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Vintage Jewelry

Antique and vintage jewellery, new or estate. Adin's exquisite jewelry collection houses some beautiful examples of engagement rings.

Original vintage jewelry

See our: vintage jewelry.

To know something about vintage jewelry, one really has to dig into many (sometimes complex) factors. Some of these will be touched upon in the About Antique Jewelry section of the Adin website and in Adin's Vintage Jewelry Glossary. Although we do not intend here to delve into matters in depth, the following chapters give a good idea on vintage jewelry and what it's all about.

Vintage jewelry (also called estate jewelry) is a term used for previously owned jewelry and for pieces of jewelry made in earlier (style-)periods and not necessarily pre-worn. It is not a dequalifying designation as many pieces of vintage jewelry typically feature fine workmanship and high quality stones, as well as one-of-a-kind pieces. To be called "antique", a piece must be more than 100 years old. Vintage jewelry includes many decades or eras. Each era has many different designs. These eras include Georgian, Early Victorian, Mid-Victorian, Late Victorian, Arts and Crafts era, Art Nouveau, Edwardian, Art Deco and Retro.

The word "jewelry" (American spelling) or "jewellery" (British spelling) is a derivation of the word "jewel", which was anglicised from the Old French "jouel" some 800 years ago, in around the 13th century. The word "jouel" itself comes from the Latin word "jocale", meaning "plaything". Jewelry can be made out of almost every known material with the purpose to adorn nearly every part of the body.

Vintage is a term that varies even more than antique, mainly because collectors have different standards for what attains the vintage status in their particular area of speciality. The word vintage comes from wineries and includes quality in its definition "characterized by excellence, maturity, and enduring appeal" so while an antique can be anything that is particularly old (and assumably saleable) items that are vintage would be presumed to be of high quality. The stones used in vintage jewelry are usualy of a high standard as well. Most commonly used are diamond, sapphire, emerald, ruby and opal.

Browse our catalogue to see what kind of vintage fine jewelry we have to offer for online sale. You can find gold, silver of platinum engagement rings, wedding bands or brooches. You can even find a nice necklace or bracelet.

The following is a recap of the most interesting vintage jewelry subjects:

Vintage jewelry and its function:
Jewelry are objects, whatever material they are made of, that we use to ornament ourselves. Whether put, pierced through, or hung on our body, their function is to show or pretend our status. It is obvious that ...
(Click the title to read more on this vintage jewelry related subject)

Materials used in and for vintage jewelry:
What materials do we use to make ourselves look prettier? 'Metals' is the obvious (though not exclusive) answer. These we can divide into: precious metals (gold, platinum, silver), non-precious metals ...
(Click the title to read more on this vintage jewelry related subject)

Different alloys used in and for vintage jewelry:
What is an alloy and what can you achieve by influencing it? Which alloy is better and which worse. Is it worth more or less etc.? An alloy is a mixture of different metals, which for jewelry has to contain ...
(Click the title to read more on this vintage jewelry related subject)

Combination of metals used for vintage jewelry:
The use of the different metals together isn't arbitrary, or at least not originally. About 2-300 years ago it was common for diamonds to be set in silver. Jewellers of that time believed that only a silver mounting ...
(Click the title to read more on this vintage jewelry related subject)

Reasons for wearing vintage jewelry now and in the past:
Jewellery is often created for a special occasion or reason to show that the wearer follows a certain sport, belongs to a certain club i.e. free masons, to a certain part, in memoriam etc. Or a special happening ...
(Click the title to read more on this vintage jewelry related subject)

Laws and regulations concerning vintage jewelry:
Around 1800 Napoleon abolished the guilds and left the regulations of gold and silverware to the legislator. But what was the role of the guilds? The guilds guaranteed the integrity of the concerned trades ...
(Click the title to read more on this vintage jewelry related subject)

Hallmarks to be found on vintage jewelry:
There are many (hall-)marks to be found in vintage jewelry. Some 19 different sorts in all. The chance of finding them struck all together in one piece is non-existing. Normally there will be between two and five ...
(Click the title to read more on this vintage jewelry related subject)

Designs of vintage jewelry:
Over the years it was royalty who commissioned and set trends for the different fashions. Obediently followed by the nobility and bourgeoisie. The church too was a very important commissioner, although more ...
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Vintage jewelry devided into style periods:
In this chapter on vintage jewelry styles you will find an overview that shows the different vintage jewelry styles and their names in the different countries over the ages ...
(Click the title to read more on this vintage jewelry related subject)

Fakes and counterfeits in vintage jewelry:
Not everything known as fake is actually a fake. There are many kinds of fakes that have an intrinsic value of their own. Take the original Russian silver object that may have a fake Fabergé mark ...
(Click the title to read more on this vintage jewelry related subject)

Vintage jewelry, birthstones, monthstones and healing power:
Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist traditions mingled with pagan legends led to the association of certain stones with different months, astrological signs, Tribes of Israel and Apostles ...
(Click the title to read more on this vintage jewelry related subject)

Ring size comparison list for vintage jewelry from various countries:
Here you will find an extensive list for the comparison of all ring sizes as used in all countries in their local units, both for new as for vintage rings.
(Click the title to read more on this vintage jewelry related subject)

Extensive vintage jewelry glossary:
The Adin Vintage Jewelry Glossary is an extensive explanatory list of subjects that are related to jewelry in general and vintage jewelry in particular and is still growing every day ...
(Click the title to read more on this vintage jewelry related subject)

Commonly misspelled vintage jewellery terms


Want to know more about antique jewelry styles? Go to our antique jewelry style overview.

