Vintage Costume Jewelry Reference Book

One of the best ways to get started researching vintage jewelry is going to your local library.  I was amazed at the number of books available at the library on vintage costume jewelry.

Warman's Costume Jewelry Identification and Price Guide by Pamela Y. Wiggins was the first book I checked out of the library for reference.  After checking it out, I purchased my own copy as I knew I would look at it for information again and again.  Here is an image of the book as well as some of the reasons why I valued it.

One of the features of this book that I really like is that it divides up the time periods by year.  So not only does it have the most popular designers with their own sections but it also has the 1920s, 1930s, etc. up to the 2000s, as well as, Late Victorian: 1880-1900 and Edwardian: 1900-1920.  

My copy of this book has the copyright date of 2014 which is one of the newer reference books in my collection.  

One section that I refer to often is the section on earring findings.  It shows you photos of many of the clips from different times.  One in particular that I was looking for has a heart shape on the clip.  It was a brass back from the 1930s which was used during the transition from screws to clips.  

What I have noticed when I compare all of my reference books is that the authors have their favorites, just like we do.  So many books will have one designer, where others may not.  Be sure to look at the Table of Contents before purchase to make sure you find the reference book that has the designer who's information you look for most often.  

Here are a few examples of earring backs.  The first is a set of B & N screw back earrings.

The next two pair are Sarah Coventry clips and you can see the style has the hallmark on the back of the clip. 

The last pair is a Marvella set of clip earrings.

I have found that the style of earring clips is a great resource is narrowing down the age of a pair of earrings, particularly if they are unsigned.