Archive for vintage costume jewellery
Iris or Rainbow Diamante Rhinestones
Posted by: | CommentsThe little pretties I would like to show you today go under a few different names. They can be called Iris or Rainbow and Diamante or Rhinestones. Normally I refer to them as Iris Diamante, if I was American I would call them Iris Rhinestones. Whatever we call these stones they are made of clear glass and have a streak of blue, green and pink or red inside. This gives a rainbow type appearance .
Iris Butterfly
Iris diamante come in all shapes and size as you can see in the pictures. I have seen them prong get and glued into place in the jewellery. Set into gold tone, silver tone metal and on one occasion into sterling silver.
I’ve been trying to find out the date these special pieces of vintage jewellery were first made – I have examples dating from the 1930s but they could have been around before that time. Some of the pieces of vitnage jewellery I have here set with Iris Diamante date from the 1960s and I think they are still being made today. Some of the new Iris Diamante are made by Swarovski and so are of high quality.
Expanding Bracelet
Genuine vintage pieces of jewellery set with Iris Diamante are now most collectible. Want to buy some vintage jewellery set with Iris Diamante? AntiquesAvenue has an excellent selection at the moment including an amazing Czechoslovakian butterfly, a stretch bracelet, brooches and necklaces.
Vintage Brooches Collections
Posted by: | CommentsIve something a little unusual to offer at the moment – several collections or lots of vintage brooches. All of these collections are made up of vintage costume jewellery, I have so many brooches at the moment I though that you would appreciate the opportunity to buy job lots at bargain prices over the cost the pieces would sell for if I sold them individually.
Brooch Collection
There are a wide variety of lots available, a red collection, a harlequin collection, a pink collection ( with a special butterfly brooch included). There is a blue collection which has some super pieces including a cute bug brooch. A collection of antique brooches, a floral collection and an animal collection. All of these vitnage brooches collections can be found now in the costume brooches selection of my shop at www.antiquesavenue.co.uk.
The brooches in these collections vary in date from Victorian ( can you see the entwined snake brooch in the picture above) up to the 1980s. The vast majority date from the 1930s to the 1950s.
Happy Hunting
Anne x
Vintage brooches fresh selection
Posted by: | CommentsBusy adding loads of Vintage Brooches to my Vintage Jewellery shop at the moment. As regular readers know antique and vintage brooches are one of my favourite forms of vintage jewellery, their shapes, forms, colours and materials are probably more varied than any other piece of jewellery.
Pinchbeck brooch
The brooches I have at the moment are mainly from the 1950s and before and include dragons, peacocks , Czechoslovakian pieces and of course lots of flowers. Adding this week and next is vintage costume jewellery brooches . There are glass and poured glass brooches, filigree with colourful glass stones and some bright enamels too. Here are a few group photos to feast your eyes on:
Here is where to find vintage brooches on antiquesavenue:
Vintage Glass Jewellery
Posted by: | CommentsGlass is one of my favourite materials for vintage costume jewellery, it has a huge variety of shape and colour. Glass jewellery can be moulded, or hand made. Glass can be made into beads, moulded as a cameo or faceted as a gemstone. I have seen glass jewellery of every type: brooches, necklaces, charms, earrings, bracelets and for gents set into cuff links and stick pins.
Glass jewellery is quite durable as long as it is not dropped or knocked onto a hard surface. This durability is one of the great appeals of antique and vintage glass jewellery as , unlike some other vintage costume jewellery materials, its colour does not fade and it does not tarnish naturally. You can also clean glass jewellery so that it is like new depending upon the other materials used in the piece ( see further down this article).
Types of glass in Jewellery
During the Georgiana and Victorian era there was a type of glass known as Paste which was used instead of real gemstones. Paste jewellery can be clear or coloured and is normally set with a closed back which has foil behind the glass to make it sparkle. Paste is often used in brooches and earrings.
By the 1920s paste was largely replaced by Diamante which are a faceted glass ( moulded or polished) which have a foiled back and are often set with a more open back. Many diamante ( known as Rhinestones in the USA) come from Austria and they have a high lead content in the glass which adds to the sparkle.
