So, when is it vintage and what exactly is costume jewelry? How do you know how old it is?

Costume Jewelry is considered to be vintage when it is 20+ years old. It becomes classified as "antique costume jewelry" when it is 50+ years because it is a new collecting field and because costume does not last as long as fine jewelry.

Although some people may call it junk jewelry it is often far from that. A more fitting term would be "fashion jewelry" because it is made more to go with the fashions of the times as opposed to being something that is classic, timeless and meant to be passed down. It is made with components which are less valuable than those used in fine jewellery such as rhinestones, glass, crystals, plastic, wood, sterling silver, base metals and just about anything else you can imagine! It is often more flamboyant or flashy than fine jewelry because designers can make bigger items and are more free to experiment given the cost of the materials. Some designers even crossed over from the fine to the fashion business bringing knowledge about quality with them.

Dating old costume jewelry can be tricky but there signs and clues of age. Most obviously is if there are signs of wear on a piece. Is the metal darkened? Do the rhinestones show age? Does the back look worn? Is there any plating loss?

Another way to tell is through the construction. Certain types of pin backs were made primarily in certain time periods. Necklace clasps changed with the times as well as earring attachments. Certain metals were used during war times to free up other more needed ones for the war effort.

Patents can help you date when certain components were made but caution should be taken with these because many findings and complete pieces were sold before the patent was filed and or granted.

Knowing jewelry designers and when they were most likely to have made a certain piece is a valuable asset.

This combines with knowing a bit about fashion and design history and the periods such as art nouveau, art deco and retro modern. What symbols were used during the time you suspect your piece is from? What elements of design were popular? What was the fashion of the time? What was going on in history? How big is the jewelry? Is that a more common size for that time? In victorian times, women were smaller. In the 60's, the bigger the jewelry (in size, not measurement) the better!

Read below to find out what some of our newsletter subscribers had to say about their own vintage collections.