First I want to define what I mean by vintage. There is no legal definition for vintage. I call something vintage if it is20 years old or older.
There are several ways you can tell if jewelry is vintage. I use multiple clues to help date a piece; I do not rely on one single way to determine if a piece of costume jewelry is vintage.
Sometimes I will have a costume jewelry piece that looks vintage but I’m not hundred percent sure so I will list it as fashion necklace rather than vintage.
Things to look for:
- Weight. Usually vintage items weigh more than necklaces created in the last 15 years.
- Craftsmanship. Good rule of thumb is that items created 20 years or more are well created. Have a great craftsmanship. Are sturdy and not made of flimsy materials. That’s why we have so many wonderful examples of vintage today.
- Clasp. Looking at the clasp the type can help me determine if the item is vintage. For example necklaces created in the 1950 will use a hook closure.
- Tarnish. Vintage necklaces have tarnish on them from age. If I see something bright and shiny then I will need to find another part of the necklace that tells me that the item is vintage.
- Manufacturers mark or hangtag. Hangtag by the clasp can help to date the piece. For example Crown Trifari was made from 1955 to approximately 1969. They have a very specific hangtag that will help you identify the age of the piece.
- Materials. What the item is made from can also tell me the date of the piece. So is it made from a heavy plastic, or a lighter weight plastic can give me a date range for when the necklace was created.
- Construction. How the necklace is put together with what parts, connectors, findings, materials, string, and clasp all help to identify the age of the piece.
- Wear. On necklaces especially you can see the wearing around the clasp area.
Something to be aware of there are a lot of reproductions out there. Some are good, some are great and some aren’t so great. I do sell vintage reproductions but I’m very clear on the time period that the piece was created.
I find a lot of upcycled pieces. Upcycled necklaces are when you take parts from different pieces of jewelry and then put them together to create a new piece. If there are really nice piece I will sell them as upcycled. But sometimes they’re they have just a replacement clasp. Necklaces like this take forever to sell. I avoid buying them. Follow the link to take a look at jewelry I have in my eBay store,
I also identified the time period from which the pieces from. For example I would say necklace vintage 1960.