Vintage costume jewelry is more on the era or period when they were in fashion. It reflects the fashion style and artistry of a tradition. Some make use of semi-precious stones or synthetic materials. Others bear jewelry marks of the companies that made them while some bear the signatures of their designers and all these will determine the value of costume jewelry pieces. 

Most vintage costume jewelry rings are chunky but beautiful and they were made out as adjustable to easily fit different sizes from 51/2 to 9. They make use of fake stones like the blue lapis lazuli, fashioned as cabochons or cuts of large rounded gems. Some people cannot readily distinguish if the vintage costume jewelry handed down to them from generations has real gemstones. 

Vintage costume jewelry with real lapis lazuli gemstones will of course command a higher price. Hence, it would be wise if you research about your vintage costume jewelry first, before selling them off to auction sites. You may be selling them at a rather low price by not knowing that the vintage costume jewelry your grandmother left you had real lapis lazuli stones. Information about these kind of stones reveal that they are rare and are said to be genuine if they have natural sparkling golden flecks. 

The fake ones are flat and dull and merely reflect a dark blue color. If you cannot determine whether your vintage costume jewelry is made from some semi-precious stones, bring it to a jeweler who can suggest the right price you should ask for.     

Other vintage costume jewelry pieces never pretended to be anything else but inexpensive bracelets, pins, or necklaces made from fire resistant plastics that can be molded into finely crafted or carved jewelry. The Bakelite material was one of the first plastic materials used in the early 1900. Bakelite costume jewelry became popular since they provided affordable adornments carved into interesting designs and colors. Originally intended as industrial material, costume jewelers, found out it was light enough to be worn as jewelry. 

You should also be wary if you are to buy vintage costume jewelry being passed off as genuine Bakelite. The fake Bakelite which earned the moniker Fakelite are said to have a chalky appearance and possess a dust like feel that cannot be washed out. 

Other vintage costume jewelry pieces make use of glass beads that are simply stringed with white nylon stretch cord.  Glass beads are very common as they are manufactured by factories and cottage industries in Czech Republic. They are actually molten glass and pressed into molds then baked and dried out in kilns. Necklaces made from glass beads became popular because they afforded designers different ways of fashioning them. They can dangle as heart shaped pendants instead of beads or formed as a collage of colorful beads against wire meshes to create exquisitely designed patterns for brooches, earrings, bracelets and chokers.                

Vintage costume jewelry collections are colorful, historical and artistic whether made from real gemstones or lab-created synthetics. They are still valuable as collectible or as your own fashion jewelry. They reflect a fashion statement of an era gone by and only the rarity of design, the signature of the maker or the markings of its manufacturer will dictate the price that they command. Otherwise they are affordable pieces of costume jewelry that represent artistry and craftsmanship.      

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