Beautiful vintage jewellery to wear and treasure
by: Jen Wiss

Vintage is always right on trend – why? Because the word ‘vintage’ in the context of jewellery simply means jewellery from a bygone era, so it covers a huge range of styles, designs and names.

‘Vintage jewellery’ may be distinguished from ‘antique’ jewellery which tends to be jewellery that is pre 1920s. So is anything not the vintage look? Sure! Vintage is certainly something more distinctive than the herringbone gold chains and St Christophers that adorn the pages of your local catalogue store.

Being into vintage adds a lot of fun to your wardrobe. Costume gems, colourful brooches and cocktail rings, pearls and bows, watch necklaces and charms, these have all glittered from dozens of runways and quickly find their way into your high street or mall. With stone encrusted pieces from the forties and fifties, baubles from sixties pop art, groovy bright seventies colours and shed loads of eighties glam, whatever’s ‘in fashion’ is far more interesting than sterling silver studs and plain chains. The look is whimsical and fortunately for obsessive fashion followers everywhere, it’s also affordable, with faux gems and inexpensive metals like silver and gold plate being high on the runway trends list.

If, like me, you’re a fan of vintage jewellery, you might be wondering what to buy now that’ll be a good investment for the future. We’re talking about the real vintage deal here – jewellery with a past, not the high street imitations. Well, there’s a few designers that are sure to be vintage collectibles a few decades from now.

The names to watch for are:

• Alexander McQueen

• Chanel – always classic, always in fashion

• John Galliano

• Lanvin (Alber Elbaz)

• Louis Vuitton

• Marc Jacobs

• Miuccia Prada

Naturally, names come with a price tag but you can keep your eye out for bargains while allowing the high street alternatives to add spice to your wardrobe. Places to look:

• Ebay – be careful for fakes though

• Web

• Charity shops, especially in high fashion areas

• Markets

If you’re buying the real thing, do examine pieces carefully to make sure stones are secure and metal parts are intact. Look at the claws holding the stones, to see that they’re all there. Stones are really expensive or impossible to replace so it’s worth taking the time.

Also, when you’re buying brands, try to find out if they have been repaired as repaired pieces aren't necessarily worth less but it may affect the value, especially on old pieces. Keep an eye out for pieces with a signature, trademark, designer’s name, stamp, etc as these marks add value and make the piece more collectable/desirable.

The author invites you to visit:
http://www.shopforjewellery.net