Costume jewellery in one paragraph
Costume jewellery is jewellery made from non-precious materials: base metal, glass paste, rhinestones, plastic, pâte-de-verre, faux pearls. It rose to prominence in the 1920s, partly because the loose silhouettes of the decade needed dramatic accessories and partly because the post-war economy of the 1920s made fine jewellery less accessible. From the 1920s through the 1980s, costume jewellery moved from being a cheap substitute to being a designed object in its own right, signed by named houses and bought specifically for the maker's mark.
For a charity shop the practical point is that costume jewellery splits sharply into two categories: signed designer costume, which has resale value well above the materials, and generic costume, which is worth what its display looks like on a tray. Both have a place on the shop floor. Only the first has a postal-valuation case.
The named designer houses to know
A volunteer does not need to memorise every house. The shortlist below covers the names a charity shop is most likely to see, and is the right starting point for sorting.
| House | Era | Mark to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Trifari | 1918 onwards | TRIFARI, Crown Trifari (crown above the name), or KTF (Krussman-Trifari-Fishel). |
| Hattie Carnegie | 1918 to 1976 | HATTIE CARNEGIE, often with a small bow or banner. |
| Miriam Haskell | 1924 onwards | MIRIAM HASKELL on a small oval tag, often on the back of a brooch or inside a clasp. |
| Joseff of Hollywood | 1930s onwards | JOSEFF or JOSEFF HOLLYWOOD, often on a small disc soldered to the back. |
| Eisenberg | 1930s onwards | EISENBERG ORIGINAL, EISENBERG ICE or simply EISENBERG. |
| Christian Dior | 1947 onwards | CHR DIOR or CHRISTIAN DIOR, often with a year. |
| Chanel | Pre-1939 and post-1980 | CHANEL or CHANEL MADE IN FRANCE, often with a season code from the 1980s onwards. |
| Givenchy | 1952 onwards | GIVENCHY or GIVENCHY PARIS. |
Other houses worth recognising include Coro and Corocraft, Ciner, Boucher, Schreiner, Schiaparelli, Robert Originals, Lisner, Weiss, Kramer, Stanley Hagler, and Kenneth Jay Lane. A clear photo of the maker's mark on WhatsApp 07375 071158 settles the identification quickly when the volunteer is unsure.
Where to look for the maker mark
The mark is rarely on the front. It is almost always somewhere the wearer would not see, which makes sorting more efficient if a volunteer knows the four places to check.
- Back of a brooch. Near the pin mechanism, sometimes on a small soldered plate. The most common position.
- Inside the clasp of a necklace or bracelet. On the lobster clasp itself or on the connector tab. Easily missed.
- On the safety chain of a brooch or bracelet. A small soldered tag, sometimes with the maker name and a country (FRANCE, USA, MADE IN ITALY).
- Back of an earring. On the clip mechanism, on the screw fitting, or stamped into the metal directly behind the stone setting.
Why signed Trifari is worth so much more than unsigned
Trifari was one of the most prolific costume houses of the 20th century, and produced thousands of designs from the 1920s to the 1970s. The house is collected today, and pieces are bought by name. A signed Trifari brooch, with the Crown Trifari mark on the back, carries a designer premium above any unsigned visually-identical piece. The signature is the value tell.
An unsigned brooch from the same era, in the same alloy, with the same rhinestones, sells on the shop floor for what the rhinestones look like on the day. The materials are the same. The market is not. This is true of every named house on the shortlist, not just Trifari. Signed Hattie Carnegie, signed Miriam Haskell, signed Eisenberg: all carry the same premium pattern.
Materials: rhinestones, paste, glass and pâte-de-verre
Costume jewellery uses a range of glass and crystal materials. The volunteer is not expected to identify them by sight, but the rough categories help with sorting.
- Rhinestones. Faceted glass or crystal stones, often foil-backed, set in claw or pavé settings. The dominant material in 1930s to 1960s costume.
- Paste (glass paste). An older term for cut glass stones, used in 18th and 19th-century costume. Heavier than modern rhinestones.
- Pâte-de-verre. Moulded glass, sometimes opaque, with a slightly matt or frosted surface. Used by some French houses.
- Lucite and Bakelite. Early plastics. Bakelite (1920s-40s) is heavy, warm to the touch and turns yellow with age. Lucite (post-war) is lighter and clearer.
- Faux pearls. Glass or plastic beads coated with a pearlescent finish. Miriam Haskell pieces are especially known for high-quality faux pearls.
On the sorting table, the material does not need to be identified before bagging. The maker mark is the primary signal. If the maker is on the shortlist, the piece is worth flagging regardless of the stone type. If there is no maker, the piece stays on the shop floor at a fair retail price.
1980s Chanel and the reproduction question
Chanel costume jewellery from the 1980s is one of the most counterfeited categories on the market. The genuine 1980s Chanel pieces, often gold-tone with faux pearls and the CC monogram, were produced under Victoire de Castellane and Karl Lagerfeld and carry a season code (a small numeric stamp on the back) plus the CHANEL MADE IN FRANCE mark. Reproductions are common, both period-era unauthorised copies and modern fakes.
A volunteer is not expected to authenticate a Chanel piece. The practical step is to set it aside and send a clear photograph of the back, the clasp and the season code (if visible) on WhatsApp 07375 071158. Genuine 1980s Chanel costume can carry a substantial premium; a reproduction is generic costume. The maker-mark position, font, weight and finish together tell the story, and authentication is more reliable from a clear photo than from a volunteer's eye.