Glass beads can be moulded or hand made . To my mind the very best glass beads come from Murano in Italy. Look for wedding cake beads. These special beads have been hand made and have lamp work decoration which looks like icing hence the name “wedding cake ” beads. Many murano beads are set with a metabolic foil and the come in a huge variety of colour.
Vintage glass necklaces
What an amazing range of vintage glass necklaces there is available today. You can find glass necklaces from the Victorian era in the form of French Jet or a sparkling black glass. There was a huge popularity for glass necklaces during the 1920s and 1930s and so there is a great selection available today. With many of these they have been re-strung and so as wearable today as they were 90 years ago.
From the 1950s we find what are now called prom necklaces which are made from diamante set into silver tone metal. These prom necklaces are ideal for a sparkling occasion today , they made great party or wedding jewellery . I believe that these prom necklaces are a real bargain at the moment, with prices from about £20 they could well be a great investment for the future.
Diamante brooch
Value of Antique and Vintage glass jewellery
You can buy a nice piece of vintage glass jewellery in good condition from about £20 upwards. At the other end of the cost scale, Rennie Lalique made some wonderful pieces of glass jewellery in the art nouveau era and a piece of this jewellery could set you back Thousands of pounds. In fact even a new piece of lalique glass and silver Jewellery can cost upwards of a Thousand pounds.
For most vintage glass jewellery you are looking between £20 and about £150 depending upon the style, condition, detail and maker if known.
Care of Vintage Glass Jewellery
When looking after vintage glass jewellery one of the main things is to look at the other materials the piece is made of. The glass its self can usually be washed but you would never put closed back paste or diamante jewellery into water. Also check the finish applied to the glass, a pearl finish can flake easily so you shouldn’t get it wet Glass set into costume jewellery metals should also not be immersed in water.
If you cant wash your glass jewellery how can you clean it? I recommend a soft tooth brush dipped into a clear liquid jewellery cleaner. Remove most of the liquid from the brush by dabbing it with a cloth. Then care full clean the jewllery with the brush. You can then dip the brush into clean water, dry the brush again and clean over your jewellery to remove any trace of the jewellery cleaner. Give your jewellery a gentle rub with a soft cloth ( take care with prong set diamante) . Leave your jewellery in a warm room for a few hours to ensure that all moisture is removed.
As with all jewellery pieces should not be thrown into a jewellery box but stored carefully with space between one piece and the next. you can wrap pieces individually in acid free tissue paper.
Glass Earrings
Where to buy Vintage Glass Jewellery
There is always an excellent selection of glass jewllery over at antiquesavenue.co.uk with a special section devoted to glass necklaces. Also take a look at the costume jewellery brooches and wedding jewellery where most of the pieces are made of glass.
Diamante Sparkle like Diamonds
Posted by: | CommentsDiamante Jewellery is vintage jewellery which sparkles and shine like diamonds but is very much more affordable than the real thing. Diamante are made of high quality lead glass and can be varied in shape, size and colour to suit the jewellery designer.
In the USA diamante are known as Rhinestones. During the Georgian and Victorian eras the equivalent stones were known as paste. Originally diamante were made in Czechoslovakia and probably the best ones are made by Swarovski in Austria. The backs of the stones can be coated in silver of gold coloured foil reflect more light out of the stone and give it a higher sparkle.
diamante ring
You can find Diamante can be set into vintage costume jewellery on their own or combined with other types of stones. There are several ways diamante can be set into jewellery, either glued or prong set being the most common. Look carefully at your diamante jewellery, can you see the prongs? If so it is better quality than jewellery with the diamante glued in and is most likely genuine vintage jewellery as modern pieces tend to be glued.
diamante brooch
History of Diamante Jewellery
Paste jewellery was developed about 1730 , Georgian paste jewellery always has the stones foil backed and the paste will be enclosed in a closed backed setting in the jewellery just as fine jewellery was at that time. There is little real Georgian paste jewellery around these days and what we do see is often spoilt as moisture has got into the setting and the foil has lifted from the back of the paste stones.
