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.

To remove a stone set with prongs try, if possible, to use a non metal tool. Sometimes you can reuse the stone and you don’t want to damage the foil backing or scratch the surface of the stone. You can get a prong setting tool from jewelry supply stores or craft stores such as this one:

Once in a while you will come across a stone that has been prong set but also glued in. In that case please refer to my posting about removing glued in stones. This applies only if you want to save the stone. I generally don’t save the stones I am removing because they are dull, flawed, chipped or are in less than satisfactory condition. So I use another one of my favorite tools from the dentist- the flat dental pick. It comes to a very thin edge and is small enough to fit under the prong yet strong enough to chip away at tartar! So I know it will lift the prongs for me.

Please be careful when lifting prongs. Too much pressure and you can break the prong and your repair has become much more complicated. I always work in pairs when I am lifting prongs.  I will lift one prong slightly- go to the prong directly across from it and do the same. Then I return to the first prong and lift it a little more - back to the second one….etc…until I have them lifted high enough to release the stone. I have pretty good luck with releasing a stone by lifting just two of the prongs. If you need to lift more then proceed just like you did for the first two. Working your way gently back and forth between prongs. Remember to be careful- take your time- do not over work the metal -you can cause it to become brittle and to snap the prong right off the setting.

After you have removed the stone clean out any glue, dirt, etc from the cavity. Use your acetone in the cavity to try and get the metal back to its original metal color.

What!?! you mean you want me to REMOVE a rhinestone from it’s setting? Well yes, actually, there are times when this is necessary. First of all not all rhinestones are set in the same. Some are set with glue and some are prong set. Your job is to determine which way your stones have been set.

Glued in rhinestones may or may not have prongs. Prong set rhinestones have very definite prongs on them.

If the stone is glued in then you will need to gently pry it out of the setting. Some people use a thin pointed knife or a toothpick. My tool of choice is a dental pick. So if you come across any dental tools or are in good with your dentist and can ask for some old tools add this one to your tool box! It is priceless. 

Removing glued in stones is generally never easy and pretty much always frustrating. You have to be so careful that you don’t damage the setting. Sometimes a previous owner of your piece will have already removed the stone and re-glued it using the wrong glue.  First thing to try is hooking the edge of the stone and trying to pry it out. If you are lucky it will pop right out. If that doesn’t work then you can try dipping a cotton swab in nail polish remover with acetone and dabbing it over the surface of the stone and around the setting to loosen the glue. Try with your dental pick again to pry it out. If that doesn’t work you have to go for more drastic measures…

…soaking the piece in nail polish remover with acetone for about 30 minutes is the best solution at this stage. After soaking you will generally find the loosened stones at the bottom of your dish. CAUTION: do not soak hand painted or enameled pieces- the nail polish remover just might remove the color. This course of action generally won’t damage the metal of your rhinestone piece but I would use caution when soaking any piece of rhinestone jewelry in any kind of liquid. And remember to make sure it is completely dry before storing it.

Sometimes after all this you may find that the only way to get rid of the stone is to crush it in the setting. Again, I must emphasise caution. Rhinestones are made of glass and you could send slivers of it shooting off so please protect your eyes. Also make sure the damage is done to just the stone and not the setting.  Once you have crushed the stone clean out the cavity and discard the debris.

Generally I do not re-use stones that I have removed from settings. The foil on the back of the stone can damage very easily and the last thing you want to do is to put a stone in that looks dead. You’ve gone to all this effort to remove it so replace with a new stone!

Please remember that once you have removed any glued in rhinestones that you must removes any residual glue from the setting or you won’t be able to re-set the new stones. Use a cotton swab soaked in acetone based nail polish remover to clean out the cavity where the stone was to loosen any left over glue. I also find that using my dental pick gently I can get into the tight spots. Using my soaked cotton swab, I try to get the finish back to its original metal color.

Now that you have your cleaning kit assembled it’s time to tackle  those vintage rhinestones pieces in your collection that need some cleaning.

First step is to gently brush over all the stones to loosen dirt and grime. EXCEPT for aurora borealis stones because they scratch very easily- use a soft cloth on these stones. Sometimes this is all you need to do in order to clean your piece of jewelry. If the piece still looks dirty then proceed to the next step.

Using your hat pin carefully loosen any accumultaed gunk arouns settings or prongs- you shuld be able to lift this dirt away from the stones easily and with causing damage to the stones.

Next, using your soft cloth that has been sprayed with Windex or a cotton swab that has been dipped in rubbing alcohol you can gently clean each stone. Remember not to saturate any part of your vintage jewelry piece with moisture of any kind. Do not spray the Windex directly on the stones! Continue gently cleaning the stones until you are satisfied with their overall appearance. Do not rub too hard with your cloth- you may accidentally loosen the prongs that hold the stones in place by catching the cloth on the prongs.

Make sure you leave your newly cleaned piece of vintage costume jewelry out to dry thoroughly before putting it away. An hour should be long enough and I will turn my pieces over to make sure that any moisture that I might have introduced in the setting can flow away from the piece. Sometimes I will use my blow dryer on a low cool setting to speed up the drying time or just to make sure I got the piece completely dry.

If you collect vintage costume jewelry then you should make up a kit of items to be used to clean your treasures. My kit contains the following items:

Soft bristled brush- a baby’s beginner’s toothbrush is wonderful to use

Sable artist’s brush- great for getting into the underside edges of open backed prong set rhinestones

Small hat pin- or a dressmakers pin would work too- this is a great tool for loosening dirt

Rubbing alcohol and Windex- both are great for cutting through grease and won’t leave a residue on your jewelry like other cleaners with wax in them can do.

