Selecting and Caring for Antique Jewelry

Antique jewelry is defined by most experts as jewelry that is at least 100 years old. Often, people confuse antique jewelry with vintage jewelry. Vintage jewelry can be old, but is usually defined as jewelry that's made after 1920. There are a variety of places where you can find stunning pieces of antique jewelry to wear, collect, hand down, or even resell. Before beginning your search for antique jewelry, it helps to know more about the different eras and types of jewelry you might come across. Here is a brief guide to different jewelry eras:

Late Georgian (1760-1837)

Because necklines were often low, necklaces were designed to flatter them. Often, necklaces were multi-tiered designs featuring diamonds or gemstones. Cameos and other pendants were often worn this way as well, with rows of draping chain in between. Berlin Iron is a material that you may find from this era. Patriotic citizens donated their gold for the war effort, and were given ornate replicas crafted from this iron. Miniatures were popular as well, which were similar to today's lockets containing photographs, only the likeness was painted instead of photographed.

Victorian (1837-1901)

The Victorian era is a highly popular one for antique jewelry collectors. Ornate gemstone jewelry, cameos, and shapes like hearts and flowers were highly popular. Serpents were another surprising motif, as they were considered good luck and a favorite of Queen Victoria. Diamonds became more accessible due to the discovery of plentiful mines, so more and more Victorians wore diamond jewelry. Onyx and jet were popular as well, and were often worn as mourning pieces.

Art Nouveau (1890-1915)

This period emerged in Paris during the last years of the reign of Queen Victoria. This era of jewelry making focused more on the style and form of a piece rather than the materials the jewelry was made from. Some popular materials included horn, bone, shell, ivory and glass. Semi-precious stones were popular as well, as were enamel and styles like cloisonne. Asian theme jewelry was popular also. You will even find opal and moonstone featured in jewelry from this time period.

It's likely that anything crafted after the Art Nouveau period would not be classified as antique jewelry, but vintage jewelry, depending on who you ask. When shopping for antique pieces, a good place to start is at estate sales. Auctions are also often great places to find antique jewelry from many different time periods. You may want to do some research before shopping, so you'll know what to look for and what denotes a piece as authentic.

Copyright 2006 Frances Coleman - All Rights Reserved

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