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.

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!

Just a few words about these wonderfully sparkly pieces of glass. All rhinestones are not created equal. The best are leaded glass. Think of a leaded glass chandelier- the facets are brilliant when the light hits them- the same is true about rhinestone jewelry. Leaded glass will give you a brilliance that plain old glass can never do. Keep this in mind when replacing missing stones. Look for the brilliance. Austrian crystals are brilliantlybeautiful!  If the piece is a signed designer piece such as Eisenberg, Coro, or Trifari then make sure you replace with good quality stones.  Don’t get me wrong- even unsigned pieces will have quality stones in them.

I used to pass right over pieces that were missing a stone or two. Now I will give these pieces a chance. If it’s only one or two stones that are missing and the rest of the piece is in excellent condition- no dreaded verdigris or cloudy stones - and the cost is reasonable I will more than likely purchase the piece. I  found an excellent source for vintage rhinestones on the web. I have ordered from this company and have found the service to be EXCELLENT! If you are looking for replacement stones for your jewelry please check MRstones out!

http://www.MRstones.com 

 

 

 

 

 

I had this bracelet for five years with one stone missing and finally was able to repair it with a recent order from MRstones. I am so glad I kept it because now it is gorgeous!

Yesterday I told you about that nasty  blue to green junk that you find on vintage jewelry. It doesn’t mean that it is poorly made nor is it beyond hope.  The most common places to find verdigris is on clasps, spacer beads, and the inner part of chains- check carefully on necklaces the area that is in direct contact with skin. As you can see by yesterday’s pictures verdigris is not just limited to necklaces. Earrings are vulnerable because of the close contact with the skin and perspiration.  It can be found on all kinds of costume pieces. Verdigris can be passed from one piece of jewelry to the next so it is very important you separate the contaminated pieces from the clean ones.

Please remember that verdigris does mean damage. If you see that green or bluish junk on a piece of jewelry you have damage. A successful repair will depend on how serious the damage is. The smallest amount of green present means there is a small amount of damage to the plating. Severe verdigris means severe damage which can cause the metal to become brittle and break.  When looking at vintage jewelry look at prongs for rhinestones and necklace clasps- these places become very vulnerable when hit with verdigris.