a good idea too. :)

Vintage Choker: Hand Braided Glass and Seed Beads 1950 or older

Find ways to date and research vintage pieces from your mom's goodwill pile, and even your own drawer... you know that one in your jewelry box where you stuff things you never wear or lost a piece to...

EX:

The box says Napier but there are multiple items stored in the same box...

Use archived fashion advertisements to help date your pieces, like this Napier magazine ad circa 1980

If your stuff is made of plastic and you think it is not valuable, read my post about vintage plastics such as Bakelite. Lucite and Bakelite is very collectible.

Used in jewelry, buttons, hair combs, and even antique car parts, such as the handles on a stick shift like my Dad's 68 GTO.

Here is my newest piece : A bakelite belt buckle, likely removed from a fabric belt and found in the bottom of a bag of vintage lace. How happy this made me!

So if you don't know, look, ask, then recycle... never trash it.

Having the designer and materials named, even the country of origin, can help to keep your stuff organized and add to the value of your collection later, this is even true of non vintage jewelry and accessories such as scarves.

The tag in place helps to add value to the signed Oscar de la Renta scarf Circa 1980

Never cut the tags off scarves! Read post here about Vintage Scarves.

sometimes you can date items by the size or font used. Look up images and compare your tags and logos. Here we have both signed and tagged, score!!!

By keeping a scarf box, velvet sack, any original tags or any cardstock that your pieces come in, on, or with, can really be a help later if you decide to let go of a collection or when passing it on to others.

#vintagejewelry #vintagerepair #sustainablysourced#antiquejewelry #sustainableshopping #1980sjewelry #VintageNapier #quitcuttingscarves