Does Antique Jewelry Serve as a Model for the Present Day Adornments?

Antique jewelry has always been a desirable collectible. Antique diamond jewelry and antique estate jewelry are particularly popular choices. Most of the items that we now consider to be antique jewelry were made in the early nineteenth century. By 1830 more manufactured items began to appear and handmade jewelry became rarer and thus more valuable. It is the unique nature of each piece of antique jewelry that makes the genre so interesting to the collector. Antique gold jewelry increases in value not just for the beauty of the piece but also for the quality of the gold, which is often purer in older pieces. Given these factors, antique jewelry can be both a pleasure and a worthwhile investment.

What are some examples of Antique Jewellery?

There are many different kinds of antique jewelry ranging from rings and bracelets, to earrings, necklaces, brooches, and stickpins. As you become more acquainted with the periods in which antique costume jewelry and fine antique jewelry were produced, you'll begin to recognize which pieces stand out in any given timeframe.

The categories you are most likely to encounter in terms of period or style of production include Victorian and Edwardian and the three "Arts" (Deco, Nouveau, and Mode rne.) Increasingly you will also see the words "Retro" or "Vintage," which refer to pieces from the 1920s through the 1970s.

Obviously you would judge a diamond brooch from the Victorian era by quite different criteria than that which would be applied to a Bakelite bracelet from the 1950s. The best thing any collector of antique jewelry can do to guard against falling prey to copies and knock offs is to begin to build a good reference library of antique guides to given genres of jewelry that are of interest to them.

In general, what are some of the Features of Antique Jewellery?

Antique jewellery is most often hand crafted meaning each piece is distinct and unique in its own right. While major design motifs may be similar, the execution of the motif will be particular to the individual craftsman. The motifs themselves are key to placing an unsigned piece to a given time period. In the Victorian period, for instance, earrings often came in drop shapes and brooches or pins were often made to look like insects or animals. This is the kind of information good reference books provide to the collector.

Continue to: How do I Select Antique Diamond Jewelery

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