Joseff of Hollywood: the film-studio jewellery
Joseff of Hollywood was the costume jewellery house that supplied most of the major Hollywood studios from the 1930s through the 1950s. Pieces appeared in hundreds of films, on the necks and wrists of named actors. The Joseff mark, a small disc soldered to the back of the piece reading JOSEFF or JOSEFF HOLLYWOOD, is the value tell. Genuine Joseff pieces, especially those traceable to a specific film, carry strong collector premiums.
Joseff used a distinctive 'Russian gold' plating, a slightly matt golden-bronze finish that does not look like ordinary gold-tone costume. The combination of the finish and the disc mark on the back is a reliable identification. As with any signed costume piece, a clear photo on WhatsApp is the right next step.
Eisenberg: the heavy weight clue
Eisenberg costume pieces, especially the EISENBERG ORIGINAL and EISENBERG ICE lines from the 1930s and 1940s, are notably heavy for their size. The house used high-quality Swarovski rhinestones in large claw settings, set in cast metal with substantial weight. A volunteer picking up an Eisenberg brooch will usually feel the weight before reading the mark. Signed Eisenberg pieces carry strong premiums, especially the wartime sterling-set examples.
Generic costume vs designer costume on the sorting table
Most costume jewellery in a charity donation pile is unsigned generic costume, and the right place for it is the shop floor at a fair retail price. The minority that is signed by a recognised house belongs in a separate bag for postal valuation. The practical sorting rule is binary: turn the piece over, look for a mark, check the mark against the shortlist or send a photo.
- Signed by a recognised house. Set aside for postal valuation. Photograph the mark on WhatsApp before posting.
- Unsigned but heavy, well-made and clearly vintage. Worth a second look. Some unsigned pieces are unmarked work by named makers. Send a photo if uncertain.
- Unsigned, light, modern-looking. Generic costume. Price for the shop floor.
- Plastic, broken or visibly damaged. Stay on the shop floor at a low price, or recycle.
What happens once a designer costume piece is set aside
The shop manager or head-office contact sends a clear photo of the maker mark and the piece on WhatsApp 07375 071158 or phones 07763 741067. We give an indicative figure on the day, send a free Royal Mail Special Delivery prepaid label covered up to £2,500 (higher available on request before posting), and the shop posts the parcel at any Post Office counter.
On arrival, each piece is inspected, the maker mark verified, the materials and condition assessed, and the piece priced against the costume jewellery market. A written itemised offer goes back to the charity's head-office contact. If accepted, payment is sent by Faster Payments to the charity's registered bank account, same day where the offer is accepted before 3pm UK time. Indicative figures move with the market; the firm offer is set only after the piece is inspected. If declined, every item is returned, free, tracked and insured.
A 60-second briefing for a volunteer
If a new volunteer is joining the costume jewellery table, this is the briefing that gets them useful in a minute.
- 1. Turn the piece over. The mark is never on the front. Back of a brooch, inside a clasp, on a safety chain, behind an earring.
- 2. Check the mark against the shortlist. Trifari, Hattie Carnegie, Miriam Haskell, Joseff, Eisenberg, Dior, Chanel, Givenchy.
- 3. Photograph the mark. Close-up, sharp, on a plain background.
- 4. Bag separately. Signed pieces in their own bag. Unsigned pieces to the shop floor.
- 5. Send on WhatsApp. 07375 071158 for an indicative read before posting.
Common questions
Why is a signed Trifari brooch worth so much more than an unsigned one?
Trifari pieces are collected by name. The Crown Trifari mark on the back is the value tell. An unsigned visually-identical piece is generic costume; a signed Trifari is a designer piece with a recorded house, recorded design history and a resale market.
Where do I look for the maker mark on a brooch?
Almost always on the back, near the pin mechanism. Sometimes on a small soldered plate. Always turn the piece over before pricing.
How can I tell a real 1980s Chanel from a reproduction?
Genuine 1980s Chanel costume carries CHANEL MADE IN FRANCE and a season code (a small numeric stamp). Authentication is more reliable from a clear photo than from a volunteer eye. Send the back, the mark, the clasp and the code on WhatsApp 07375 071158.
A piece is signed Joseff Hollywood. What does that mean?
Joseff of Hollywood supplied costume jewellery to Hollywood film studios from the 1930s onwards. Signed Joseff pieces, especially those traceable to specific films, carry collector premiums. The distinctive matt golden-bronze finish is a useful secondary identifier.
An Eisenberg brooch feels very heavy for its size. Is that normal?
Yes. Eisenberg pieces from the 1930s and 1940s are notably heavy because of the cast metal and the large Swarovski rhinestones. The weight is itself a clue, alongside the mark.
Is unsigned costume jewellery worth posting for valuation?
Mostly no. Unsigned generic costume sells on the shop floor for what its display looks like. The exceptions are unsigned-but-clearly-fine pieces from named makers who sometimes did not mark all output; if a piece looks unusually well-made, send a photo on WhatsApp 07375 071158 before deciding.
What if we change our mind once we see the written offer?
Free insured return of any item the charity chooses not to sell. No fees, no pressure, no part-accept clauses.