What Has Caused Certain Vintage Jewelry Items To Become High Ticket?

What has driven prices up in vintage costume jewelry? Even though there are still sites selling vintage costume jewelry at low prices, the price for certain designers, and one of a kind pieces, has really gone up in recent years. 

This is especially true of jelly belly, fruit salad, Swarovski crystals, Austrian glass, and figural items, like birds with elaborate detailing and enamelling. 

I think the main point is, that many of the creators of vintage costume jewelry used labour intensive techniques, and high quality materials, many of which are now obsolete or cost prohibitive, is the major reason.

Another reason, is how unique and elaborate some of the pieces are, which can never be replicated today. Probably the central reason, is that these items were not mass produced, and were made during a time when quality, and attention to detail, became the stamp of the maker or creator.

Another contributing factor, is the passage of time. In recent decades, with the rise of fast fashion and mass produced cheap jewelry made in China, we exhausted the rapid turnover, and the shine wore off those items, as quickly as they were created.

Now we are in a different era, and the vintage items of high quality, with hard to find materials and exceptional craftsmanship, are moving from being trendy vintage, to being sought after antiques.

Many of the master craftsman of the high quality costume jewelry era during the forties and fifties, had their beginnings in the creation of fine jewelry using real gold, pearls, sapphires and diamonds. They then used their expertise to create fine costume jewelry to emulate the real thing. A high percentage of them apprenticed under companies like Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels.

In addition to the long cherished glass making and jewelry techniques with origins in Europe, New York, and Montreal, they all buckled down and created fascinating high quality jewelry during the early to mid-twentieth century. It was like a boom time for creativity and craftsmanship. 

The expertise and techniques in glass making actually created gemstone quality jewelry. The nacre and hand knotting of faux pearls created replicas that require a lab, and a hundred thousand dollar X-Ray machine to differentiate the real from the faux pearls.

In the case of coloured gemstones, all of the easy to access gemstones have already been mined, or collected. It is one thing to collect rocks, as well as shells. I can see why there is a fascination with the original, and raw forms of the beautiful things people find in nature.

But in addition to the materials, when it comes to jewelry making, there is a creative process, from the choice of materials, to the design, and most of all to the craftsmanship.

It has taken many years, and I will readily admit to not knowing even a small percentage of the range of jewelry craftsmanship. It would take a lifetime to learn to identify all the different types of glass and gemstones used. And even if you managed that, there are still materials made of fossilized wood, tree resins, bone, ivory, plastics, vulcanite, oak bog, enamels, and tortoise shells. Even lizard skin was used in jewelry in the past.

If it could be crafted into jewelry, it was done. Often the focus was on organic materials one could collect on beaches, in the forest, or places with an abundant supply and variety of rocks and fossils.

Everything from seeds, to nuts, coconut shells, shark’s teeth, claws, and even human hair, was used at some time or another to craft into jewelry. Such is our inclination toward creativity and personal adornment. 

In many cases things are treated, dyed, and made to look like a certain stone. Turquoise is one of the most frequently altered coloured gemstones of all. 

As with all things, the real special items do show their grandiosity. It shows when you examine an item closely. It shows in the way it feels, in the way it reflects and illuminates light from within, and mostly it shows in the craftsmanship involved. The human element is what makes the item what it is, and the more labour intensive, the more valuable.

For example, the micro mosaic glass jewelry that was popular in Italy and Venice in the early 20th century is absolutely phenomenal when it comes to the precision and intricacy involved. In some of the richer examples, they used real gemstones. But more often, they used tiny bits of brightly coloured glass, and arranged them into flowers, borders, and scrolling, with impeccable placement and craftsmanship. Often each bit of glass was just a couple of millimetres in size, so to place them into such intricate patterns, is something to marvel at. 

In later years, the micro mosaic pieces became much smaller, and with less detail. They were very popular tourist keepsakes for those travelling to Italy and Venice.

As time goes on, especially if people do not have the inclination, the resources, or the expertise to make these beautiful works of art, the number of available pieces becomes less and less, and new creations are not being made. That is what drives up the price.

How often do you see elaborate three or four strand necklaces made of poured glass, blown glass, or hand decorated glass in the modern stores? What we see in modern jewelry might be a few Swarovski crystals, or a single tourmaline stone. But we do not see the shimmering abundance, or time and workmanship that went into creating the 1950’s art glass, and elaborate coloured gemstone jewelry. The modern day glass jewelry often has haphazardly glued glass stones. You do not see three and four strand art glass necklaces in contemporary jewelry. 

The new jewelry with coloured gemstones set into sterling silver are now small, compared to what they used to be. However in the vintage and antique pieces, often the gemstones are very large and striking. The gem is framed in, and showcased with all of its natural splendour. It is not a tiny fragment of sparkle, or colour, like we see in newer items. Even the high end stores are now selling jewelry with stones you can barely see. 

