Costume Jewelry: Baubles, Bangles and Bucks
Written: May 31 '04 (Updated Jun 01 '04)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Expert advice on care techniques and information on jewelry terms and noted designers.
Cons: Not enough color photos. Not very helpful in pricing individual pieces.
The Bottom Line: Overall, a good investment for the novice collector and or seller.
|
|
|
| auntnono's Full Review: |
I am told frequently that I am just like my grandmother. Besides her love of books, I have also inherited her love of jewelry. But not just any jewelry. Only the "good stuff", if you please!
Costume jewelry was something you gave the kids to play with. Or wore to a costume party. Neither my grandmother or I ever attached any value to costume jewelry other than amusement factor. How wrong we both were!
It all started when I saw a rhinestone necklace and earring set on eBay. The selling price was in the hundreds! That's right, hundreds of dollars for a rhinestone necklace. I had one similar in an old jewel box. That got me to thinking. So I listed my necklace. Did I make hundreds? NO! Seems there is more to this costume jewelry than meets the eye.
Thanks to the Official Price Guide to Costume Jewelry , I soon saw the error of my ways.
The book is divided into chapters such as how to identify manufacturers' marks, age and forgeries. Just as there are famous clothes designers, there are costume jewelers of quite renown and others who are strictly "off the rack" This book helped me to identify which pieces of my costume jewelry were likely to be sought after because of their designer. As I mentioned earlier, my rhinestone necklace didn't fetch the hundreds I had anticipated. Had I owned this book at the time, I would have been aware the unknown designer of my necklace could not compete with Albert Weiss!
Makers marks also play a major part in evaluating a piece's worth. For instance, a Trifari Crown mark is worth more than a plain stamped Trifari. The book lists not only the major players and their marks but also some obscure designers.
My favorite chapter advises on the care of costume jewelry. This is helpful to both the novice and long time user. Believe it or not, it requires more care for paste and pot metal than for diamonds and gold. The fragility of costume jewelry is also what adds to its value. Who would have thought?
Several more chapters deal with various collections. Most of the pictures are in black ink, but there is a center section with nice glossy prints. The collections described are those of the most renowned costume jewelry designers, i.e. Weiss, Eisenberg, Lisner & Carnegie.
The back of the book includes a glossary of terms which is most helpful. As an online seller, it is imperative that the items I sell are described correctly. This glossary has been invaluable in that regard.
I was slightly disappointed that the book did not offer more help in pricing. While the items shown did have appraised values, there was little to assist me in pricing my own pieces. It tends to lean towards higher priced, collections versus individual pieces. It does give you an idea of which designers will carry higher prices than others but based on the maker not the actual jewelry itself.
Still the book did assist me in a major sale. I had an old brooch stamped "Hagler". The only Hagler I know is Marvelous Marvin and I doubt he designs any costume jewelry! With the help of the price guide, I was able to determine the designer was Stanley Hagler and the brooch was made in the early 60's. Before reading the price guide, I would have sold this brooch for $5-10. Instead, armed with my new knowledge I was able to get $60 for this pin. Not bad for something that had been sitting in a drawer.
I consider this book a must have for the beginner and experienced collector, if only for the advice on care and the glossary of terms. There is money to be made in costume jewelry, but, you can't sell what you don't know!
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
auntnono
|
|
Member: Norma Mueller
Location: Anaheim CA
Reviews written: 56
Trusted by: 104 members
About Me:
My boss told me I was TOO honest!
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.