Customer Reviews

Collectible Costume Jewelry: Identification and Values

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a FABULOUS book! I only wish I had this for all categories of my collectables. Not only does she have WONDERFUL color pictures of ALL different types of costume jewelry, enabling you to see other pieces similar to yours; but she does an excellent job CLARIFYING terms ie BAKELITE vs CELLULOID vs PLASTIC! She even includes diagrams & terminology of stone cuts & facets, pearl lengths & styles and jewelry designs. PLUS there are diagrams of "signature" markings.There is also a section on "Watch Outs" for FRAUDULENT copies. As a novice collector, I found this to be just what I need to be knowledgable and also to alert me when sellers don't know what they're talking about. This is a book you want to READ AND LOOK at the pretty pictures.

Simonds has put together a nice collection of photographs of a variety of 20th century costume jewelry. However, future buyers should understand that the book is limited in its scope: 1920s to the recent past - focusing primarily on 40s to 60s items. Other problems with the book: very little on Bakelite & Lucite, an obsession with ornate 50s faux precious stone pieces, and failure to connect manufacturer/designer with their mark or signature. It was frustrating to go through 5 pages of designer identification prose at the front of the book only to find the related graphics stuck in an Appendix at the end of the book with NO indication as to who belonged with which mark.

In all, its a book best suited for beginning collectors of rhinestone and similar types of jewelry, not for someone attempting to do serious research. It was a waste of my money.

This book is mostly a picture book and the pictures are excellent. It has a Designer/Manufacturer chart toward the front of the book. This is a good help for beginners. There are some cautions about copies of signed jewelry, some tips about cleaning/storing a collection, a glossary, and drawings of some marks and signatures. All in all it's a nice book for beginners, it's strongest point being the many fine color illustrations. Another interesting feature is the section showing old jewelry advertisements.

I am new to collecting costume jewelry so I bought this book thinking it would help me identify older pieces. It confused me more than anything else.

This book has beautiful photos which have been very helpful to me. However, the author is vague on alot of things.

She does talk about the differnt era's of jewelry (i.e. victorian, art deco etc.) but she is not clear on how to date them or how to tell when they were made. Just not enough information or details if you really want to idetify your great finds!

I still don't know how to tell the difference between Bakelite, celluloid, lucite or regular plastic!

Great book if you just want alot of pretty pictures!!

I like this book for a number of reasons. I like the way it's organized by types of jewelry and not by designer like so many other books I own. I like the graphic illustrations of the types of cuts and the lengths necklaces come in and how to 'name' them accordingly. I like the old costume jewelry advertisements at the beginng of the book, giving one a sense of the era.

As a dealer of vintage costume jewelry, this book is a great addition to my collection. Buy it if you have an interest in vintage jewelry.

Gail Gupton, Author: The 31-Day Diet of Spiritual Enlightenment and Seekers of Truth.

I'm what Cherri calls a newby, so I found this book very informative. I discovered I was storing all my precious costume jewelry incorrectly and what made it exciting was finding several pieces displayed in her book that I have. I like a book best when the pictures are in color. It really makes it easier in this case.

This Book holds a prominent position in my reference library. Beautiful photography, easy to read descriptions and covers a wide array of vintage jewelry. A must have book.

Cherri has done a fabulous job in making this book a favorite of mine in my CJ library! The pictures are beautiful and clear, and the descriptions are wonderfully detailed! The maker marks section is an invaluable tool to have on hand for both the collector and seller. Anyone serious about Costume Jewelry is missing out if they don't have this one as a part of their resources!

Very informative book, well laid out and beautifully illustrated.
My copy is in hardback and was an excellent buy for the price. The book identifies all the famous and many little known costume jewellery makers and their marks/signatures so it is a very good buy for anyone starting to collect vintage costume jewellery. The only disappointment for me is that it basically only covers USA jewellery with little mention of Victorian, Deco, Czech etc from Europe and Britain.

This is such a wonderful book. It has been a valuable tool to us as we began collecting vintage jewelry as well as selling! This book is a great source of information and the jewelry is displayed and arrayed beautifully! I can not think of a better book for the novice or advanced collector. Thank you Cherri Simonds!