Soft cloth- an old cotton t-shirt works great. I happen to have a set of cotton flannel sheets that finally needed to be re-cycled so I tore them into 12″ squares and now how a nice stack of soft cleaning cloths for all my cleaning needs. I keep my jewelry ones separate from the rest so I don’t get any other cleaners on them.  

Cotton swabs- to be used with rubbing alcohol

Jeweler’s polishing cloth- like the Sunshine cloth- to give your pieces a final once over

Once your kit is assembled you are ready to start cleaning and caring for all those wonderful rhinestone jewelry pieces you have been collecting.

For general vintage jewelry cleaning I recommend using products that don’t contain alcohol, acids or ammonia. Except in specific cases. If you choose to use a jewelry cleaning product make sure it matches the piece you are cleaning- for example- don’t clean your rhinestones with a sterling silver cleaner.

I have found that Windex works very well in cleaning vintage jewelry. Do not spray the Windex directly on the jewelry piece. Spray a small amount on a soft cloth first then use the cloth to wipe down the pieces. In spite of my mother’s well meant advice in this case the best thing in the world for you is NOT hot soapy dishwater! (Sorry Mom !) Soap can leave a filmy residue on your pieces which will make them appear dull and dim.

Before attempting to clean any piece carefully look it over using a magnifying glass or loupe. Check carefully for loose stones and tighten them up before attemptiong any cleaning.  Use a very soft toothbrush or makeup brush to dust off the piece throughly before attempting to do any deeper cleaning.  After you have dusted the piece use your soft cloth that has been sprayed with a little Windex to carefully wipe down all the surfaces.  The cloth should be just damp- not soaking. If you have a difficult to reach spot then a little bit of Windex on a cotton swab can help get into tight places.

As I have said before make sure your piece is completely dry before you put it away.  If you are going to take the time to clean it then please make sure you finish the job by letting it dry completely after all moisture is the enemy of vintage jewelry.  If I am cleaning a piece that I want to wear right away then I will use my blow dryer on it’s lowest coolest setting to dry the piece. If you are worried that maybe you let a little too much moisture get on the piece you can place the piece upside down so any moisture can flow away from the piece and not settle into the settings.

For a final polish I use a commercial polishing cloth like a Sunshine cloth. These are available at jewelry stores and online. These cloths are very soft, inexpensive and can give your piece an almost like new shine!

This beautiful Weiss brooch was coated in dust and dirt when I received it. In fact it looked more gray than black and the sparkle was just not there. Since these stones are glued in I needed to be careful about the way I cleaned it. First I used a very soft toothbrush to loosen the dirt. I use a baby’s toothbrush because the bristles are very, very soft and shouldn’t scratch the metal.  Then I use a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol*  to very gently clean away more dirt and grime. If it is really dirty, as in the case of this brooch, I will repeat the process two or three times or until I am satisfied that it is clean enough. The top portion of the brooch has been cleaned - the b0ttom portion is in it’s found state.  When I finished cleaning this piece the sparkle in the stones came shining through once again.

*rubbing alcohol- because rubbing alcohol evaporates quickly I find it is pretty safe to use in moderation and with caution on glued in rhinestones. It is sort of like “dry cleaning” the piece. Remember- you want to introduce the minimal amount of moisture to your vintage pieces.

Because of the nature of verdigris acid based cleaners are the best choice for cleaning pieces of  vintage jewelry that have been diagnosed with green junk.

Don’t run out and look for toxic expensive chemicals to clean your jewelry with. What you need is in your cupboard and it’s easy on you and the environment. Any of these cleaning methods is more than likely to end up with a loss of plating on your piece but that is much better than the severe damage that verdigris can incur over time.

Lemon juice, ketchup and vinegar are all listed as being good for cleaning your jewelry. Sounds weired to be using things you can eat as a cleaning solution I know but what these three items have in common is their acidic base. PLEASE BE CAREFUL! You may clean up one mess but create another! Before using any of these methods I recommend you use a soft bristled brush to remove any loose green junk and other dirt that has collected in the nooks and crannies. I use a child’s beginner tooth brush because  the bristles are very very soft.

Lemon Juice- is very acidic.It’s a good choice for glass and metal jewelry. I also prefer to use it on copper jewelry with verdigris. Use the lemon juice full strength and soak your piece for about 15-20 minutes and use a toothpick or your toothbrush to get into the small spaces. Remember- no foiled back rhinestones should be placed in a liquid solution! The advantage of lemon juice over vinegar? It smells so much nicer!

Ketchup- the great thing about ketchup is that it doesn’t move around. It will pretty much stay put but it is hard to clean it off when the repair is finished. Use it in very small amounts and apply it with a toothpick. You can use a cotton swab too but I prefer the smaller head of a toothpick.  Check the piece often and don’t let it harden on the piece. This method is best used on rhinestone set pieces because it it not as liquid as the other methods and we all know that liquid damages foiled back rhinestones.

Vinegar- is used the same way as lemon juice is. It’s a good choice for glass beaded jewelry and metal jewelry. I prefer the lemon juice because of the odor! Sterling silver and some gemstones should not be soaked in vinegar nor should silver plated pieces. The rule for foil back rhinestones also applies to vinegar.

When you are finished cleaning your jewelry is it very important that you dry it thoroughly. Moisture is what got you into this mess to begin with. I use a compact blow dryer on its lowest setting with cool air to dry my pieces quickly and thoroughly. All of theses cleaning processes take time and patience but are worth it when the end result is a piece of vintage costume jewelry that you can enjoy for many years to come!

This pair of unsigned foiled rhinestone earrings have been damaged by verdigris. There is now a dead spot in the center of these beautiful earrings.