Trinket Truth
In vintage and costume jewelry, it's all about beauty

     John Keats wrote, "Beauty is truth and truth, beauty," and, according to experts and dealers, the truth is that the beauty of vintage jewelry makes it so collectible.

     "It's just how it grabs you," said costume jewelry expert and Antique Trader columnist Marion Cohen.

     Vintage jewelry is collectible, she said, for a number of reasons, including its design, history and age, but above all, it's about its beauty.

     According to Connecticut dealer Joan Vogel Elias, the collectibility of vintage jewelry has translated into a healthy marketplace.

     "It goes in cycles," she said, "but I'm seeing a big jump in people moving from fine jewelry to costume jewelry."

     Cohen, a New Yorker, characterized the market as "slow" but said that's going to change.

     Costume jewelry was super-hot in the 1980s and early 1990s, she said, when designers were incorporating costume jewelry into their designs. That trend cooled in the later '90s, but designers are apparently turning to costume jewelry again, and the market "may be recovering."

     However, Cohen added, the hottest of the hot will always be that way. Certain makers, like Miriam Haskell, Eisenberg, Coro, Corocraft, Hobé, and Schiaparelli, will always be sought after.

     Vogel Elias agreed, adding Schreiner to the list. She said one reason some of the makers remain hot is because they "made less than more."

     But collector Angela Black said names aren't as important to her in building her collection.

     "I'm not big on names as much as styles and quality," she said.

     And although Vogel Elias noted several names selling well recently, she echoed Black's sentiments about a piece's craftsmanship.

     "Buy what you love, regardless of the name," she said. "In the very early stages of costume jewelry making, makers didn't sign the jewelry anyway."

     That can make for some good deals on early unmarked jewelry – "You might find out later it's an unsigned Haskell, worth much more than you paid for it," Vogel Elias said.

     Black said the market for jewelry is "great," and said that a pull toward nostalgia stemming from 9/11 is driving sales among "antique-styled pieces."

     "People collect for [investment and beauty]," Black added. "However, costume jewelry is more popular for personal reasons such as taste, fashion and economics rather than as an investment."

     Vogel Elias said many vintage and costume jewelry collectors are suffering from what she calls "set completion syndrome."

     "It's popular now," she said, "to shoot for a parure (full set). I am selling a lot of assembled sets."

     A parure consists of a necklace, bracelet, pin and earrings. A grand parure, however, includes all of the above and a ring (and maybe an additional pin).

     Prices, at least on Vogel Elias' Web site, www.absolutelyvintage.net, seem healthy, especially on completed sets.

     She had a citrine and lime rhinestone necklace, bracelet and earring set by BSK for $135 and a Czech demi parure Festoon necklace, bracelet and pin set for $695.

     A few jewelry and fashion designers are setting the stage for future collectibility.

     "I've been collecting Sarah Coventry and Avon a lot lately. These pieces are great yard sale finds and command good resale prices," said Black.

     "Now that jewelry collecting has become so common, it's hard to find real bargains anymore."

     Both Vogel Elias and Cohen mentioned turquoise as the next hot thing in jewelry.

     "Turquoise has been in all the fashion magazines lately," Vogel Elias said. "It's very hot right now."

     Cohen added that nearly all of the currently hot names in design made turquoise pieces that may be good buys.

     There are a few pieces, however, that seem less popular, Vogel Elias said, including pieces with clear stones – "that'll come around, though," she added.

     Cohen said she thought Trifari might be in a bit of a funk, but Vogel Elias said highly unusual or large pieces, like Trifari's Jelly Bellies, are doing well.

     Vogel Elias said collectors should also be aware of what she called "market flooding."

     When a piece sells well at an auction, she said, there is often a spate of that particular item on the market. She urged caution in purchasing these pieces, as the inflated prices tend to normalize down the road.

     Everyone, however, agreed that the best way to buy vintage and costume jewelry is simply to buy what makes you happy.

     "If it pushes that button that makes your hair stand on end, buy it," Vogel Elias said.