If you are like me you spend a lot of time wandering flea markets, thrift stores, garage sales and auctions. When it comes to buying vintage jewelry keep in mind these tips before you buy. Nothing is more disheartening then getting a piece home and really looking at it after the “honeymoon” of finding it is over.  In the case of this signed Coro brooch , it wasn’t until I got home from a wonderful afternoon of junking that I realized the top left pearl was a lower quality replacement. Now it sits on my replacement shelf waiting for me to find a better match. Taking this into consideration I would not have paid what I did for it at all.
What is the physical condition of the piece? A well cared for and therefore more valuable piece does not have to look new, after all, it is termed vintage for a reason but it should not look it’s age either.

Missing, cloudy, black or mis colored rhinestones stones: these devalue the piece. If stones are missing inspect the area to see if they are missing due to becoming loose from the glue or in the case of prong set stones the prongs have broken off. In the case of missing stones due to old glue this is an easy repair, however, if the stones are missing because the prongs are broken or missing I would put it back on the shelf and say a little prayer to the Rhinestone Goddess for the mistreatment of one of her treasures.

Missing or broken parts and tacky plating:

 Here is a prime example of what to pass up. This brooch has some wonderful stones in it and they would be easily replaced. Take a good look at the metal. it is in very poor condition. The plating has worn off in places and someone down the line tried to brighten it up by using something on it to cover the old plating. Poor workmanship or repair flaws are a sure sign of a lower quality piece. Missing pieces such as the clasp mechanism on the back of a brooch takes some skill to repair. I have accumulated quite a few pieces of old brooches to use for repair. You will want to match the metal color and patina as closely as possible so your repair doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. The same goes for necklace and bracelet clasps. make sure whatever you use keeps the original integrity of the piece as much as possible.

Poor repair workmanship: Sometimes you find a piece that has already been repaired. Take a good look at it. Did they use the right glue when resetting a rhinestone? If there is a hard yellow glue residue around the stone or pearl it was not repaired properly. Was the repair stone replaced with an inferior one?  These repair mistakes can be easily corrected by you and you can restore the piece back to it’s glory with the proper tools. (see previuos posts about repair kits and tools)

Mae West 1930’s publicity still from Paramount Pictures.

Unfortunately not all vintage jewelry is signed. This doesn’t mean the piece isn’t worth something. It means you have to do your homework and research. Knowing what the styles were is very helpful in dating a piece. Jewelry styles changed in accordance with changes in hairstyles and clothing as well as world events.
1920-s to 1940’s
The 1920’s saw shorter hair, shorter skirts and a looser style of clothing for women. It was the “Modern Age” - bracelets in bold angular designs were seen on the arms of “Modern Women” as were long necklaces that ended in tassels and sparkly cocktail rings. Everything was all angles and lines were very “boyish”.
The 1930’s brought back feminine curves and artfully applied makeup. Hair styles were sleek and upswept. Moving pictures and movie stars were a huge influence in fashion.
Art Deco is a style that relates to 1920’s-1930’s, which ended about 1935. The Art Deco movement was mainly an American thing. The style of jewelry had strong lines, bright contrasts of color and geometric shapes. Bakelite became a very popular choice of material for creating fashion jewelry.
During this time period jewelry design was influenced by Japan, Paris, the machine age, Ancient Egypt (discovery of King Tut’s Tomb), jazz, cubism and Russia. Art Deco was also influenced by the Art Nouveau and Edwardian periods. Taking the style and grace from Art Nouveau; diamonds and platinum from the Edwardian period, designers turned jewelry into a geometric, symmetrical array of diamonds and platinum.
Art deco had great vibrant colors, sapphires, emeralds; coral, rubies and turquoise were heavily used. Black and white was also used a lot. Cocktail rings, long pendants, brooches and bangle bracelets were all the rage.
Cigarette cases and compacts of the time were covered in jewels. The movement of art deco halted because of WWII and the depression.
The end of the First World War marked the start of the popularity of costume jewelry. Fine jewelry at the time had unpleasant associations with being frivolous and unpatriotic. The new fashion for women was casual as well as sporty, and was not very well suited to the formality of precious gemstones. The Art Nouveau movement had already prompted a change in perception towards jewelry, focusing attention on aesthetic rather than monetary value. In the postwar period, the major couturiers took this one stage further by initiating the trend for entirely non-precious jewelry.
The 1930’s and 1940’s brought about the retro period. Large gemstones were being used. Topaz, citrine and aquamarine were popular. Even synthetics were starting to become popular. Platinum was replaced by rose gold.

Because of my interest in theatre I have accumulated several history of costume books going back centuries. In the case of vintage jewelry my interests begin around 1840 to the 1960’s.