During the Victorian ear paste stones would be set into gold and silver as well as into costume jewellery. I quite frequently come across Victorian gold brooches set with paste instead of diamonds which shows how highly regarded paste jewellery was.
The Edwardian used paste jewellery extensively. White jewellery such as diamonds and pearls was high fashion and every one could afford a paste brooch to copy this style
I cant find exactly where the distinction between paste and diamante started but it is round about the 1920s. It appears that pieces of Edwardian age and before are known as paste and later than 1920 are diamante. Of course white diamante were all the rage during the 1920s when they were extensively used to immitate diamonds. The 1930s saw a broader palette of colours used and combining diamante with other materials such as enamel. Many of the diamante used during the 1940s were larger and in colours such as gold and blue which suited the big bold jewellery of the time. During the 1920s to 1940s diamante could be set into materials such as Bakelite as well as into silver and base metal ( pot metal).
Diamante evolved during the 1950s with creations such as the Aurora Borealis finish which is a rainbow effect iridescent coating. Crystal clear diamante were popular for what has become known as Prom Jewellery which is jewellery with hundreds of prong set diamante strung as a chin into a necklace bracelet or earring. This type of vintage prom jewellery is suitable for wearing to a wedding or party today.
1960s fashion wasn’t big on diamante and for some years years they were rarely seen in jewellery. The diamante made its re-appearance in the 1970s disco era and become really big again during the 1980s club era.
Diamante shapes
Diamante are often given the same name as precious gemstones:
Baguette, rectangular long and narrow with faceted edges
Cabochon, half a ball shape with a flat back
Chaton, cushion, Dentelle, Emerald, flatback. Marquis, Mine cut, pear cut, princess cut Rose cur, round cut and square cur are all names which you may come across when looking at diamante.
Care of Diamante jewellery
Take care not to get your diamante wet, water behind the stone will ruin the foil and stones become dull, the setting beneath them can go green or they can fall out all together. The damage water causes has ruined countless pieces of good diamante jewellery. Try cleaning with s soft brush such as a dry tooth brush to start with followed by a light polish with a lint free cloth. If this has not worked you can use something like a tiny spray of clear window cleaning liquid onto your brush. almost dry this off the brush and then rub over the surface of the glass. Then polish dry and turn the piece upside down to make sure any residual moisture drys out rather than into the piece.
Please do put your diamante jewellery on after your perfume and makeup to keep the jewellery as clean as possible
Prom necklace
Condition
I would say that with Diamante jewellery condition is extremely important perhaps a little more so than with other types of vintage and antique jewellery. This is because diamante jewellery especially from 1920s onwards is relatively plentiful and therefore it is not worth buying in poor condition. It is possible to buy replacement diamante and with a little effort replace one yourself if necessary but it will take a lot of time and effort probably exceeding the worth of the piece itself.
Names to look out for
Many top costume jewellery designers have used diamante in their jewellery. Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Norman Hartnell, Coro and Corocraft, Trifari, Eisenberg, Swarovski, Hobe, Boucher, Hollycraft, Weiss, Regency and Schreiner, Miriam Haskell is all named Jewellery with Diamante which is worth looking out for.
Christian Dior Diamante Earrings
Vintage costume jewellery part 6, The 1950s and diamante
Posted by: | CommentsVintage costume jewellery history part 6 1950s and diamante
As life returned to normal after the second world war design changed and the 1950s again brought new styles and materials and space age jewellery. Much of the style and fashion of the 1950s was influenced by the Festival of Britain which took place in1951 and was intended to be ” a tonic for the nation” following the second world war. Over 10,000,000 tickets were purchased during the six months of the exhibition which shows how popular it was. Many of the exhibits showed radical new design and space age influence, this spread into all areas of design including costume jewellery. War time rationing and restrictions were lifted and once again crystal diamante from Europe ( Austria) became available to Costume Jewellers as did the base metals for setting these into.
Who were the famous Costume Jewellery designers of the 1950s?
