How to Shop for Vintage Jewelry
Plus: my favorite brands to hunt for
I am a bit of a magpie. I love a shiny object and my personal jewelry collection is a good example of that. I love the juxtaposition of pairing a sparkly tennis necklace with a lived-in vintage concert tee, or a rough-and-tumble bolo tie with a more dramatic, sheer and sexy dress.
Jewelry is fun. But it is also so intimidating.
In an effort to learn more about how to shop for vintage jewelry, it felt only right to enlist the help of an expert. I found one in Suzanne Martinez, professional gemologist and co-owner of Lang Antique and Estate Jewelry in San Francisco.
As Suzanne explains, she grew up enamored with jewelry: “As a child, I picked garnets out of the boulders on my family property, strung beads by 10 and was making silver jewelry at 13.”
I ASKED SUZANNE FOR HER TIPS ON SHOPPING VINTAGE JEWELRY
Buy it because you love it. “Quality, design, condition and passion should be foremost on your mind when collecting. Whether you are buying personally or for resale: buy what you love. Of course, if you love it, you will wear and enjoy it. If you are selling it, you can much more easily sell what you have a passion for.”
Seek “very good” quality pieces. “Not all jewelry can be restored to very good or excellent condition but very good or excellent should be your goal.” Buying only from reputable and knowledgeable sources is one way to ensure the quality of a vintage piece is top-notch, but so is looking for context clues: hallmarks like signatures; stamps that indicate the purity of the metal; hand engraving details which might indicate an older piece.
Broaden your knowledge. “Develop a relationship with a jeweler and a gemologist who can teach you and help you develop your eye. Be prepared to compensate them for their time. It might save you a lot of money in the long run. Buy the best loupe [ed note: a loupe is a magnifying glass used by jewelers] you can afford and get very good with it. Ask lots of questions.” Also: do your own research. Suzanne recommends Antique Jewelry University, a research guide on the Lang Antiques website. “It is an excellent resource and free.”
Learn about a piece’s history before investing in it. “It is always about the history, design, quality and condition of a piece. You cannot have one without the others. They all combine to tell the story of the jewelry.” If you are lucky, you can learn more about a piece of jewelry from the seller (like the family hosting an estate sale) or it will come with an original receipt. But if not — seek help. “My relationships with laboratory owners, private collectors, museum curators, gemologists, jewelry collectors and specialists and my jewelry library have been invaluable to developing my jewelry knowledge.”
Nurture your own collection. “Of course I have a private collection. I love my Hancock Holbein-esque emerald and enamel necklace, Carlos Giuliano hessonite garnet and enamel necklace, Marcus & Co. hessonite garnet ring, to name a few.” While she has plenty of designer-made gems, most of Suzanne’s personal jewelry, she says, “is not signed and still can be equally fabulous.”
Start a bucket list. Having a general idea of “wants” (stones you want to find, designers you admire) will allow you to have something to aim for. “I have never had a Lalique high piece of jewelry, that would be a dream come true,” Suzanne says. “I love Art Nouveau jewelry the most. I recently went to the Golbenkian Museum in Lisbon to see their Lalique collection. I went three times in 5 days!”
But having a list doesn’t mean you can’t deviate from it — in fact, that’s where the magic happens. “I have always been able to buy a piece of jewelry and been happy to find a new home for it. That is my driver.”
HISTORY LESSON: OLD VS. NEW JEWELRY
From Suzanne: “As a value proposition, dollar for dollar, all antique and later vintage jewelry (including vintage costume jewelry) is a better value than jewelry that is mass-produced today.
The mass-produced jewelry of the past was made by guilds who had high quality standards. As an example, most lockets were ornately hand engraved. In today’s world, there are very few engravers who can do the work, let alone on a production level, and their engraving work alone would cost more than an engraved locket would cost at a modern retail level.
Today, we have some fabulous craftspeople designing and making jewelry, but the finished jewelry is created at today’s costs, so it is going to be comparably more expensive than vintage pieces.”
ODDS & ENDS
Pricey but great: The Monastery x Sofia Coppola collab. Luxe. Smells divine. Gorgeous packaging. Would make a great Mother’s Day gift.
In my cart: These Nike sneakers. They’re excellent.
What I’ve been taking at night: Two of these melatonin gummies, when I need help getting to sleep. They work quickly and don’t give you a hangover feeling the next day. The brand also makes a green-tea based metabolism-boosting supplement and a GLP-1 supplement.
Recent press: I spoke to Country Living about how to sell an antique for what it’s actually worth — even if you’re not a professional reseller.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
How to Thrift the Pierce & Ward Look
As I have mentioned in the past, I am not into “dupes.” There’s a time and a place, sure, but overall, I try to support independent artists and makers over the factory-made pieces they inspire.
Great tips here, Virginia! I totally agree on the quality of mass-produced vintage (anything after the mid-90s is going to be poorer than anything earlier). Just the finishing in general and attention to detail.
I'll add: go to vintage fairs and take your time looking at the various eras in person to see what you really like, and also examine fixtures (clasps, chains, fasteners) for clues that a piece might be fake. For example, those scarab beads can be bought online, so some of the scarab bracelets are fake, made with cheap modern fixtures.
I always look for a stamp or guild mark, and check every piece in a set (sometimes only one piece will be marked).