Jewelry construction has changed very little over the past 4000 years. It is a good idea to get a basic knowledge of jewelry construction and manufacturing techniques if you really want to accurately identify antique and period jewelry.

Hand Fabrication:
A piece is said to be handmade when a bench person makes the piece from start to finish. They may use purchased tubing or sheets of gold or may elect to alloy the metal and roll the gold themselves. The jeweler can start with a sketch of their own or one provided by a designer and then select the stones and materials or they can begin with the stones and let them dictate the size and flow of the finished piece.

Casting:
This method usually starts with an existing piece of jewelry or a carved wax form that a mold model can be cast from. A rubber mold is made by packing the model with a special rubber material and vulcanizing it in a mold maker.When it is finished the model is cut out and you have an exact duplicate of the orginal piece. How can you tell if the piece you are looking at has been cast? Look closely at the back side of the piece. Sometimes you can detect the tell-tale flow lines of casting or you may see a bubbly effect or porosity marks.

Die Striking/Stamping:
To be simply put die striking and stamping is the movable force(the metal) meeting the immovable object(the steel die). A designer creates an original by hand, then metal dies are made from the piece. The jewelry is manufactured by stamping the hard metal dies into the softer precious metal. Die-struck jewelry is denser and more durable than cast jewelry, and it allows a higher polish however, stamping is more expensive than casting because of the equipment, factory space and time involved in making dies.

Electroforming:
Compared to the previous processes this one is considered a “modern” process for making jewelry. It was first patented in England in the 1840’s. In the 1850’s and throughout the end of the century it was used to make copies of ancient and Celtic jewelry. Popularity for this process waned for almost 100 years but has now come back into favor.
It is basically a process in which pure or carat gold is electroplated onto a shaped former. This can be a low melting point metal but more recent technology developments now enable electroforming onto a wax model, such as produced for lost wax casting. Control of both consistency and uniformity of thickness as well as carat-age is very important in a mass production situation where 50 -75 pieces may be electroformed simultaneously in the bath. This is achieved by computer control of the plating bath. Generally electroformed articles will be around 100 -150 microns thick and even up to 250 microns for large items. The wax or metal former is removed at the end of the process.

There are 2 electroforming technologies available. One produces a deep yellow gold-copper-cadmium alloy deposit and the other a paler yellow gold-silver alloy, both in the range of 8 to 18 carats. Electroforming of pure gold is also carried out and is particularly popular in the Far East. When plating is done at high plating rates, a textured surface is produced which does not require further finishing.

White Metal Spin Casting:
Much of the costume or fashion jewelry made to day uses this method of construction. Because old costume jewelry is so collectible, it is important to have a some understanding of how it is made.
The white metal used in this process is an alloy or mixture of tin, lead, bismuth, antimony and cadmium. The tin content can vary from 17-92% depending on the quality of the piece. Many good quality white metal pieces have an 88% tin content. White metal melts at 520 to 420 degrees. Just like other casting methods this one starts with a model of the piece to be produced. From this piece a model mold is made. Since 1937, rubber was the choice material for molds. Before that year the molds were made of bronze.

I get asked this question a lot. And I have a few different avenues of research that I pursue when trying to “date” a particular piece.  One way is by looking at jewelry ads from old fashion magazines like this ad for Corocraft from 1957. Magazines are a wonderful way to  ”date” pieces because they will have dates on them and you can tell the approximate date of a piece by matching it to an ad.

Some vintage jewelry pieces have patents on them. This means they have a registered patent number which can be researched to determine the registration date. 

Google  has a new tool called “Google Patents” which contains a search-able data base of all US patents registered from 1790 to 2006. 

Another thing to look for would be a Copyright. In 1956 it became much more cost effective for designers to register a copyright on a design rather than go through the costly  patent process. Pieces bearing a copyright symbol indicates that it was produced in 1956 or later.

You can also look at the makers mark or signature on a piece. For example: The Schreiner Company of New York. Henry Schreiner immigrated from Bavaria Germany to the United States in 1923.  In 1939 Henry opened his own company based in New York.His daughter Terry and her husband Ambrose Albert joined the company in 1951. Henry died in 1954 and his daughter and son in law continued the business until 1975. Signed Schreiner pieces were marked with  “SCHREINER NEW YORK” in all capital letters in an oval. Some times designers did not sign their pieces. Henry Schreiner started out working for Christian Dior before opening his own company and his early pieces are not signed with his name. You can tell it was one of his designs because Henry Schreiner had a very distinctive style.

Another way to date a vintage piece of jewelry is by the style of the piece. Knowing what styles were popular over the years is very helpful.  Again  fashion magazine ads from past years are helpful as are history of costume books.

A.

Acrostic Jewelry: popular in the Victorian times this is jewelry in which the stone placement holds a special message for the recipient.

