Please share your costume jewelry!

[lolakitten]

Im only 15 but ever since I was about 3 years old my mom would take out this huge jewelry box that had a lock on it. Inside are all of my mother's family heirlooms that had diamonds, rubes, sapphire, emerald, pearl, every stone imaginable. I know it is all real and the fact that it still looks so amazing makes me want to only invest in fine jewelry. The part that makes me so happy is knowing all the jewelry can still be passed down generation after generation, except for 2 pieces of jewelry which would be the chanel mini studs I think are classic and still well made along with an Hermès Clic H bracelet because they are so fun with any outfit and if something goes wrong I can take it back.

Well said. That's a great observation for someone so young!

 

[dustgirl]

I do wear costume jewelry. I love my YSL Arty oval ring, and other pieces from House of Harlow, Gorjana, etc. I look for quality well made costume pieces. I am now investing more in "real" jewelry, but I feel like dabbling in costume lets me decide if certain styles will be worth the investment to me.

 

[lolakitten]

Are you ladies counting your silver as fine or costume? I've always bulked the silver into the costume category

 

[jtc103]

Are you ladies counting your silver as fine or costume? I've always bulked the silver into the costume category

I think some people consider it fine jewelry but me personally I don't because even if it's considered 'precious' metal, it's such a cheap metal that jewellers sell for sooooo much. It is worth around $30 per ounce whereas gold is around $1600 and platinum around $1400. Mind you I also don't consider anything under 14K fine jewelry. Some silver pieces that are name brands will have better resale value but only because of the name and not really its real value.

That's my opinion

 

[lolakitten]

I think some people consider it fine jewelry but me personally I don't because even if it's considered 'precious' metal, it's such a cheap metal that jewellers sell for sooooo much. It is worth around $30 per ounce whereas gold is around $1600 and platinum around $1400. Mind you I also don't consider anything under 14K fine jewelry. Some silver pieces that are name brands will have better resale value but only because of the name and not really its real value.

That's my opinion

Yup, I'm inclined to agree w/ this... The gold K too.

 

[Vintage Leather]

I am very specific on what constitutes "Fine" jewelry. The only acceptable metals are platinum and 750+ minimum gold.
I will make an exception for sterling silver IF it is from 1920 or earlier, and set with its original diamonds, or natural precious stones.
That's my other pet peeve. An artificial (I'm sorry - "man-made), or radiated stone is costume jewelry. Yes, your blue diamond or canary diamond is very pretty - but it's still costume because it didn't come out of the ground that color. Likewise with your lab ruby.
I do have a level of tolerance for fire-treatement, but that's only because it's so hard to find something that isn't



Basically, fine jewelry can be re-made or re-styled if you are bored with it or if it looks too much like something from a previous generation. For example - turning a stomacher into a necklace or brooch (or both) You'll destroy costume jewelry if you restyle it.

 

[HauteMama]

^ Agreed. Resale value and brand aside, I don't consider SS to be fine jewelry, nor is 10K gold (many agree that anything under 18K is not considered fine jewelry), nor are many gemstones (diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds are considered fine jewelry as long as they are not "created"... and I may be missing one).

 

[lolakitten]

^ Agreed. Resale value and brand aside, I don't consider SS to be fine jewelry, nor is 10K gold (many agree that anything under 18K is not considered fine jewelry), nor are many gemstones (diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds are considered fine jewelry as long as they are not "created"... and I may be missing one).

Pearls. I consider good saltwater pearls to be fine jewelry.

 

[Sloane_Ranger]

I wear both costume and fine jewelry.
I get it anywhere: Forever21, H&M, Hello Kitty etc.
I also have some form Chanel.
I'm in my 20's and still studying and often dress quite casually when I'm at uni, so it doesn't make sense to wear my good jewelry everyday.
Costume is cute and fun.

However, when I go out to dinner or a club, I always wear my real jewelry because I am dressed up on such occasions.

 

[texasgirliegirl]

Leather bracelets (like the CDCs I bought I never wear) & enamels. I just end up putting them up for sale & buying jewelry from my jeweler.

I love my exotic CdC but feel that it makes a pretty bold statement. Really, I have not considered the gold content of either my CdC or my enamels....
While perhaps not fine jewelry, I feel this is sort of in a different class...when I think costume, what brings to mind (for me at least) is cheap kenneth Jay Lane, goldtone/base metal jewelry, etc.
I would not consider freshwater pearls fine..at least not in the same class as aquoya or south seas, at least.