In the case of gemstones and master craftsmanship in sterling silver, there is probably no greater example of creativity than what has come out of Mexico. Twenty years or so ago, I picked up a collection of 1940’s Taxco jewelry with around twenty pieces or so. It has given me a real appreciation for Mexican sterling silver jewelry.

Whether the price of sterling goes up much or not, one cannot under estimate the value of the workmanship, and the gemstones used by people that clearly have an eye for design, as well as a rich history of passing on the art of silversmiths.

We cannot be dismissive of sterling silver, because since Biblical times, it has had value, and at one time, was even considered to be more valuable than gold. In the Bible,  Jacob’s well was purchased with a hundred pieces of sterling silver.

On a much more sombre note, we also know the life of Christ was sold for thirty pieces of silver. It goes to show how much silver was valued, and used no different than money is used to betray people. 

The silver to gold ratios have fluctuated wildly throughout history, and although there are many predictions about it all, it seems plausible that there is a huge adjustment in those ratios on the horizon.

Throughout history, from ancient times, and during the Roman Empire, the silver to gold ratio ranged from 8:1 to 15:1. In recent years it has been as much as 114:1.

Currently it is around 83:1. Could it go back to the historical average of 15:1? It certainly seems possible, as precious metals and gemstones etc. often do see corrections in price when they have been undervalued.

Silver is still silver, always has been, and always will be. It has not changed. Only the manmade influences, banking and investment industry, and supply and demand, have caused it to change. The manmade influences are volatile, especially during times of inflation, and rapid global changes, as we have seen in the post covid era. Time will tell. 

Also during ancient times, many coloured gemstones, like amethysts, had more value than diamonds.

We really cannot predict the future value of silver, gold, and gemstones. But we can learn to recognize the value coming from countries, and companies who carried forth expertise and master craftsmanship in jewelry making.

They did not spend a hundred hours or more making one piece of jewelry, and use junky materials that they themselves did not appreciate. If they had an eye for detail, and the ability of a master craftsman, they knew more than most of us about the materials they were using. 

Not only is there the cost of materials, metals, gemstones, crystals etc. but if you consider that one item might have taken twelve to fifty hours or more to make, it really helps put things into perspective with regards to the rising cost.

For example thirty hours of work by a master craftsman today at just above minimum wage, would be labour costs of $600.00 alone. Of course the master craftsperson’s work is worth more than minimum wage, and also requires many special tools and equipment. So when you add all the materials, the antiquity, and the fact that all the major mid-century designers like Sherman, are long gone, it is understandable we are seeing an increase in value.

On the upside, the more the value increases, the greater the appreciation, and the more likely these remnants of our past will be taken care of.

The time and expense that goes into collecting, researching, and photo documenting a vintage collection is a daunting task. I can give my own personal testimony on what is involved, and the thousands of hours it has taken to reach this point.

I do believe that by taking the best of the past, and documenting it to the best of my ability, it serves to showcase part of our rich and diverse cultural heritage, and in the long term, is worthwhile.

It helps to educate, show a range of design, and bring historical perspective to things that will never again be made to the same degree of creativity and finesse.

In the coming months I will be using a USB microscope and camera to capture some of the finer details that cannot be seen with a loupe, macro lens or the naked eye. This is especially important to show off features in amber, and other gemstones, so people can see for themselves what it is.

I have noticed that with a Nikon camera, and a macro Nikon lens, it helps to rule out junk jewelry. It quickly shows stones that are haphazardly glued into place, as well as cheap metals prone to pitting. it shows where gold plating as worn off. Junk is not exactly photogenic. 

In addition to the long lasting value in precious metals like silver and gold, there are also many vintage metals with exceptional coatings and rhodium plating that do not wear off. The more closely one can examine an item, the better prepared they are to choose something with lasting value. The one exception is with oxidized silver. The oxidation or patina can be cleaned, and does not detract from the value. 

Although I do clean jewelry with caution, and sometimes not at all, depending on the piece, because I think detergents and warm water can affect the coating, the surface or cause rust. In many cases a fine sable makeup brush will clean out the dust. One cannot be a total perfectionist, and clean every nook and cranny with a q-tip before doing the photography. 

When an item sells, I do go over it and do more cleaning if it is needed. 

The entire photo documenting project also leaves some sparkling examples of things with long lasting value for future generations to study and appreciate. From an educational perspective alone, it has lasting value. 

I have been working on measuring, and increasing the navigation menus on the jewelry collection to make it easier for browsers and buyers. The jewelry collection is now approaching 3000 items, so it will take all summer to get through it all. I am not quite halfway through, so the work in progress is ongoing!

Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.