Aigrette: early 20th century ornament worn in the hair, often decorated with feathers or glitter.

A-joure setting: open work setting in which the bottom portion of the stone can be seen: also a setting in which the metal has open work.

Albert chain: a watch chain for a man or woman with a bar at one end and a swivel to hold a watch at the other

Alpaca: an alloy that is made of approximately 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc, with 5 % tin. It is often used as a substitute for silver and is found in many Mexican designs and is also known as German silver.

Antique: Jewelry that is 100 or more years old.

Arabesque: scrollwork design, often having low relief curlicues.

Articulated: jewelry that is made with hinged parts, so that it is moveable

Avolto:  jewelry style which uses wire to form a necklace into a particular shape.
B.
Bakelite: a thermo set plastic made from phenol formaldehyde. Characterized by its hardness and unusual finish, it is a highly collectible area of vintage jewelry collecting today.

Baguette: a narrow, rectangular stone.

Bail(Bale): a connecting piece at the top of a pendant or brooch so that it can be hung from a chain.

Bar Brooch or pin: a long, narrow brooch or pin which is often set with gemstones.

Base Metal: a collective term used to refer to all non-precious metals.

Beveled cut: a shape of stone where the surface has been cut at an angle less than 90 degrees most often seen in rhinestones and other gemstones.

Bezel: a setting used in jewelry, in which a stone is held in place by a band (either plain or with a fancy edging) around the outside of a stone.

Black Hills Gold: a type of jewelry made in the Black Hills area of South Dakota in the USA. Normally it is 10k yellow gold, with accents of yellow, green and pink “gold”. [Specifically, the green and pink gold in (Black Hills Gold) jewelry is only found on the leaves. The pink color is made by combining gold with copper, and the delicate green color is achieved by adding sterling silver with gold.] Box setting: a type of setting that holds a stone in place in a box shape with metal edges which are pressed down to hold the stone in place.

Briolette:  a stone that is pear shaped and faceted. Many early vintage rhinestone pieces feature briolette rhinestones.

Brooch: A jewelry piece to pin on to a sweater or at a shirt’s neckline. It is like a pin, only larger.

Bronze: a very heavy metal composed of 60% copper and 40% tin. It is dull brown color and not particularly popular in jewelry because of the weight.

Brushed Finish: (also called a satin finish) is produced by engraving or scratching a series of tiny parallel lines into metal to give it a textured finish.

Burnished Setting: a gemstone that is held in place without the use of prongs or beads and is set flush with the settings surface.

C.
C Clasp: very popular on jewelry up until about 1900 when the safety catch was invented, this clasp consists of a piece of formed metal in the shape of a c, under which the pin part of the clasp sits.

Cabochon: from the French word “caboche” which means knob or small dome. It refers to a domed stone with a flat back which can come in many shapes such as round, oval; tear shape, etc.

Cameo: a shell or other stone which has been carved into various shapes, particularly female heads. As carving progresses, the different layers are shown which gives wonderful detail to the finished piece. Also done in shell, coral and lava.

Carat (karat): a unit of weight used for describing diamonds and other precious gems. The metric carat of 200 milligrams was adopted by the USA in the early 1900s and is now universally used.

Cartouche: a decoration often found on Victorian jewelry which is characterized by swirls and scrollwork in a symmetrical design.

Celluloid: a highly flammable early plastic which contains camphor. It is very lightweight and was later discontinued in favor of heavier more durable forms of plastic.

Channel setting: often used to set baguette and round stones, the jewels are place in a metal channel, which has a slight rim which runs along the “channel” - thus the name.

Chaton: a faceted stone that is round in shape and very popular in rhinestone jewelry.

Chatelaine pin: two pins or brooches worn joined together by a chain

Chaton setting: this setting holds a stone in place by a series of metal claws around a metal ring. It is also referred to as a coronet or arcade setting.

Choker: a very short necklace, which sits right at the throat, generally less than 14″ long.

Claw setting: the stone is held securely in place by a series of metal prongs, called claws. There is no metal directly under the stone, since the setting is open. The claws grip the stone above the girdle. It is often used for transparent stones, since it lets light in under the stone.

Cloisonné: a design in which enamel is applied to metal, by first outlining the metal surface with gold or silver wire into a design. The space between the wires is then filled with enamel and fired to a highly polished, glassy sheen. Many cloisonné designs feature flowers and butterflies.

Cluster brooch: a brooch, developed in the 14th century, in which a single large stone or gemstone is surrounded by a cluster of gemstones or pearls.

Costume Jewelry: Jewelry made from non fine or non precious materials.

Couture: very highly fashionable jewelry and clothing that has been created by leading fashion and jewelry designers also referred to as Haute Couture.  

