Customer Reviews

Costume Jewelry (DK Collector's Guides)

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"Costume Jewelry," a DK Collector's Guide, is by Judith Miller with John Wainwright, and features photography by Graham Rae. The back cover notes that over 1,500 collectible pieces are pictured and profiled in this book. This book is stunningly beautiful--it's full of detailed, full-color photographs that are accompanied by a well-written and informative text. Many different types of jewelry are depicted in these 256 pages--earrings, necklaces, bracelets, cufflinks, pins, etc.

The book is full of fascinating and useful features: profiles of major designers (Chanel, Christian Dior, Hattie Carnegie, etc.), a glossary, a section depicting designers' stamps and copyright marks, reproductions of vintage magazine advertisements, and more. The international directory of dealers, auction houses, and museums includes addresses, phone numbers, Web sites, fax numbers, and/or e-mail addresses. There are sections highlighting interesting trends: suffragette jewelry, cut steel jewelry, etc.

The book is full of intriguing sidebars about many different topics: the manufacture of faux pearls, the Surrealist influence on designer Elsa Schiaparelli, etc. There are also a number of spreads on "Hot Collecting Fields," such as Austrian crystal fruit pins and Bakelite jewelry; I was especially impressed by the 4-page spread on Scottish agate jewelry.

The book really covers a broad range of costume jewelry. Many different styles are depicted. The jewelry covered also represents a large range of materials--Berlin ironwork, Whitby jet, rhinestones, aluminum, poured glass, Lucite, rhodoid, copper, wood, faux coral, and more. I also like the fact that a broad price range is covered. There are many pieces that are under $50, as well as many that are over $1,000. But in the end it's the beautiful pictures that really blew me away--some pieces are elegant, some whimsical, many bursting with color and life. It's like a huge museum in a book, with an expert tour guide (the text) to accompany you.

I love this book, it has some of the best photographs of jewelry to come out in years. If I could look at only one vintage costume jewelry book for an entire year, THIS would be it. There are tons of photographs of jewelry across the price spectrum, and at least a little bit of information about a lot of designers and companies. There are a few errors, such as some of the Bakelite she has pictured is actually Lucite or plastic, and some of the plastic and Lucite she has pictured is Bakelite. And while some of the pricing is exactly in line with what you would expect to fairly pay, some of the values are outrageous. But in a book this big, it can't all be perfect. This is the best book for new collectors, as it hits all the "big" names, doesn't gloss over the "little" names, and covers so much. It is also a great book for long time collectors. I have collected vintage costume jewelry for over 15 years, and I have over 50 cj books in my reference library; believe me when I say this book is wonderful eye candy.

A beautiful book that covers an exaustive list of designers/makers. It's great for quick reference of designer bios and their notable pieces, or simply for enjoying the high quality photos. However, I find this book inadequate in terms of in-depth information on period/designer indentification based on material, craftmanship or markings. As a relatively new collector of vintage jewelry, I find it a good place to start, but it's by no means an all-in-one type of reference book.

This book was one of my first books on costume jewelry, and it is so easy to learn from. I know, because I have an online vintage jewelry site, "Enchantment Vintage Costume Jewelry" and I still reference this book frequently.

The best thing about this book, besides the clear & colorful eye candy, is that it gives a rundown on different jewelry eras--from Victorian through 1980s glitz! There are aslo sections on a great many of the most collectible designers and the characteristics of their jewelry. It also includes a section on unsigned jewelry, which is good because most costume jewelry was unsigned.

One of the most helpful aspects is that the jewelry is dated, so that the reader can learn to start assigning dates to the different styles of jewelry. You can't go wrong with this one.

I also recommend "How to Be a Jewelry Detective," by Jeanenne Bell.

This lavishly illustrated book is an excellent example of why many librarians love Dorling Kindersley books. Each photographed piece has a brief description, date range and likely value range. The colors are vibrant and every facet sparkles. The background on jewelry designers and index are also welcome additions.

"Costume Jewelry" is a full-colour pictorial guide to the main (American) makers and designers of costume jewellery. For each designer, a brief history is given, which is them followed by numerous colour pictures and 2003 values. A brief appendix of makers marks is included at the end, to allow readers to identify pieces of jewellery which they may own, as is a comprehensive index.

This book is aimed squarely at novice jewellery collectors. It gives the reader a good idea of the different styles of costume jewellery available and is a wonderful book for fueling dreams. However, it lacks much of the information that more advanced collectors may be looking for, such as detailed information on dating jewellery and advice on which are the best pieces to collect.

There are a lot of similarities between this book and Collecting Costume Jewelry 101: The Basics of Starting, Building & Upgrading (Collecting Costume Jewelry 101). Both are visual guides to American costume jewellery makers, although I, personally, prefer "Collecting Costume Jewelery 101". It contains more advice on collecting than this book does. Nevertheless, both books are very good and if you are a beginner and you can afford it, I would recommend that you buy both.

This book is a good one to have in your costume jewelry library. It begins with interesting background on costume jewelry through the ages followed by twenty in-depth designer profiles with example pieces. An interesting feature of these first designer profiles is the "Good, Better, Best" designations for examples of the same type of piece, such as necklaces or pins. The third section is entitled the "A-Z of Designers and Makers," which includes less in-depth information on the company or designer with photos of pieces. Interspersed among the A-Z designers are sections entitled "Hot Collecting Field," which deal with topics such as Christmas tree pins, Scottish agate jewelry, Bakelite, Coro duettes, etc. It took me a while to figure out this interruption in the A-Z organization. One surprise in the A-Z designers is that DeLizza & Elster (Juliana) is not included. The book concludes with a "Gallery of Unsigned Pieces" with some rather hodgepodge categories, such as "Miscellaneous Pins." The index is good but alphabetized by designer last name in contrast to other sections of the book which may be alphabetized by designer first name. The jewelry included in this book definitely leans toward the high end. In addition, values seem to me to be inflated in relation to eBay averages. The photography is beautiful. I would recommend buying a used copy for your costume jewelry library.

I really like this book because the is alot if information on alot of different makers. The pictures are clear.There are alot of designers I have never heard of so this is great for me. I'm far from an expert and not a beginner so this book is good for me!
Buy it!

I was referred to this book by a friend who has been collecting vintage jewellery for over 30 years as I wanted to learn more about the vintage jewellery I was now starting to collect. It is very informative for the novice collector, well set out and has beautiful photographic examples of pieces from each designer and period. I would recommend this book if you are looking to start collecting or to use as a reference guide for particular vintage jewellery styles. The only criticism is the pricing is way off but this could be the result of the book being a little out of date.

I love this book, and my toddler loves to look at the pictures which are incredible. It is a very interesting read for anyone interested in collecting or learning about vintage jewelry.