Antique and vintage jewels were made by highly-skilled craftsmen who took their time, often creating intricate and unique pieces on a custom made basis, rather than for the mass market. This is evident in the high standard of workmanship we see in antique and vintage jewelry. Vintage jewelry is more delicate and refined than most of the pieces that are produced today. Vintage jewelry was made by artisans, masters of their craft, so you can anticipate the highest quality. Not only is the craftsmanship of the highest quality, but the fact that they’re made by hand also means that they are far rarer than modern pieces. Please keep in mind these finely made pieces of jewelry have survived close to 100 years or more.

Due to the difficult economic times prior to the second World War, labor was cheap and the people that wanted to be jewelers. They had to go through a rigorous apprenticeship that meant labor was inexpensive compared to today’s high standard of living. Additionally, for people to learn their craft, they had to become experts at what they did for relatively little money. It would cost approximately 10-20 times as much money to reproduce the quality of work that came out of that period in time. That makes those items prohibitive to make and sell profitably.

This is just one example of why a finely made piece of antique jewelry brings a premium in today’s secondary market.

What’s in your jewelry box?