Cultured pearl: a pearl which is made by “seeding” a mollusk or oyster with a grain of sand. The mollusk secretes layers of coating over time to protect itself from the irritation. Eventually, a real pearl is formed.

D.
Damascene: the process of applying gold or silver on iron or steel to produce decorative patterns. Much Damascene jewelry comes from Spain or Japan. Reed and Barton also use copper in their Damascene jewelry.

Dead stone:  a term often used for foil backed rhinestones which have lost their original shiny finish. This usually happens when moisture comes in contact with the foil backing and damaging it. Dead stones can appear dull, gray, or yellowish.

Dearest Ring: This is a sentimental ring, very popular in the second half of the 19th century with stones set out in the following sequence - Diamond, Emerald, Amethyst, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, and Topaz. See also Regard ring.

Demi-parure: refers to a matching set of jewelry - often a necklace, earrings and a pin, all of the same design and made to be worn together. See also Parure.

Dress Clip: a clip which uses one wide clip to attach to articles of clothing. See also Fur clip.

Duette: a combination pin on one pin back, made famous by Coro, and registered by them, but now commonly used by others.

E.
Enamel: a paste or powder of various colors is applied to metal and then fired in an annealing oven so that the glass is baked on to the metal

Engraving: the process of making a design in a hard surface, often metal, by cutting grooves into it.

Estate jewelry: a term that refers to jewelry which has been previously owned, not necessarily from an estate.

F.
Facet: an angled, cut surface of a gemstone, rhinestone or diamond.

Fakelite: Faux Bakelite which is a modern, mass produced product, neither true Bakelite or vintage. See also French Bakelite.

Faux: a French word which means false, used to pertain to fake materials made to look like genuine stones.

Filigree: ornate, delicate settings which are produced by using thin strands of wire, which are intricately intertwined or bent into rosettes, swirls etc.

Findings: jewelry components, such as hooks, bails, clasps, etc.

Fob: a Decorative ornament worn on a chain, and usually worn with a watch.

French Bakelite: modern mass produce jewelry, which has the look of Bakelite, but it neither genuine Bakelite nor vintage. See also Fakelite

French Ivory: a plastic made to simulate ivory that was first produced around the middle of the 19th century.

French Jet: black jewelry designed to imitate fossilized coal. Victorian women wore it as mourning Jewelry and it was made very popular by Queen Victoria.

Freshwater pearl: a pearl that is harvested from a freshwater mollusk - a mussel. The shape of freshwater pearls is similar to a grain of crisped rice cereal, rather than round, and they are less valuable than oyster pearls.

Fur clip: a clip with two thin prongs which attaches to a fur stole. See also dress clip.

G.
German silver: Also known as Alpaca this is an alloy that is made of approximately 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc, with 5 % tin. It was invented in the mid 1800s in Germany as a substitute for silver.

Gilt: a term which refers to gold plated.

Givre: beads which have a clear or light layer of glass over an inner colored core.

Gold Filled:  a term for a thin outer layer of gold over a base metal. It is abbreviated GF. As an example 1/20 GF 12K must be al last 1/20th gold and it is layered with 12karat gold. To be classified as gold filled; a jewelry item must be at least 1/20th gold by weight.

Gold Plated: a type of finish inwhich a very thin layer of gold is applied on the surface, usually by electroplating. Jewelry pieces with this finish are often marked G.E.P, gold plated or gold electroplate.

Gold toned: jewelry which is finished to look like gold, but has no actual gold content.

Gold Washed: Jewelry which has a very thin layer of gold - less than 175 microns thick - which is applied by dipping or burnishing but not plating the metal. This type of coating wears off more readily than gold plated or gold filled jewelry

Gunmetal: an alloy popular in the 1890s which is a mix of 90% copper and 10% tin.

H.
Hallmark: the term used for an official mark made on metal. It can indicate the type of metal or the manufacturer. Sometimes, the year of manufacture will be noted. Examples are: Sarah Cov, which is the Hallmark for the Sarah Coventry Company, 925 which indicates silver content, and a Pegasus horse, which is the hallmark of the Corocraft jewelry company.

Hammered Finish: a hand finishing technique in which a small hammer is used to make a series of indentations in a piece of metal and often used with sterling silver jewelry.

Heirloom: a highly valued possession that is passed down among family members from one generation to the next.

I.
Inclusion: a small particle of foreign matter which is contained in a mineral. Many inclusions devalue a stone, but some are prized and make it more valuable - i.e. Star Sapphire.

Inlay:  a process in which a piece of material such as glass or stone is partially embedded into another material. The finished result is that the two materials make a level surface. Mother of pearl is often seen as an inlay in jewelry items.

Intaglio: A design made by cutting deeply on the obverse or back side of a stone or gemstone.

