Haskel Pearls

The designer vintage pearls jewellery I have found ranges through famous stars with their own jewellery ranges like Joan Collins, through the costume jewellery names of Ciro, Mazler, Yves St Laurent and Ciner to the great Miriam Haskell.

Haskel Logo

Of course faux pearls have been used in costume jewellery for more than a hundreds of years and like most things in life the quality of the pearls is variable. There are the rally high quality ones made in Majorca which come with a 10 year guarantee right through to cheap plastic ones which do not wear well and the surface fakes away easily. I recommend that you look for costume jewellery pearls made with a glass center as this gives the piece of jewllery more weight.

Possibly the first great name in Costume Jewellery pearls was Coco Chanel who layers multiple strings of pearls  over her outfits.

Dior Brooch

Similar to real or cultured pearls there are several characteristics to look out for when buying costume pearls as your chosen piece of vintage jewellery:

Iridescence – the rainbow effect which should be present in a good pearl finish

Luster – the satin shimmer on the surface

Texture – Flaws are not seen as good in a pearl finish so the smoother the better

Colour – This can be to suit you, your skin tone or your outfit. Costume jewellery pearls range from white and cream through more exotic colours not seen naturally such as blue. Grey and black pearls are quite popular