March 6, 2010

Since the 1940’s rhinestone jewelry has been a favorite fashion statement. From famous movie stars to modern women of all ages the demand for what is currently categorised as vintage or antique rhinestone jewelry has remained robust.

When you are thinking of starting a collection of antique rhinestone jewellery,you ought to be conscious of precisely what to watch out for, what to keep away from and the kinds of  vintage rhinestone jewelry that is sought after and for that reason worth collecting.

Antique rhinestone jewelry is a good alternative to a great deal more expensive gemstones for the ultra contemporary women of all ages.

Do you realize that rhinestone is made  from rock crystal? Lots of people mistakenly think of rhinestone as low-cost colored glass however it is actually a crystal that  originates from the quartz rock family.

Almost all of the settings for vintage rhinestone jewellery are produced from metals that have gold or silver colored base metals.

They are not set into gold, silver or platinum and this is the reason they are placed into the costume jewellery classification.

A lot of the perfect places to look for vintage rhinestone jewellery are:

Flea Markets

Personal Sales

Thrift Shops

Garage sales or Yard sales

Needless to say, the largest yard sale of all is eBay and you will discover Great amounts of rhinestone pins, rhinestone costume jewelry, rhinestone brooches, rhinestone necklaces, antique rhinestone jewellery, rhinestone costume jewelry, rhinestone jewelry sets, the truth is, you name it and you will find it on eBay.

Collectable brands of antique rhinestone jewellery are, Kramer, Napier, Sarah Coventry and of course Trifari.

Retro Trifari jewellery is a good choice for newbie collectors because it is beautifully made and it is currently quite reasonably priced.

You can expect to have to pay anything from about $30 to frequently more than $1,000 for good items of vintage rhinestone jewelry.

The purchase price will of course be dependant on the quality, condition and the age of the item and also If the jewellery carries a hallmark this will likely also tend to get to a  higher price.

A lot of genuine retro rhinestone jewellery items possessed a mark, or a hallmark stamped into them which usually identified the jewellery company and in many cases the date of  design. These hallmarks can often be found on the clasp of necklaces and bracelets, on the back of pins and brooches and from time to time inside rings.

A typical misbelief individuals have whenever purchasing vintage rhinestone jewelry is that if the item doesn’t have a hallmark then it’s a fake, but this really is  not always the truth, but on the other hand, hallmarks can be counterfeited and added to pieces to enhance their worth. The point is that a hallmark does  not really confirm the authenticity and you need to be quite sure of what you really are buying or putting in a bid for.