We’ve discussed different periods in jewelry style, but those are extremely specific. General terms to classify the age of a piece are easier to remember and useful to understand when shopping for a unique piece. A piece may be labelled as antique, when it is actually vintage and this can lead to an inflated price to an unknowing customer.
Antique
As a general rule, antique jewelry is a piece that is 100 years or older. However, some jewelrts won’t consider Edwardian jewelry as antique. The Edwardian era lasted from 1890-1920. Some jewelers will consider anything from 1920 or earlier antique, disregarding the 100-year cutoff, to include Edwardian jewelry.
Antique jewelry is a broad, generalized term for jewelry that’s over 100 years old. There are many different styles that are considered antique jewelry. This includes Victorian, Belle Epoque, Art Nouveau, Georgian and more.
Vintage & Retro
Typically, vintage pieces are those that are over 20-30 years old. It may come as a shock that a piece from 1995 can be considered vintage! However, the term is usually applied to pieces from the ’20s through’80s.
With such a wide range of dates, there are many different jewelry styles that can be considered vintage. This includes retro. Retro can be a confusing term for some because it has a different meaning in clothing fashion than in jewelry. In fashion, retro indicates a fashion that imitates a past trend. For example, retro ’60s fashion is modern clothing made to imitate styles from the ’60s. The term can also be used to indicate clothing styles in even the recent past.
However, retro jewelry is jewelry from the mid ’30 to mid ’40s. During the Depression era, instead of jewelry taking on a conservative and demure style, it trended the opposite. At the height of Hollywood glamour, jewelry was big, bold and extravagant. Other vintage styles include Art Deco, Modern and Mid Century Modern.
Estate
Any second hand piece of jewelry is considered estate jewelry. When an item, like an engagement ring, is handed down from one generation to the next, this is considered estate. As you could guess, this leads to a wide variety of what can be considered estate.
Anything older than 20 years is technically vintage, including antique jewelry. In a similar way, estate is nearly all-encompassing. To avoid labelling every piece of jewelry, antique and vintage included, most jewelers typically reserve the term for any piece second hand within the last 30 years. Keep in mind this distinction because often jewelers will use this term to make a non-vintage or non-antique piece sound older than it is. Always ask for the exact year or period.
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