Collecting Costume Jewelry 101

My name is Julia C. Carroll. I’m the author of four books on collecting costume jewelry. Welcome to my Collecting Costume Jewelry 101 webpage and BLOG for beginning and intermediate collectors!

Thank you to everyone who purchased and enjoyed my books. The four titles below are unfortunately out-of-print and only available in the secondary market.

However, there is good news!

For fun, I wrote Collecting Costume Jewelry 404 The Basics of Recognizing Great Design. It is available to read for FREE by clicking on the Collecting Costume Jewelry 404 cover. Of course, the information is copy protected, so permission is required to copy the text or photos.

The Information link on the red ribbon leads to additional reference materials and articles.

My weekly jewelry blog follows. Scroll down to read previous entries or click the BLOG INDEX link below for an alphabetical list of past blogs.

BLOG INDEX

  • Miriam Haskell Porcelain Set, Transfer VS Hand-painted Designs

    Another spring costume jewelry “find” this year is the following pretty Miriam Haskell set featuring floral porcelain elements. My daughter found and selected this lovely set for her collection. The bracelet, pin and pendent all feature oval-shaped floral transfer decorations framed by hand-wired seed beads. The frames consist of an oval wire decorated with metal…

  • Eisenberg, Synonym for Quality

    As a collector, the alure of Eisenberg jewelry, especially the older brooches, is irresistible. On a recent shopping trip, I succumbed to the tempting beauty of Eisenberg to acquire the brooch shown below. Eisenberg began as a fashion house selling quality dresses. Then jewelry was added to the garments. Customers LOVED the jewels so in…

  • Shopping..Trifari Treasure

    Good morning, Today I want to write about a wonderful Trifari CLIPMATE my daughter recently found antiquing. Definition: CLIPMATE is a patented design exclusive to Trifari for a convertible pin consisting of a rail and frame mechanism used to connect two clips together to form one pin. A CLIPMATE can be worn as one pin…

  • Shopping: Celebrity, N.Y.

    I often shop with my daughter who is building her own collection of vintage jewelry. She recently acquired a rare Celebrity, N.Y. necklace to match a bracelet in her collection. Both pieces are beautifully designed and in great condition. In addition, they have an interesting history. Celebrity N.Y. jewelry was sold through home parties. The…

  • Shopping, Dior Earrings

    It is fun to find and purchase attractive signed vintage earrings in antique stores, flea markets, and antique festivals. Clip and screw back earrings are still affordable and available providing a fun shopping experience. I always look for them even in an expensive antique store. Recently I purchased this pair of 1980s – 1990s Christian…

  • Shopping, Nettie Rosenstein

    Good morning, I’ve been away from my computer for a few weeks traveling and SHOPPING! The spring and fall are my favorite seasons to hunt for costume jewelry treasures. Today I want to share with you one of my purchases – the following eye-catching Nettie Rosenstein set. Jewelry signed Nettie Rosenstein is rare and often…

  • LIZTECH Christmas Tree Pin

    Good morning, I recently returned from a short trip to Delaware to visit family and friends. It was lovely seeing everyone, but it is good to be back home in North Carolina. The trip reminded me of one of our first visits to North Carolina prior to making the choice to relocate here. We drove…

  • Jan Michaels Jewelry

    For the last 40 years Jan Michaels has created jewelry designs from vintage stampings, chains, antique beads, semi-precious stones and other findings. I created eclectic vintage and antiquity inspired fashion jewelry worn by women and some men across the globe. www.janmichaels.com Today she is no longer making her wonderful jewelry to have time to pursue…

  • Florenza

    Today I added Florenza to the list of brands in Chapter Two, Part II of Collecting Costume Jewelry 404. I hope you enjoy it. This heraldic inspired design is one of my favorites. The earrings are shaped like medieval shields decorated with wings, axes, and crowns. The rich golden topaz stones (my birth stone) in…

  • Popesco VS Bex

    It is a beautiful day, so I decided this morning to write a blog post and then go outside to enjoy the sunshine. Today’s topic is a brief history of La Via Parisienne jewelry by Catherine Popesco and French jewelry by Pierre Bex. The vintage art deco and art nouveau designs from both companies are…