Regardless, it's fun to see what people like to wear/collect

 

[texasgirliegirl]

I used to have more costume jewellery but have given away/sold/send to charity shops most of it. The only costume pieces I have now are Hermes leather and enamal bracelets, Chanel necklace and 2 pieces from Swarovski (which I never seem to wear any more). Costume jewellery can look amazing but they don't last long generally and I am really trying to decluster my wardrobe.

I am trying to declutter my entire closet!!
Now I just let my sweet little girls play with the "fun" jewelry that I no longer wear....
They love their "treasures"...

 

[texasgirliegirl]

Are you ladies counting your silver as fine or costume? I've always bulked the silver into the costume category

Great question...I think it depends.
By definition, the costume category includes base metals but some vintage costume jewelry was set in silver. Then you have David Yurman (which I have tons of and NEVER wear...) which is sterling with semi precious but I really wouldn't consider that costume jewelry....hmmmm. Honestly, every time I buy another piece of Van Cleef my DH gives me grief about all the DY he purchased back in the early 90's that I NEVER wear...and I have to reassure him that this is different.

 

[Vintage Leather]

I love my exotic CdC but feel that it makes a pretty bold statement. Really, I have not considered the gold content of either my CdC or my enamels....
While perhaps not fine jewelry, I feel this is sort of in a different class...when I think costume, what brings to mind (for me at least) is cheap kenneth Jay Lane, goldtone/base metal jewelry, etc.
I would not consider freshwater pearls fine..at least not in the same class as aquoya or south seas, at least.

Regardless, it's fun to see what people like to wear/collect

Actually, if you can find KJL from the 80s, it's quite nice. This last decade has been a dark age for American Costume - pieces are shoddier than ever, with a lot of outsourced production and cheaper materials. There are still great designs - but I doubt that many pieces will last for more than a decade

Great question...I think it depends.
By definition, the costume category includes base metals but some vintage costume jewelry was set in silver. Then you have David Yurman (which I have tons of and NEVER wear...) which is sterling with semi precious but I really wouldn't consider that costume jewelry....hmmmm. Honestly, every time I buy another piece of Van Cleef my DH gives me grief about all the DY he purchased back in the early 90's that I NEVER wear...and I have to reassure him that this is different.

I do count DY and Tiffany and Links of London and even Georg Jensen as costume pieces.

I think part of my quandary is that I believe fine jewelry is an investment in the commodities market. A piece of fine jewelry can always be converted to cash - less than you paid, usually - but it can be melted down, remade, restyled - even rebuilt from the setting up.
If you have to flee in the night, it is small, portable, and is the only true universal currency.

 

[HauteMama]

^ Agreed. Fine jewelry, by definition, is based on materials used and not name. When something is deemed fine jewelry by name or brand alone, that value can be gone at any moment, depending on the tastes and preferences of the time. Fine materials, however, regardless of brand, have been valued for millenia based on weight and purity and/or quality (of stones, for example). While markets will fluctuate, certain materials will ALWAYS hold value, no matter which maker's mark is embossed on the back. This is why SS is not fine jewelry.

However, in the big scheme of things, if you aren't buying your jewelry for its meltdown value, then it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks or likes or classifies as what. My DH bought me a great big citrine for my birthday. Is that fine jewelry? No, as citrines are not considered a precious stone. Does that matter to me? No, as I far prefer citrines to emeralds and most sapphires. By setting a definition of fine jewelry, it isn't intended to devalue whatever someone owns or loves. It is simply a yardstick that has been used for long before I was born and will still be adhered to long after I am gone.

 

[BigPurseSue]

Actually, if you can find KJL from the 80s, it's quite nice. This last decade has been a dark age for American Costume - pieces are shoddier than ever, with a lot of outsourced production and cheaper materials. There are still great designs - but I doubt that many pieces will last for more than a decade

The bolded--so true! Seems like the decline started abruptly about 10 years ago. I was in a dept. store looking at some of the lines I used to love in the '80s and '90s, like 1928, and I couldn't believe what I saw. Flimsy poorly-made junk. Even Swarovski doesn't seem to be made as nicely as it was back in the '90s which is a crying shame. Can remember when most of the crystals were prong-set rather than glued in place.