by a Guest Author

Most of us know that costume jewelry is a cheaper version of the real thing. In other words, if you go to a fine jewelry store and show the jeweler your $50 costume jewelry necklace, he or she is not going to fall on the floor and ask you if you want to trade it in for a genuine diamond jewelry necklace. But if you were to walk in a costume jewelry store in the mall, for example, and offered to trade your genuine diamond jewelry necklace for a $50 costume jewelry necklace then the salesperson just might fall on the floor. In all seriousness, we know that costume jewelry is meant for fashion at an affordable price and genuine fine jewelry is for elegance that lasts for a lifetime.

But what about antique costume jewelry? One would think that antique jewelry is valuable and somewhat expensive. On the other hand, one would think that because the jewelry is “costume” it would not be as valuable and somewhat cheap. But the correct answer is a little bit of both.

For the most part, antique costume jewelry has a unique flavor that makes it valuable to the creator and the user. The creator would be the person who designed the jewelry and the user is the person who buys and wears the jewelry. The thing that makes antique costume jewelry so valuable is if it fits within a certain time period or pertains to a specific culture. And just because it is costume jewelry does not make it any less antique then fine jewelry. Marcasite jewelry has been popular off and on for hundreds of years, and every time it goes out, people get rid of theirs, and then is comes in again. More is made, and the cycle repeats.

But where can you find antique costume jewelry? For starters, you can go to the Internet and search for antique jewelry or antique costume jewelry. But you can also check your local yellow pages to find a good antique store in your neighborhood and so the the jewelry section of that store.

* * * Keep your antique costume jewelry in collectible jewelry boxes if the original box is not available. * * *

Go to the Table of Contents to see all the topics covered so far.

Click American collectibles to go to the latest entry on this site.