Ivory: a smooth grained material made from the tusks of elephants and walruses. Creamy white in color, usually with a cross hatching type of grain.

J.
Japanned: metal jewelry that has a shiny black coating; normally this is finished with a lustrous, black lacquer.

Jet: fossilized coal which is also known as gagate. It is hard and light weight and is a lustrous black color. It was used in mourning jewelry during the Victorian period. Black glass and plastics are often made to look like jet. True jet is warm to the touch.

K.
Karat(carat): usually abbreviated as the letter “K”, karat refers to the purity of gold. 24K is 100% pure gold. 18K is 18 parts gold with 6 parts other alloyed metals - 75% pure gold. 14K is 14parts gold and 10 parts other alloyed metals or 58.5% pure gold.

L.
Lariat necklace:a necklace with open, decorated ends that are looped or knotted instead of clasped. It often has a central decorative finding through which the ends are threaded.

Lavaliere: a pendant which has a dangling stone below it. The term was named for the Duchess Louise de La Valliere - a mistress of the French King Louis XIV.

Locket: a hinged, closed case, often with decorative design which opens to hold the picture of a loved one.

M.
Marcasite: often faceted and used in sterling silver: this mineral has the same composition as pyrite (fool’s Gold) but has a different chemical structure.

Marquis cut: an elongated, faceted oval cut, which tapers to a point. Similar to a navette cut, but slightly more rounded - named for the Marquis de Pompadour.

Matinee Length: a single strand necklace which is between 22-23 inches long.

Memento Mori: a jewel that is intended to be a reminder of death.

Memorial jewel: a jewel made in the memory of a loved one. It often contains hair from that person.

Micro Mosaic Jewelry: jewelry which is made by combining small glass tiles, called tesserae, into intricate designs and very popular with Italian artisans in the mid 19th and early 20th century.

Molded Cameo: a cameo which is made by a molding process, rather than hand carving from shell. Molded cameos are often made from porcelain, glass or plastic. Two colors are often used - one for the design and another for the background.

Mother of pearl: the inside linings of mollusks, abalone and other shells which is stripped or scraped from the shell and used as inlay in jewelry.

Mourning Jewelry: is worn when one is mourning the loss of a loved one. It is often black. Queen Victoria went into a very long period of mourning when her husband Albert died and wore much black clothing and mourning jewelry - much of it made from jet.

N.
Nacre: the crystalline layer which is secreted by oysters, mussels and other mollusks around a foreign object. Layers of nacre which form over a period of time create a pearl.

Navette cut: oblong, tapered slender cut similar to a Marquis, although more slender.

Negligee: this is a long necklace which normally ends with irregular lengths of tassels or drops

Niello: a method of decorating metal objects, using engraving techniques. Silver, copper, sulphur or lead are rubbed into an indented pattern and then fired. When the object is polished, darkened areas remain for a decorative effect. Often used in Siam Sterling Jewelry.

O.
Open back setting: a setting in which the back of the stone can be seen

Opera Length: a single strand necklace which is 30-35″ in length. It hangs to the breastbone.

Oriental pearl: a pearl which forms normally without human intervention or creation.

Ormolu: refers to gilded bronze or brass mounts. It comes from the French word meaning “ground gold”

Oxidation: the process where a metal (often silver) blackens or tarnishes as a reaction to oxygen and sulphur also called a patina.

P.
Pampilles: jewelry with a cascade of pendant stones that was very popular in Georgian jewelry. It was meant to look like rain drops.

Parure: a matching set of jewelry, usually a brooch, necklace, earrings and a bracelet, but can be even larger. Part of a parure is called a demi or semi parure.

Patina: refers to the change in the surface layer of jewelry as a result of the aging process. Sterling silver is particularly susceptible to developing a patina over time.

Pave: the process of setting stones (notably rhinestones), where a number of small stones are set as closely together as possible. Better pieces use a claw setting. Less expensive pieces often have the stones simply glued in.

Pietra Dura: Similar to Micro mosaics, except that the piece is made of larger pieces of hard stone such as chalcedony, jasper, etc, in a background of black marble.

Pinchbeck: a substitute for gold invented by Christopher Pinchbeck in the 18th century, made from an alloy of copper and zinc.

Posy Ring: a ring which has been engraved with a verse.

Pot Metal: metal which does not have any gold, silver or platinum as a component and sometimes referred to as white metal because of the finish.

Precious Metal: any metal alloy which contains gold, silver or platinum that has a minimum amount of fineness which meets the standards detailed in the Precious Metals Marking Standards Act.

Princess length: a single strand necklace which is 18″ long.

Prong: this setting has a series of metal prongs which grip around the side of stones. Better rhinestone jewelry is prong set, rather than glued.

