Vintage Costume Jewelry

Posts Tagged ‘vintage costume jewelry’

Vintage Costume Jewelry Necklace – Redoux

OK, I took a little detour from my previous post, where I talked about what I planned to do with memory wire toe rings and vintage jewelry. I prepared some Christmas bracelets for my friends using memory wire, then decided it was time to try my hand at vintage jewelry redoux, making a necklace. So let's take a look at the overall process.

(Yes, I do have a photo, but read what I did before you look at it...at the bottom of the post.)

Dismantling the Old Jewelry

The first step in the process is dismantling the old necklaces. I chose some vintage faux pearl and bead necklaces that weren't signed (except for the one marked "Hong Kong") and took them apart.

The faux pearls were different colors; some white, some cream. So I put these two in different plastic bags (plastic sandwich bags if you must know) to see how much of each color I had.

I also snipped off and undid the clasps. Actually, only one clasp from the four necklaces was worth keeping, so that was the one I used. But there were some goldtone findings (bead caps, small rondells) from one necklace I kept -- they went into another small baggie.

Picking the Vintage Costume Jewelry Components

I had an idea of what I wanted, so I went rummaging around in my other vintage costume jewelry for the focal component of the necklace. Ah hah! Something I had found at one of my flea market finds; it would be perfect for the focal.

The focal had some marcasite-look to it, so I had to then look around in my sterling findings for some rondells that would match the look. At this point, I don't have enough vintage rondells in the antiques silver color I needed, so I had to dip into less vintage findings. Although I will say, the findings I used were pretty much at least 6 years old...

Adding Newer Pearls as Necessary

I mentioned that I had to add some sterling from my own non-vintage stock, and I had to do the same for the faux pearls. I just didn't have enough of the white vintage faux pearls to make the double-strand necklace, so I improvised. I had some white faux pearls I bought around 6 years ago, so I used those as fillers where necessary.

One day I will have enough of the various vintage pearl/bead colors to make what I envision without using not-quite-vintage parts as fillers, but for now, well, I do what I have to do. And meanwhile I search ebay for the vintage beads and findings I want and need.

Vintage Costume Jewelry Redoux Necklace

Finishing it Off

Now it was a matter of attaching the necklace to the vintage clasp. When originally taking apart the clasp, I noted that the old construction used bead tips, so that's what I figured I'd use for this construction. And it worked out beautifully!

And that's something I want to mention -- look at how the vintage necklace was constructed, before you take it apart. Does it use bead tips? If not, how is it attached to the clasp? Are there any unusual construction techniques used to make it a little different?

So now you see my vintage costume jewelry necklace, redoux style.

Finding Your Own Vintage Beads, Components and Findings

I like perusing ebay for my vintage costume jewelry beads, components and findings. So here's a to redoux. And below is a small sample of what you can see available.

Happy hunting!

vintage beads lot / plus what ever extras / jewelry job

US $9.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Saturday Sep-04-2010 5:15:37 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list

Vintage jewelry lot,925,14k,20 lbs,Weiss,Coro,+ no junk

US $67.66 (8 Bids)
End Date: Saturday Sep-04-2010 4:09:31 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list

VINTAGE JEWELRY LOT GLASS BEAD NECKLACE LOT GIRVE GREEN

US $9.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Saturday Sep-04-2010 0:05:29 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list

VINTAGE JEWELRY LOT rhinestone BUCKLE EARRINGS PINK GOL

US $9.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 23:44:35 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list

Vtg Jewelry Lot Enamel Rhinestone Crystal Lewis Segal +

US $249.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 21:54:39 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $349.99
Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

ANTIQUE AND VINTAGE JEWELRY LOT, 10K, 18K, 9.4grams

US $150.00 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 21:18:29 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $165.00
Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

Vtg Jewelry Lot Enamel Rhinestone Thermoset Lisner Coro

US $189.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 20:24:29 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $249.99
Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

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Beading Inspirations: Vintage Costume Jewelry

I'm always looking for beading inspirations. Sometimes my muse goes into hiding and I have to search to get it to appear again.

Lately, I've been looking through a lot of my old beading magazines, going back to 2003. I see how the styles have changed, yet also remained the same. It really is amazing.

Well, I got some inspiration, like trying some spiral ropes, and of course the ever-present coraling bracelet. But what else was out there?

Well, I found more beading inspiration on ebay, but not from the expected sources. I was in the jewelry section, but not in the usual section. Instead, I went to the vintage jewelry area!

My eyes were dazzled by the look of some of the pieces. Vintage costume jewelry brooches, earrings, bracelets, necklaces -- all had amazing examples! And when I looked closer, I realized that many of the pieces could be replicated with today's beading techniques. Well, if not really replicated, then serve as a jumping off spot for additional ideas.

Anyway, I'd like to share with you a few of the wonderful items I found. You can see a , but below are a few pieces of eye candy, to get your juices flowing.

Get inspired!