Costume jewelry from haute couture labels

[BonnieRadcliffe]

Hi everyone!!

I'm interested in some costume jewelry pieces by Dior and Chanel, but I don't know if the accessories of these labels get ruined with time. I mean if the colour fades and, for example, the silver colour turns to black and the golden colour turns to copper, as it happens with cheap costume jewelry. Do you know if you can keep your costume jewelry from haute couture labels in good condition all of your life??

 

[onegirlcreative]

i don't know about dior, but i used to own several pieces by chanel that were the faux gold and they never wore off. they must dip them several times to avoid the wear, because i had this one brooch that i originally purchased in 1987, and i finally sold it on ebay in 2004 and it still looked brand new, believe me. although i didn't wear it every single day, but it still had some good use to it.

i also had the large #5 earrings that you see everywhere as well that were given to me from an old boyfriend in 1988, and same thing, i sold them on ebay in 2002 (just too heavy for my ears) and they also looked brand new.

i believe chanel's costume jewelry is very well made, at least the pieces i had.

 

[elle tee]

I have a Chanel faux-pearl necklace and the craftsmanship and quality of this piece is amazing. The pearls are very heavy and the decorative paint on the pearls is holding up very well. If you look at the vintage Chanel costume pieces selling on eBay and the like, I think you will see that they have held up well, too. I can't speak for Dior, though.

 

[mistikat]

I have a lot of vintage Dior (as in 1960s) and have seen a fair amount of vintage Chanel and the new stuff in no way compares, quality wise. It's good, and it's well plated, so it shouldn't fall apart as quickly as something from Forever XXI but I find that the metal is more lightweight, the pearls are often plastic instead of glass and in general, they are using far less expensive materials than pieces from even the 70s and 80s.

You can find 80s-90s Dior on Ebay relatively inexpensively, especially considering how expensive it was when first made. I believe Dior continues to be made by the very reputable firm of Grosse (formerly Henkel and Grosse) and is generally excellent quality. But ... there are a lot of fake Dior and Chanel costume pieces floating around on Ebay and other sites and it pays to be careful. If it's priced to well to be true, that's usually a sign!

 

[Luccibag]

I have not had good luck with Chanel's costume jewelry. I have a whole bag of stuff upstairs that I have to take to the boutique for repairs. Crystals and hanging items are always falling off, etc. BUT I keep buying em! Go figure.

 

[schadenfreude]

^^ I agree. The crystals fall out pretty easily... and then they have the nerve to charge for a repair, and I'm talking $65 on a $200 pair of earrings. It really put me off...

 

[LeeMiller]

I had a pair of Chanel earrings break the first time I wore them, it was a huge turn-off for me. I mean if you look at the pieces you can see that they aren't made that well. Then again costume jewelry has become pricer for less quality overall. Personally I would buy a piece assuming 5-10 years use, max.