Christian Dior, Miriam Haskell, Henry Schriner. Stangley Hagley and of course Coco Chanel. These designers were producing high quality jewellery which did not necessarily try and imitate the real thing – they were made to follow the clothing fashions of the day. Most of the designer and big names in costume jewellery in the 1950s were from the USA and most of the production was done there too. This is probably why many of the best pieces of 1950s vintage costume jewellery are to be found int hte USA today rather than in the UK. Costume Jewellery by Trifari was worn by Americas first lady Mamie Eisenhower
What style of costume jewellery was popular in the 1950s?
Figural novelty brooches set with diamante and enameled. The ballet dancer remained a popular image and animals such as dogs and cats were given large eye and a cute whimsy appearance. The 1950s saw Cats, Poodles and Cowboys, Birds in flight , artists palates and items from teh cocktail bar decorating brooches, earrings , belts, necklaces, bracelets and all other types of jewellery.
dog brooches
Costume Jewellery innovations of the 1950s.
As with every era in the History of costume Jewellery, the 1950s saw the introduction of techniques and materials which were not available in previous times. Perhaps the most notable 1950s introduction was the Aurora Borelis stone which was produced by Swarovski with design aid from Christian Dior. The Aurora Borealis stone ( often shortened to AB) has an iridescent finish which changes colour tone due to a metallic coating on the glass. These come in all colours, blue/ green, red/orange and clear/pear perhaps being the most common.
1950s costume Jewellery to buy now for the future:
1950s diamante necklace
I believe that 1950s prom style necklaces, earrings, brooches and bracelets are very undervalued at the moment. These aer made of silver toned metal and normally set with clear diamante. If you are lucky enough to discover a 1950s diamante piece with coloured stones these are probably even better. These pieces of jewellery can currently be purchased from just a few pounds and are becoming very popular as bridal and party wear nowadays.. Look for the following features:
- are all the stones prong set rather than glued in?
- are all the stones present and bright and clear?
- look at the design of the pieces, the more intricate the design the better and single strand of diamante may be quite pretty but is not as desirable as a more complex piece.
Do you have any pictures of real 1950s costume jewellery, do send them to me and I will add them here.
Vintage Costume Jewellery History, the 1940s
Posted by: | CommentsVintage Costume Jewellery History , part 5 of AntiquesAvenues guide: The 1940s.
The early part of the 1940s was dominated by the second World War ( 1939-1945). This meant that the materials available to produce Costume Jewellery were limited during this time . Metals were reserved for the war effort and crystal diamante or rhinestones could not be imported from Austria . Just as the raw materials available were limited due to the war so was the effort which could be put into the manufacture of jewellery. Making of new jewellery is a luxury which largely has to be done without at such times. This meant that there was largely a suspension of the production of all kinds of jewellery until 1945 in the UK and Europe.
The USA however was quite different during the early 1940s as they did not enter the war until later. In the USA they still could not obtain high quality crystal stones and some metals were limited but costume jewellery production continued with the use of different materials. Some non-precious materials (including those of natural origin) were cheap and abundant and innovative designers started to use wood, leather, shells, plastics, fur and pottery to create fresh designs.
vintage brooch 1940s
The range of materials available to the makers of costume jewellery during the 1940s may have been limited but that did not stop changes in style. The art deco style of the 1920s and 1930s still had an influence on the style of the 1940s but in the 1940s bold costume jewellery was the in thing for evening wear . The cocktail party was THE way to entertain at this time and hence the jewellery made to be worn at these parties became know as cocktail jewellery. Cocktail jewellery is big and showy, designed to be noticed. The lines are softer than the strict geometrical ones of art deco, move feminine and curvy . Figural shapes such as animals, clowns, scarecrows and ballerinas were popular as were bows and knots. Fabric folded to give an illusion of movement as well as scrolls and pleats. 1940s jewellery is also know as “Retro” or “Retro Modern” Style.
1940s ballet brooch
What types of costume jewellery were worn during the 1940s? Bracelets of all types and especially those with watches on. Matching sets of jewellery ( known as Parures, from the French word for adornment) were popular as they add high glamour with earrings, necklaces, brooches, rings and bracelets all matching.
Colours were bright to match the boldness of the shapes of 1940s costume jewellery . Gold tone and Gemstone colours – Emerald green, Ruby red , Diamond white and Sapphire blue.
