At Jewels on Hampton, we are buyers for both Fine Jewelry and Costume Jewelry. Many of our customers are unsure into which category their collectible may fall and in turn are unsure about the value.
Fine Jewelry Has Been Made for Centuries – Costume Jewelry is A Recent Development
Costume jewelry has been a feature of the fashion world beginning during the industrial revolution. While fine jewelry has been made by smiths and gemcutters for most of human history, modern manufacturing and materials have allowed less expensive versions of jewelry to be manufactured, often using mass production methods.
Fine Jewelry and Costume Jewelry use Different Materials
Both fine jewelry and costume jewelry can be very beautiful, and both can be valuable. However, fine jewelry will be made of precious metals and precious or semi-precious stones. These materials have an intrinsic value. Precious metals can be melted down and still have value. The precious and semi-precious stones have a value even apart from their settings in a piece of fine jewelry.
Materials used in costume jewelry are usually made of a “base” metal such as nickel and copper and are then plated with a precious metal. Beautiful, but of little value except as part of a piece of costume jewelry that is intact. The “stones” are rarely stones at all, but rather cut glass or plastic.
Costume Jewelry is NOT Worthless
Depending on the style, some costume jewelry can be quite valuable to a collector, though rarely as much as the value of the metal and stones in an equivalent piece of fine jewelry. Style, quality and condition work together to set the value of costume jewelry.
Whether you have a piece of fine jewelry or costume jewelry to sell, please visit Jewels on Hampton. We love to see new things and we will help you understand what kind of jewelry you have and its value. We will also offer top dollar if you are looking for a buyer.
Comments are closed