Select your category of
vintage Jewelry:

All our antique jewelry

vintage rings
vintage earrings
vintage brooches
vintage necklaces
vintage pendants
vintage lockets
vintage slides
vintage stickpins
vintage pocket watches
vintage cufflinks
vintage signets
vintage medals
vintage buttons
vintage walking gear
vintage writing gear
vintage chains
vintage various
vintage women accessories
vintage men accessories
vintage loose stones
vintage bangles
vintage bracelets
vintage sewing utilities
vintage brooche and pendant in one
vintage crosses
vintage silverware
vintage long dangling earrings
vintage bar brooches
vintage bol chains
vintage book accessories
vintage buckles
vintage chains with bows
vintage long chains
vintage charm bracelets
vintage chatelaines
vintage compass
vintage double clips
vintage stud earrings
vintage long hanging earrings
vintage fausse montre
vintage fab keys
vintage garment closure
vintage key rings
vintage miniatures
vintage needle cases
vintage orders
vintage perfume bottles
vintage pill boxes
vintage seals and intaglios
vintage sealing wax holders
vintage shawl clips

vintage jewelry with diamonds
vintage jewelry with rubies
vintage jewelry with sapphires
vintage jewelry with emeralds

vintage rings with rose cut diamonds
vintage earrings with rose cut diamonds
vintage brooches with rose cut diamonds
vintage pendants with rose cut diamonds
vintage pendants with diamonds
vintage chains with rose cut diamonds
vintage bangles with rose cut diamonds
vintage bracelets with rose cut diamonds
vintage combined brooch and pendant with rose cut diamonds
vintage jewelry with rose cut diamonds

vintage jewelry with pearls
vintage jewelry with agate
vintage jewelry with alexandrite
vintage jewelry with amber
vintage jewelry with amethyst
vintage jewelry with aquamrine
vintage jewelry with cornelian
vintage jewelry with chrysophrase
vintage jewelry with citrine
vintage jewelry with English crystal
vintage jewelry with garnet
vintage jewelry with hematite
vintage jewelry with jade
vintage jewelry with jasper
vintage jewelry with jet
vintage jewelry with lapis lazuli
vintage jewelry with layer stone
vintage jewelry with malachite
vintage jewelry with marcasite
vintage jewelry with moonstone
vintage jewelry with nephrite
vintage jewelry with onyx
vintage jewelry with opal
vintage jewelry with paste
vintage jewelry with peridot
vintage jewelry with quartz
vintage jewelry with rock crystal
vintage jewelry with spinel
vintage jewelry with strass
vintage jewelry with tanzanite
vintage jewelry with tiger eye
vintage jewelry with topaz
vintage jewelry with tourmaline
vintage jewelry with turquoise
vintage jewelry with natural zirkon
vintage jewelry with starlite
vintage jewelry with hyacint

vintage jewelry with bone
vintage jewelry with clay
vintage jewelry with coral
vintage jewelry with faiance
vintage jewelry with glass
vintage jewelry with horn
vintage jewelry with iron
vintage jewelry with ivory
vintage jewelry with lavastone
vintage jewelry with leather
vintage jewelry with mica
vintage jewelry with mother of pearl
vintage jewelry with human hair
vintage jewelry with human teeth
vintage jewelry with porcelain
vintage jewelry with silk
vintage jewelry with turtle
vintage jewelry with wood

vintage jewelry with animal theme
vintage jewelry with floral theme
vintage jewelry with cameos
vintage jewelry with heraldic theme
vintage jewelry with human theme
vintage jewelry with insect theme
vintage jewelry with love theme
vintage jewelry with luck theme
vintage jewelry with marine theme
vintage jewelry month related
vintage jewelry with music theme
vintage jewelry with mythological theme
vintage jewelry with naval theme
vintage jewelry with tassles
vintage jewelry with dangles
vintage jewelry with hidden spaces
vintage jewelry with micro mosaic and pietra dura
vintage jewelry with trembleuse
vintage jewelry with script
vintage jewelry with Arab text
vintage jewelry with Chinese text
vintage jewelry with Cyrilic text
vintage jewelry with Greek text
vintage jewelry with Hebrew text
vintage jewelry with Hierogoglyphs
vintage jewelry with Japanese text
vintage jewelry with Latin text
vintage jewelry with message
vintage jewelry with question mark
vintage jewelry with anchor motif
vintage jewelry with arrow motif
vintage jewelry with bell motif
vintage jewelry with belt motif
vintage jewelry with building motif
vintage jewelry with cartoon motif
vintage jewelry with Christmas motif
vintage jewelry with wedding motif
vintage jewelry with Baptism motif
vintage jewelry with cooking and eating motif
vintage jewelry with dance motif
vintage jewelry with fairy tale motif
vintage jewelry with flag motif
vintage jewelry with historical motif
vintage jewelry with landscape motif
vintage jewelry with legends and myths motif
vintage jewelry with transport motif
vintage jewelry with mourning motif
vintage jewelry with musical motif
vintage jewelry with remembrance motif
vintage jewelry with ribbon motif
vintage jewelry with romantical motif
vintage jewelry with bow motif
vintage jewelry with sports and games motif
vintage jewelry with sword motif
vintage jewelry with tools motif
vintage jewelry with war and peace motif
vintage jewelry with whip motif
vintage jewelry with comet motif
vintage jewelry with moon motif
vintage jewelry with star motif

red gold vintage jewelry
yellow gold vintage jewelry
platinum vintage jewelry
silver and gold vintage jewelry
silver vintage jewelry

vintage jewelry with wirework
vintage jewelry with filigree and granules
vintage jewelry with enamel
vintage jewelry with plique ajour enamel
vintage jewelry with fringes

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