The Style icons of the 1940s were movie stars think Greta Garbo. Many of the Duchess of Windsors famous jewels were made during the 1940s with the big cat and flamingo brooches being of special note. The most notable designers of the 1940s are Christian Dior, Boucher, Coro, Mazer and Eisenberg all for costume Jewellery.
The next part of this mini History of Vintage costume jewellery takes a look at the 1950s and the space age era. Do you have any nice example of vintage jewellery from the 1940s or 1950s? If so do send me a pici in ,jpg format and I will add it here.
Costume Jewellery History part 2a Georgian invovations
Posted by: | CommentsThe term Costume Jewellery was not used by the Victorians and the Georgians before them but they did make lots of use of non precious materials in their jewels. These are the earliest examples of costume jewellery which have survived in any quantity and are available to purchase today. Part 2a discusses innovations in costume Jewellery which were made during the Georgian era and 2b takes a long look at Victorian Costume Jewellery
Georgian Costume Jewellery Materials:
Paste Jewellery was introduced in the Georgian era , a high quality imitation of real gemstone jewellery. The “Gemstones” were made of glass which was often foil backed and could be cut and polished just like the real thing but at a much more affordable price. These paste gems were set into all types of jewellery and they can still be found today, I think a particularly interesting collecting field is paste set buckles which can be found from around £20 upwards.
Pinchbeck was a high quality alternative to gold, it looked like the real thing. Genuine pinchbeck items are quite rare today, many of the items described as pinchbeck are in fact gold plated. Pinchbeck is not plated but a metal where the gold colour continues all the way though – check at points of wear such as edges and hinges. If the metal colour shows signs of plating it is not pinchbeck. Pinchbeck is quite light in weight in comparison to gold, it is made from an alloy of Zinc and Copper.
Cut steel jewellery consisted of lot of tiny faceted metal studs which were set onto back plates, this sparkled almost like diamonds under the artificial lighting of the day. Something which looked similar to cut steel jewellery was marcasite set jewellery – again faceted and black but this time the studs are a natural crystal of Iron Pyrites. Most marcasite jewellery you see today is 20th century in origin so please check very carefully if you think you have a piece of Georgian marcasite jewellery.
cut steel brooch
Wedgwood first introduced their jasper cameo jewellery in the Georgian era and these are still being made to this day
Vauxhall glass is a type of mirrored glass often in black or ruby red colour. This had been invented before the Georgian era but most of the pieces available today in Vauxhall glass are Georgian or sometimes Victorian. The glass is beveled / faceted at the edges and tiny pieces make up the piece of jewellery.
vauxhall glass buckle
Georgian Costume Jewellery Forms:
So what forms were these costume jewellery materials set into? In the early part of the Georgian era the French Rococo style was in fashion. This is scrolling and asymmetrical perhaps a complex forerunner of art nouveau style. In the 1750s large flower brooches were high fashion and rings could be worn on any finger. Sentimental and mourning jewellery was widely worn – look out for date and dedicated Georgian mourning brooches which can still be acquired for under £50.
From the mid 1700s the “Grand Tour” was popular with those who could afford the trips to see the ancient world this led later on in the 1790s to the Georgian style became much simpler with the Neo-classical taste taking over. This had very simple uncluttered lined when compared with the earlier rococo pieces. Here we see Greek key patterns and Etruscan influences and, of course, a rise in popularity of the cameo.
georgian classical cameo brooch
In the early 1800s wearing lots of jewellery at the same time was popular: several rings, several rows of pinchbeck chains, long pendant earrings and several bracelets all at the same time. With this quantity of jewellery only the rich could afford real and those aspiring to look the part turned to costume jewellery
Between about 1820 and the early Victorian era a more naturalistic style was apparent – flower brooches of all types. Cut Steel jewellery was still popular and coral was re-introduced as a must have fashion. In the 1820s wearing hair jewellerywas all the rage with necklaces and bracelets at the same time.
This leads us up to the Costume Jewellery of the Victorian era which is the subject of my next blog entry