Guidelines for Buying and Appreciating Vintage Jewellery

Our Vintage Jewellery buying guidelines offer advice on purchasing and appreciating this kind of jewellery to help you make an informed decision.

The Market

The popularity of Vintage or Antique pieces is growing since the inventory is fixed and often in short supply. These pieces are also becoming more fashionable with each year. Antique jewellery and signed Vintage Jewellery are sought after by collectors and consumers looking for rare or one-of-a-kind pieces.

Appreciating Vintage Jewellery

If you love jewellery, enjoy fashion, and find today's design trends uninspiring, it's time to explore Vintage Jewellery. Interest in vintage decor, accessories, and heirlooms has increased in recent years, leading to a renewed appreciation for Vintage Jewellery from the past. If you've ever admired stunning Art Deco rings or Edwardian brooches at auctions, in pictures, or in the media, and wished you could wear such beautiful jewels, you'll be thrilled to search for these treasures among the varied offerings of Vintage Jewellery. Perhaps you're intrigued by the creativity expressed in Antique Jewellery but are worried about not knowing how to buy Vintage Jewellery and get a good deal. Through our guidelines, we offer you advice on purchasing and appreciating Vintage Jewellery.

Vintage Jewellery 

Vintage jewellery refers to pieces that are at least 20 years old, representing distinctive styles, craftsmanship, and design elements from specific historical periods such as Art Deco, Retro or Mid-Century Modern. These pieces are highly valued for their unique designs, superior craftsmanship, and historical significance.

Antique Jewellery 

Antique jewellery is considered to be 100 years old or older.

How is the price of a Estate Jewel determined?

Pricing Vintage jewellery is both an art and a science. It requires a high level of experience and expertise as there are no “manufacturers’ retail prices” to be guided by, and often there is no obvious comparable example on the market. Only extensive training and experience in the gem and jewellery trade make it possible to identify and determine the true and fair value of a piece of jewellery. It’s a surprisingly technical yet subtle art, as objective and subjective factors must be taken into account. First, there is a calculation as to the basic value of the material in every piece. For example, how many carats of diamonds or other precious or semi-precious stones are there? What is the quality of the stones? Are the diamonds certified? Is the gold 14 karat, 18 karat, or is it platinum? Once the material is defined, weighed and measured, we look for hallmarks or signatures, what era it dates from, the overall condition, how intricate is the work, whether it has an interesting and documented provenance, and in addition we monitor international realized auction results to determine a realistic and competitive pricing. 

Estimated New Price

This price is estimated to be the replacement value.