VINTAGE COSTUME JEWELRY
At Bliinkt you will find vintage jewelry, or more specifically, vintage costume jewelry from the 20th century.
Perhaps you've heard of Coro or Trifari, Napier, Monet, Kramer? And of course you've heard of Coco Chanel, one of the first to introduce costume jewelry to the fashion world, and Yves Saint Laurent, or Kenneth Jay Lane? And so on. There are so many designers, and the stories behind them are great!
Well, what is vintage ?
Something is considered vintage if it concerns an item from a certain period and is characteristic for that period. Also the word vintage tells you a little about the age of the jewelry. Most items will date from the 30s to the 80s. But roughly you can keep it at less than 100 and more than 20/25 years old. In general, vintage items are used items and in some cases it's NOS (New Old Stock). You can therefore safely assume that a vintage piece of jewelry has already had a previous life!
And costume jewelry ?
The name costume jewelry says something about the type of jewelry. Costume jewelry simply means jewelry made from 'non-precious' materials, for example base metals, imitation pearls and -gemstones and other materials such as glass, plastic and bakelite. Often manufactured on a large scale and affordable for everyone. A good alternative to fine jewelry. Costume jewelry already existed in antiquity, however, not yet the term. This only came into use in the 20th century. It started with the great designers like Chanel. They wanted matching jewelry for their creations and designed it themselves.
Many jewelry is signed and bears the name of a company or designer. On this site you will find signed but also unsigned jewelry. Signed or not, I love jewelry with a story and history, jewelry that deserves a second life.
Want to read more ?
Whereas in principle costume jewelry was still focused on imitating real jewelry, the real rise and acceptance of costume jewelry took place from the second half of the 1920s. At that time jewelry was designed to match Parisian haute couture to be worn on the catwalk. Couturiers such as Chanel, Lanvin, Schiaparelli, together with the paruriers (the skilled and talented jewelry makers!)designed the most amazing and extravagant jewelry since they were not hindered by financial limitations. The materials were many times cheaper than needed if a real jewel had to be designed and the imagination could be given free rein.
From America, developments in Europe, where changes were already in full swing and designers were already exerting a great deal of influence on fashion, were closely monitored, and costume jewelry production took off from the 1930s. More companies entered the market, making the range larger and more varied. But different developments also played a role. Developments such as the industrial revolution in which simpler, faster and cheap production options became available, but also changes in the spirit of the times, the fashion image.
The realization that these jewelry have played an important role and still play in the jewelry world is slowly emerging. Costume jewelry from the last century is so popular that it is collected. The designer pieces, especially the older ones, are often extremely expensive and difficult to find in good condition. Because it was a piece of jewelery made of non-valuable materials, it was often handled in a less careful way. The price of these sought-after pieces can sometimes even come close to that of real jewelry. And that is precisely the reason that there are countless "fakes" for sale. Nowadays this even applies to the relatively cheaper costume jewelry.
You will not (often) find the most scarce, sought-after collectibles on this site. Simply as said, due to the fact that they are extremely pricey and quite difficult to find, certainly in good condition. But, because they are so great, you can read about them regularly on this site.
So far about vintage costume jewelry. If you want to know more about vintage costume jewelry, take a look at the bibliography.