R.
Regard Ring: R E G A R D - a ring which has been set with precious stones, the first letters of which spell the word “regard.” The stones are ruby, emerald, garnet, amethyst, ruby and diamond. This was very popular in the second half of the 19th century and meant to signify friendship. See also Dearest Ring.

Repousse:  in this process, sheet metal has designs hammered into the back of it with special punches which form raised designs.

Retro: this is a term for chunky jewelry from the 1940s which was often geometric in design. The term is also used for modern jewelry of this style.

Rhinestones: this is a type of highly reflective glass which is made to imitate gemstones. Original rhinestones were quartz stones or rock crystal found on the floor of the Rhine River. Swarovski is renowned for their high quality rhinestones.

Rhodium: often used for plating over other metals, particularly sterling, to give a tarnish free finish.

Rivire necklace: a choker type with a continuous line of gemstones either of equal or graduated sizes of stones.

Rivoli Rhinestone: This is a type of rhinestone with a pointed end on both sides which makes it look somewhat saucer shaped.

Rolled Gold: gold plating which was popular in the early 19th century.

Rondelle: a piece of metal or gemstone which is pierced and then strung on beads in a necklace.

S.
Sautoir: a long necklace of beads, pearls or chains, often ending in tassels. It was very popular in the 1920s.

Scarab: made to represent an Egyptian beetle, semi precious stones are carved with a distinctive pattern. Sometimes in swiveled mountings so the intaglio on the reverse side can be seen.

Scatter Pins: a series of small pins which are worn together in groups.

Screw back: the backing to an earring which is held tightly against the ear lobe by means of a screw with a flat rounded end. This type of earring back was introduced in 1894.

Silvertone: jewelry which is finished to look like silver but has no actual silver content.

Solje Jewelry: Filigree silver jewelry from Norway, normally with dangles. It is considered the National jewelry of Norway and is very collectible. It used to be worn on traditional Norwegian costumes.

Spray Brooch: a pin, usually worn at the shoulder, which is styled with a spray of flowers on stems.

Stick Pin: a pin with an ornamental top which is worn vertically on a scarf, tie or jacket lapel.

Strap Necklace: a necklace worn during the Victorian period. It consists of a mesh chain which has pendants that suspend from short, fine chains, which resemble a fringe.

T. 
Tarnish: the darkening of a metal which causes a dull luster that is generally easily removed.

Taxco: This is a town in Mexico famous for its sterling silver jewelry. Taxco sterling jewelry is highly collectible.

Tiara: a head ornament, often highly jeweled, which is worn in the crown position.

Tiffany setting: normally a rounded 6 pronged setting with thin prongs which flare out from the base. It was introduced by Tiffany and Co. in 1886 and often used for large diamond solitaires today.

Torsade: a necklace which is made of many strands which are twisted together, instead of hanging loosely.

Trade mark: an assurance of quality, It is a permanent record of the signature of the manufacturer and the origin. See also hallmarks.

Trembler: a piece of jewelry which has a part which is set on a spring, resulting in this part moving as the wearer of the jewelry moves. Coro is famous for its trembler jewelry.

Triplet: a process whereby a stone is made by sandwiching three thin layers of stones together. The term is often used for opals which has only a middle layer of opal surrounded by other materials on the top and bottom of it to generate a particular color.

Tube Clasp: an older vintage jewelry clasp, which was patented in 1850, and used for jewelry only until after the end of World War II. The presence of a tube clasp indicates that the jewelry is an older piece.

Tutti Frutti: vintage jewelry which is set with multi colored gemstones in the shape of flowers, berries and leaves sometimes found in a basket design.

V.
Vauxhall Glass: a type of glass named for a mirror glass made in Britain in the early 1700’s, in Vauxhall, London. Commonly made in deep burgundy color, but there are other colors as well. It is quite hard to find because it became damaged from wearing.

Verdigris: over time, costume or fine jewelry can develop a green gunk disease known as verdigris. The presence of this green gunk means that there is metal damage underneath.

Vermeil: pronounced “vairmay”, this term refers to silver, bronze or copper with a thin layer of gold plating over the top. Commonly used with sterling silver jewelry to help with the problem of tarnishing.

Vintage: a piece of jewelry that is considered a classic, characterized by excellence, maturity, and enduring appeal.

W.
White Metal: a metal which has no gold, silver or platinum in it, and has a white finish is often called Pot metal.

Y.
Yellow gold: comes in several different shades of yellow in its natural state. It is fairly pure when it is first mined. It is usually alloyed with zinc, copper or silver when it is used in making jewelry.

Z.
Zinc: a metal that is brittle at room temperature and yet it is malleable when it is heated. It is used in such alloys as brass, bronze and nickel silver.

