Vintage jewelry is all the rage at the minute, and there’s plenty of good reason for it. If you’re interested in getting some vintage jewelry but you need some convincing, or maybe if you’ve recently inherited some vintage jewelry and you’re curious – here are 4 reasons why it’s better to buy vintage.
Let’s check them out.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
What's Inside
The movement towards being more green has been huge in the last decade or so. It’s reached every corner of our society, including our jewelry. A lot of new jewelry is made as ethically and responsibly as possible, trying to have as little environmental impact as possible.
Vintage jewelry, however, couldn’t be more a more ethical way of accessorizing. Not only is there absolutely no environmental impact made by vintage jewelry, but it’s the greenest way to buy jewelry today. Reusing jewelry is a great way of recycling and staying as ethical as possible when you’re looking for new accessories. Equally, when you have jewelry that you no longer wear, putting it back into the cycle of preowned and preloved jewelry is the best way of keeping lean and green.
Unique Beauties
At the risk of sounding like an old fogey, they don’t make jewelry like they used to. It’s been said about almost everything, but it is worth noting that a lot of new jewelry on the market today is very similar. Like most things, there are trends that become popular, and then the mainstream follows the trends, rather than diverging into new territory.
What makes vintage jewelry so brilliant is that it’s unique to its time. Most of it is handmade with craftsmanship that simply doesn’t exist today; it’s sturdy, it’s beautiful, and it looks completely different to anything newly available on the market. If you’re interested in jewelry that’s set apart from the rest, vintage jewelry is definitely the way for you. As is the case with vintage clothing, vintage jewelry offers something different and unique that could become a staple of your wardrobe.
Value for Money
Obviously, luxury jewelry is often expensive, no matter how you look at it. But, time and time again, you will see that buying vintage gets you more carat per dollar than buying brand new. Whether it’s an understated piece or something larger than life with lots of gemstones and a high carat weight, something that’s previously owned with that vintage twist is going to be much easier on your wallet.
Another way that buying vintage gives you a financial advantage is through the beauty of time. Antique jewelry is often worth more than vintage or even new since it can have significant heritage and can gain value by virtue of its age alone. With this in mind, buying vintage allows your jewelry to accrue more value in a shorter time than buying new.
En Pointe
As we mentioned earlier, going green and trying to be conscientious is very on-trend at the moment, as it should be for those of us in the position to make well-informed decisions about our purchases. This extends to all things style. Not only is thrift shopping more popular than ever for the ethics of it, but also the styles of the past – both wacky and wonderful – are back in a big way.
With this in mind, everything from the biggest vintage brooches to the most stunning vintage sapphire rings are at the peak of popular style and fashion today. What’s more, while general fashion will inevitably come and go, jewelry is more consistently popular. Every few decades, different metal colours will be more popular, but generally, a good piece of jewelry is for life.
There are lots of reasons to buy vintage jewelry, and it’s satisfying enough to get your hands on that people become collectors. Are you convinced? Is vintage jewelry for you?