The first step, before you do anything else, will be to look at the jewelry itself and assess it for quality and uniqueness.
Some pieces immediately deserve a second look because they are more unusual, elaborate or distinctive than the average costume jewelry piece.
Things that may make a piece worth investigating include:
This does not mean that bigger or flashier always equals more valuable. Some important pieces are subtle. But when you are sorting through a box of jewelry or looking at pieces at an estate sale, visual impact can be a useful first clue.
The goal at this stage is not to decide what the piece is worth. It is simply to decide:
“Does this look interesting enough to investigate further?”
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Once a piece catches your eye, look closely at how it was made.
Higher-quality vintage costume jewelry often has construction details and materials that separate it from cheaper, later mass-produced pieces.
Look for:
The stones themselves can be an important clue. Older, better-quality costume jewelry often used glass stones that were carefully cut, molded or specially finished, rather than the flatter, more generic components seen in a lot of inexpensive modern jewelry.
Age matters too. As a general rule, pieces that appear to be older than the last 20 years are often more worth investigating, especially when the construction, plating and stone setting look consistent with earlier costume jewelry. There are important modern exceptions, of course, but if you are sorting through an unknown lot, older-looking quality is a very good reason to stop and take a closer look.
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Once the piece looks promising, check whether it is signed.
Look on the back, clasp, hook, earring clip, pin stem, underside of the setting, or any small attached tag. Marks may include:
A recognizable maker can give you a much better starting point for research, but it is important not to stop there.
Signed does not automatically mean valuable, and unsigned does not automatically mean worthless.
Some highly collectible pieces were never signed, some originally had paper labels that are now gone, and many major makers produced both common inexpensive pieces and much rarer designs.
If you find a name, the real question becomes:
Is this a sought-after maker? Is this a common piece by that maker, or one of the pieces collectors actively look for?
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If the piece is signed — or if it has the qualities of a higher-end piece — find out who made it.
Some names have strong collector followings, but the maker alone does not determine value. A company may have produced thousands of ordinary pieces alongside a much smaller number of rare or especially desirable designs.
When researching the maker, look for:
This is where names such as Sherman, Schreiner, Miriam Haskell, Marcel Boucher, Trifari, Coro, Mazer, Juliana, Eisenberg, Panetta, Ciner, Kenneth Jay Lane, Joan Rivers, and Heidi Daus can become useful starting points. You can view our product categories to get an idea of a particular designer's value and desirability.
But remember: the signature tells you who made it. It does not tell you what it is worth. The other factors mentioned in this article are important for assessing overall item value.
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The materials themselves may not have much intrinsic value, but unusual stones and components can make a piece far more collectible.
Look for:
art glass cabochons
molded or carved glass
specialty rhinestones
foiled or coated stones
UV-reactive stones
Saphiret and Alexandrite glass
dragon’s breath glass
watermelon vitrail rhinestones
Jelly Belly Lucite cabochons
Vauxhall glass
unusual cuts or shapes
stones with distinctive optical effects
glass that appears custom-made for the design
unusual combinations of texture, color or finish
Collectors often recognize certain stones immediately because they are associated with particular makers, periods or higher-quality production. For example, Juliana “Easter Egg” stones can add considerable desirability to the right D&E piece, while unusual opaque rhinestones can be especially sought after in Sherman jewelry.
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Rarity can add value, but only when there is demand for the piece.
A piece can be extremely uncommon and still be worth very little if collectors are not interested in it. On the other hand, a rare variation of a highly collected design can command a significant premium.
Things that may make a piece worth investigating include:
The key is not simply asking:
“Is this rare?”
It is asking:
“Is this rare and desirable?”
That distinction is one of the most important things to understand when trying to determine value.
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Condition can have a major effect on value, especially when comparing otherwise similar pieces.
Look closely for:
A rare or highly desirable piece can still be valuable with some wear or minor damage, while the same issues on a common piece may reduce the value dramatically.
Originality matters too. Collectors often prefer pieces that still have their original stones, clasps, findings and configuration.
The key is to judge condition in context. Damage does not automatically make a piece worthless, but it can change both the value and how easy it is to sell.
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Matching pieces can sometimes be more valuable than individual pieces sold separately.
Look for:
Complete sets are often harder to find, especially when all pieces remain in similar condition.
Original boxes, hangtags, cards, or packaging can also add interest and sometimes value, particularly for collectible makers.
A single piece can still be valuable or more sellable on its own, but if you find matching components, keep them together until you have researched them.
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Older jewelry can absolutely be collectible, but age by itself is not enough.
A piece from the 1940s or 1950s may still be quite common, while a later piece from the 1980s or 1990s can be highly desirable because of the maker, design or collector demand.
Age becomes more meaningful when it is combined with other factors such as:
So while an older-looking piece is often worth investigating, “old” should never be used as a substitute for actual value.
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Before spending time researching a piece, look for several of these clues together:
The more of these features a piece has, the more reason there is to investigate it further.
No single clue guarantees value. A signed piece can still be common, an unsigned piece can still be important, and an old piece can still be inexpensive.
The goal is to learn when something deserves a second look.
Once you have identified a promising piece, the next step is figuring out what comparable examples have actually sold for.
Part 3 will cover exactly that: how to research vintage costume jewelry value using sold listings, auction archives, Google Images and other real-world sales data.