Remember back in college the two questions everyone asked when meeting for the first time? “Where are you from?” and “What’s your major? ” Every time I wear my vintage jewelry I can count on being asked “How old is it?” and “What did is cost?” or “What is it worth?” I am not an appraiser by any means. When asked the worth of something collectible my response is it’s only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

So how do I tell how old a piece is? Here are some very basic guidelines. Antique is anything considered over 100 years old. Vintage jewelry dates from the 1940’s through 1980’s. Both of these classifications have various periods in each.  Period styles have a way of overlapping and changes happened gradually. For example a style that was on the wane in England in the 1860’s could still be at its peak in popularity in the United States.  With the improvements of communications and travel these changes took place more rapidly. Jewelry was worn as a compliment to clothing and many things determined what materials were used such as: necklines, hemlines, hairstyles and even the economy.

Georgian Jewelry (1714-1837):
This jewelry most often was handmade, so that each unique piece varied in quality, depending on the maker. Georgian jewelry often featured shapes from nature, such as birds and flowers. Jewelry from this period included precious and semi precious stones such as garnets, diamonds, coral, and topaz. Georgian jewelry is very rare and highly collectible.
Early Victorian Jewelry (1837-1850):
Jewelry from this period, like Georgian, often reflected designs inspired by nature and are commonly etched in intricate gold filigree patterns. Lockets, brooches and cameos were very popular during this time period. For evening, one would often wear gemstones or diamonds.
Mid-Victorian Jewelry (1860-1880):
This period coincided with the death of Queen Victoria’s husband, Albert, and her period of mourning for him. Many jewelry pieces from this Mid Victorian period had a more subdued, austere, and somber design. Mourning pieces made of black jet, onyx and deep red garnets abounded. This period also resulted in different ways of using gems and metals, which resulted in much bolder and more colorful designs. With the discovery of a huge opal field in 1870 in Australia Queen Victoria revived the popularity of the opal. Japanese themes were popular in this period.
Late Victorian Jewelry (1885-1900):
This was a period of extremes and contradictions the “Gay 90’s” were both happy and naughty. Feminine colors and a big use of gemstones were all the rage and hat pins were especially popular as fashion accessories. 
Arts and Crafts Jewelry (1894-1923):
The industrial Revolution, with the advance of mass technology inspired designers of this period to return to intricate craftsmanship in their designs. The jewelry was colorful with simple patterns
Art Nouveau Jewelry (1895-1915):
The graceful Art Nouveau style was a rare exotic flower. Look for graceful flower designs with an abundance of dragonflies and other insects and a strong Japanese influence. This style of jewelry was considered art – an expression of the designer- and as such materials such as horn, ivory, tortoise shell and carved glass were used.
Edwardian Jewelry (1901-1910):
After the death of Queen Victoria, the Edwardian era was ushered in when her son Edward took the throne. This was a lavish period with pearls and diamonds in jewelry with emeralds, rubies and other gemstone accents it was a highly decorative and elaborate period.
Art Deco Jewelry (1920-1935):
This was a period of bright colors in contrast to each other with geometric shapes and very strong lines. Egyptian, Japanese and African influences abound. Bakelite and celluloid became very popular too, as did long ropes of beads and dangling earrings and a multitude of bracelets on the arm. Rhinestones and crystals emerged full force at this time.
Retro Jewelry (1940s - to about 1980):
The jewelry from this period was elaborate and colorful with an array of gold and gemstones. It had Hollywood for its inspiration, so the retro jewelry was somewhat larger than life in style. I consider this the “Golden Age of Rhinestones”

I do a lot of vintage jewelry repairs for people. Most of the time it involves re-stringing the piece so the owner can wear it. Let’s face it when many of these wonderful pieces were created the stringing materials were pretty much mono filament, cotton string or silk string. All of these materials eventually wear out. Mono filament gets brittle over time, silk and cotton can fray with time and all of these result in a necklace breaking at a very inopportune time and place.

Which brings me to a question of ethics. Is it OK to restring vintage pieces with newer stronger stringing materials?

Well that depends- you knew I was going to say that.

When I am repairing/restringing a piece it is usually for someone who wants to wear the piece.  So I use today’s better stringing materials on the pieces. I never use mono filament because it does get brittle and I do not like the way the necklace lays with it. I have many beautiful leaded crystal strands of beads that have been strung on mono filament. I won’t wear it or sell it if it is strung on this awful stuff. Usually the stringing material is so tight that the crystals actually grind against each other. I think in general that necklaces should be rather fluid- not tight and kinky. Vintage necklaces that I have that are strung on cotton or silk are either too loose- the fibers have stretched perhaps under the weight of the beads- or they are frayed and on the verge of breaking. Again - this is not an acceptable presentation in my studio to sell a piece like this. So I restring the pieces.

