Bear these 5 things in mind if you are purchasing vintage jewellery
You only need to click through to our online selection of vintage jewellery here at RETRuly to see that there’s no shortage of stunning old-style items out there that you can use to accessorise your look, for not as much money as you might think.
However, there are some traps that you can fall into when buying such jewellery & so be sure to follow these five tips to ensure consistent satisfaction with your purchases.
Pay careful attention to the description
Any reputable seller through a platform like RETRuly should take the time to provide useful detail on the item in question, beyond a picture. If they haven’t, that should raise some alarm bells.
What might the true condition of the piece be? Is there damage that isn’t obvious in the accompanying image? Are stones missing? Does the catch work? These are questions that you will have to ask the seller directly.
Expect some wear… but not too much
Genuine vintage jewellery & bearing in mind that here at RETRuly, we remove items from our sellers’ stores that are not at least 20 years old & will almost certainly show signs of having been worn previously. That, of course, is part of the charm.
However, buying the cheapest and most thoroughly worn stuff can be a poor investment, especially if the patina or coating has degraded to show dull metal underneath.
Such extreme wear may be something that you can get away with when it’s on the back of a brooch, but it’ll create a poor impression on the front of a necklace.
Designer items may be best avoided
Your heart might skip a beat if you see something that the seller claims to be from Chanel or Dior, and if the piece is a genuine piece from those prestigious names, it may be very good.
There’s also a very high likelihood, however, that the item is inauthentic. Given the prices involved, it’s probably best to just swerve clear of any such items when you are only just getting into the collecting of vintage jewellery for the first time.
Target the 1930s to the 1960s for the greatest quality
There are some fabulous unsigned pieces out there, often attracting increasingly high prices among collectors.
However, if quality is one of your uppermost priorities for such pieces, we would urge you to concentrate on the period from the 1930s to the 1960s above others. The stones in the jewellery of these eras, for example, tend to be glass rather than the plastic used later.
Only purchase if there’s a photograph
This is one of the minimum things that you should expect if you are looking to buy vintage jewellery, as you really do need to know what you will be getting.
If there isn’t a photo or the only one included is dark or fuzzy, don’t be afraid to request another one from the seller.
The collecting of vintage jewellery can be highly rewarding, but it is likely to be much more so when you purchase through RETRuly! We work hard to ensure that our sellers are only offering genuine vintage items, while your order is also fully protected and returnable for even greater peace of mind.