Antique Costume Jewelry

Antique costume jewelry had its origins in the 1920s and 30s. It was manufactured as ornamentation for ordinary people and was to be worn with a particular short-term fashion. Hence, it was also called fashion jewelry. Costume jewelry was meant to be cheap, made from inexpensive materials and discarded when fashion changed. This was possible because the materials used to produce costume jewelry were indeed inexpensive materials such as plastic, glass, synthetic stones and base metals. Fine jewelry is, of course, made from so-called noble metals such stones such as diamonds, emeralds and rubies are mounted.

Much costume jewelry, however, was not discarded but rather ended up in jewelry boxes and dresser drawers where it is found today. And that is what has made it possible for collectors to enjoy and reuse it. It is quite interesting to note that the term “costume”, as used in costume jewelry, refers to what today we call an “outfit” or assemblage of women’s fashion. Costume jewelry was, and is, used to decorate and enhance a fashionable garment or “costume”.

What is today termed antique costume jewelry generally fits into two periods. The first is Art Deco from the 1920s and 30s which was characterized by themes that exhibited highly symmetric geometric designs. Second is a “retro” period that existed from approximately 1935 to 1950. Many of these were war years so design and manufacturing tended to shift from Europe to America during this time. Cheap, non-essential materials were used in manufacturing costume jewelry of this period. The designs were freer flowing and sophisticated with numerous motifs that reflected a more American taste and sensibility.

Well designed and made costume jewelry is highly sought after today and is very collectable. Accordingly, well-chosen and collected costume jewelry has risen dramatically in value in recent times. An excellent reference concerning antique costume jewelry is Collecting Costume Jewelry 303

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