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.