I let my clients know that the piece has been restrung. The clasp fits nice and tight and all the jump rings are replaced if necessary or shaped back into perfect circles with ends that align properly.

What about replacing missing beads? Or totally refashioning a necklace? The best policy is to be open and upfront about it when selling a piece. I think there are many vintage pieces out there that have been re-worked or repaired at one time or another.

This Haskell choker was too small for the owner to wear it. She needed it to be about an inch longer to be comfortable. I restrung it exactly like it was to begin with but added in black vintage seed beads on either side of the round black beads through out the entire piece. One would never know that it hadn’t been designed this way in the first place. The client was happy with the solution because she really liked the piece and wanted to wear it and we didn’t want to just add an extender to the clasp.

This necklace was one long strand and the customer just didn’t like it. After careful examination I believe it had at one time been a double strand necklace that some one had restrung into a single. It was really designed to be a double. The pattern that the beads were in did not make sense for a Haskell and the stringing material  was too new. I had no idea what the original patten was of the double strand but was able to put this configuration together using all the beads from the single strand. I used vintage double strand spacer findings so the patina of the metal matched that of the clasp. 

Is it OK to do this? Yes because the client requested it. If it were mine I would make full disclosure that the piece had been reworked. Most of us are buying these glamorous old beauties because we want to wear them and we do. They aren’t museum pieces and to be honest- something collectible is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

I had a bride contact me recently. She saw a hair clip in a bridal shop that would be perfect for her hair. She wanted to put it in her hair for the reception in place of where the veil was clipped into her hair. Apparently some of her recently wedded girlfriends did this and she loved the look. The crystal and rhinestone studded clip she liked was a little small and over $350! So she emailed me and asked if I could make something for her without the painful price tag. I have never made anything like this before and I always like a new challenge so I told her to let me play with it. After a few emails and pics back and forth and a couple of quick phone calls I created this piece for her hair.

I had an unsigned vintage rhodium finished necklace that would give me the perfect shape for the base. The Bride wanted a diamond shape and silver metal color.  I wired them together using fine beading wire and a perforated base metal rectangle. Then I used vintage AB coated clear and light topaz crystals across the center of the two necklace pieces. I also wired crystals to the edges of the piece in a lace like pattern. All of this was then carefully wired to a large hair pin. I made sure there were no wires sticking out anywhere to catch or poke. It turned out beautiful and cost only $50.00 Bride was happy- I was happy!

You have cleaned, removed stones, reset stones and done just about everything you can to get your prize into wearable shape. Now you need to look at the clasp. Maybe it’s missing or broken or it’s so worn it won’t hold anymore.

I buy huge lots of vintage jewelry at flea markets, auctions and on eBay just so I will have replacement parts for my vintage pieces that need repair.

Lobster claw clasps are a wonderful invention - so easy to open. But, they weren’t invented until 1990. Your main consideration for repairing or replacing a clasp is to find one that matches the metal color and is appropriate to the age of the piece. 

Clasps are easy to replace usually by opening the jump rings or other attachments and adding it to the neckline area. I open jump rings by using two pairs of needle nose pliers. I keep telling myself I am going to order one of those handy jump ring opening tools from one of my jewelrysupply sources but I just don’t do it. Jump rings should never be opened by pulling open. They should be twisted open like a bottle cap. Hold the ring in one pliers to keep it steady and open it with the other.

If you intend to sell your vintage pieces and you have replaced the clasp I would make sure the buyer is aware of this. I had a client send me a wonderful MiriamHaskell piece that just didn’t lay right. After checking it over carefully we both came to the conclusion that it had been repaired extensively. The gold chains did not match the metal color in the pendant. The MH oval hang tag wasn’t hanging in the right spot. It was two jump rings in from the clasp. We had an authentic Haskel clasp and pendant but the rest of it was all replaced. This client collects Miriam Haskell avidly and she did not notice these repairs and had paid quite a bit of money for it. So in the interest of good reputation please be upfront about your repairs when selling vintage jewelry.

I have been out visiting my favorite thrift stores recently. I love this part of what I do!  Making my rounds and taking my time to really look at everything carefully. I do this alone and rarely take a friend along so i don’t feel rushed or get distracted. I found this sweet little Miriam Haskell choker at a local thrift store for $3.00 and it’s in excellent condition.

I once did a repair for someone on another Haskell that used the same baroque pearls and pink glass beads in a different style.  

An important tool to keep in your purse when you are “going junking”  as my friend Shari and I call it - is a magnifying glass. I have a jeweler’s loupe that I keep with me when I am doing my thrift store circuit. I find myself relying on it more and more the older my eyes get.  Keep one handy because you neve know what you might find!