| Jewelry of any kind makes a fashion statement, but | | | | real thing. |
| perhaps the most interesting statement can be made | | | | One of the delights of online shopping is that it is |
| by selection vintage jewelry. The workmanship in high | | | | easier to find the pieces you want. Auction sites |
| quality vintage jewelry stands out from what you | | | | make this much easier, but you do have to be |
| can buy in modern jewelry stores, and you'll stand | | | | careful. It's all too easy to be fooled as to what it is |
| out as someone with a very decided style. | | | | you are buying. |
| Vintage jewelry is often quite detailed. That is one of | | | | One of the most important things to know is the |
| the charms of it. A lot of work has clearly gone in to | | | | reputation of the seller. Auction sites tend to make |
| much of it. | | | | this easy with feedback given on transactions and |
| You can buy both fine and fashion jewelry when you | | | | available publicly. This lets you know if the seller has |
| look for vintage pieces. In fine jewelry, it can have | | | | been providing quality products, at least if they've |
| the advantage that the quality of gemstone is often | | | | been around a while. |
| higher than is easily available today. Edwardian jewelry | | | | You'll also want to inspect pictures carefully. A good |
| in particular tends to use gemstones such as | | | | auction will include some closeup shots, so that you |
| emeralds, sapphires, rubies and diamonds to good | | | | can really see the details of the piece and any flaws. |
| advantage. | | | | Corrosion, discoloration and holes are all flaws that |
| A key factor in choosing good vintage jewelry is the | | | | cannot be repaired, and you will want to consider if |
| condition it is in. Many pieces are very difficult or | | | | they ruin the piece for you. |
| even essentially impossible to repair within a | | | | Read the descriptions carefully. With vintage jewelry |
| reasonable cost. The occasional loose or missing | | | | it is too common to read descriptions that are |
| gemstone, especially if it is small, may not be a | | | | somewhat misleading, such as when something is of |
| disaster, but other kinds of damage may be more | | | | a vintage style. If you miss the word that makes it |
| serious. | | | | clear that something is not actually a vintage piece |
| There are a few areas you need to be careful in | | | | you can end up overpaying by quite a bit. |
| when shopping for vintage pieces. Perhaps the most | | | | Cautious shopping, however, can result in great finds |
| obvious to say is that you need to know the | | | | at reasonable or even amazing prices. If something |
| difference between vintage and reproduction. It's not | | | | doesn't feel right, trust that instinct, but if everything |
| that uncommon to see pieces that are labeled as | | | | is checking out you might just find a beautiful new |
| vintage style. You don't want to pay an excessive | | | | piece of jewelry for your collection. |
| price for reproductions when you're looking for the | | | | |