Costume jewelry has been part of culture for almost 300 years. During the 18th century cheap jewelry made with glass started getting made. After almost a century, in the 19th century, costume jewelry made of semi precious material came into the market. The use of semi precious material made the jewelry available in the hands of the common people.
But the real golden era for the costume jewelry began in the middle of the 20th century. The new
middle class desired to own beautiful but affordable jewelry, and this desire was realized by its perfect timing: it came during the machine-age and the
industrial revolution. All this made possible the production of carefully executed replicas of beautiful and admired
heirloom pieces.
[2]As the class structure in America changed, so did measures of real wealth. Women in all social stations, even the working-class woman, could own a small piece of costume jewelry. The average town and country woman could acquire and wear a considerable amount of this mass-produced jewelry that was both affordable and stylish.
[4]Many feel that the machine has spoilt the beauty of the hand-made costume jewelry; the truth is that the machine has made fashion jewelry more affordable and has enabled people to produce enough of this jewelry to fuel the interest of millions of ladies from all around the world.
A significant factor in the popularisation of costume jewellery was the Hollywood movie. The leading female stars of the 1940s and 1950s often wore and then endorsed the pieces produced by a range of designers. If you admired a necklace worn by
Bette Davis in
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, you could buy a copy from Joseff of Hollywood, who made the original. Stars such as
Vivien Leigh,
Elizabeth Taylor and
Jane Russell appeared in adverts for the pieces and the availability of the collections in shops such as
Woolworth made it possible for ordinary women to own and wear such jewellery.
[5]In many instances, high-end fashion jewelry has achieved a "collectible" status, and increases in value over time. Today, there is a substantial secondary market for
vintage fashion jewelry. The main collecting market is for 'signed pieces', that is pieces which have the maker's mark, usually stamped on the reverse. Amongst the most sought after are
Miriam Haskell,
Coro, Crown Trifari and Sphinx. However, there is also demand for good quality 'unsigned' pieces, especially if they are of an unusual design.
