It’s perhaps a misconception that all vintage jewelry, especially vintage costume jewelry, will cost you an arm and a leg. For every Crown Trifari poured glass brooch, there are 10 inexpensive Avon bar pins. If you’re just starting your vintage jewelry collection, there really is no need to rush for the $500 pieces. I’d argue that many affordable vintage costume jewelry pieces are almost on par with their more expensive and collectible counterparts in terms of craftsmanship.
Long story short? Cheap doesn’t always mean low quality. I sort out tubs of costume jewelry every week, and I’m actually surprised when I find out how inexpensive some beautiful pieces are online when I go in to check their comps. If you’re on the lookout for affordable vintage costume jewelry brands, here are my top five maker recommendations!
Avon
Style: Coquette girls would have a field day with vintage Avon, since the brand is known for faux pearls, bow motifs, dainty shapes, and floral designs. You’ll find a bevy of lovely picks like mini cameo pendant necklaces, bow brooches, cherub earrings, rhinestone tennis bracelets, and bar pins from Avon’s vintage collection.
Vintage Avon jewelry does occasionally include more maximalist statement pieces, like the brand’s chunky beaded necklaces from the ‘80s. I’ve been coming across these in my recent jewelry lots. And speaking of maximalist style, I would also characterize Avon jewelry as generally playful without being over the top, as you’ll find designs with animal motifs and colorful enamel or plastic materials. It’s fancy, but not too fancy or stuffy. It is, after all, an MLM brand.
Price point: For the most part, Avon jewelry is extremely affordable, typically under $10 to $20. There are certain Avon collabs that can cost quite a pretty penny—like its Elizabeth Taylor ones, for example.
Monet
Style: I’d go for Monet any day. It’s timeless, versatile jewelry that will match with practically anything. Monet is all about understated gold and silver tone accent pieces with classic faux pearl and rhinestone embellishments. You’ll find classic shapes like flowers, starbursts, and butterflies. I think of Monet as mom jewelry because I’d often buy my mom Monet brooches for Mother’s Day.
Price point: Most vintage Monet pieces go for under $30 on resale platforms, unless it’s a particularly eye-catching style, like a crystal rhinestone necklace or cameo pendant.
Gerry’s
Style: Most Gerry’s brooches are from the ‘60s to ‘90s. I’d recommend Gerry’s to anyone who loves a cute trinket. Most of Gerry’s pieces are sweet and small—kitschy rather than groundbreaking. Gerry’s is also perfect for the Christmas pin collector. The brand designed a ton of festive pins back in its heyday, producing everything from Christmas trees to holiday bows.
Gerry’s also cranked out a fair deal of animal and foliage brooches, so it’s a good brand to browse for nature lovers.
Price point: Gerry’s is INCREDIBLY affordable, if not dirt cheap. I’d say that the majority of its pieces are under $10. You do slightly compromise quality for affordability, as the enameling and metal plating is prone to chipping, but this vintage jewelry brand really does have its charm.
Sarah Coventry
Style: Like Avon, Sarah Coventry has MLM roots, but it ain’t cheap quality. For some reason, Sarah Coventry always reminds me of the movie Carol, probably because the titular character often wears very Sarah Coventry-coded pieces. When I think of Sarah Coventry, I think of AB rhinestones, bird and flower motifs, and starburst pins, often in brushed gold or silver tone colors. Sarah Coventry reminds me a bit of Monet in that there’s a timelessness to it, even if it touts a bit of a mid-century 50s/60s feel. Sarah Coventry created a wide range of pieces, from rivoli pendant necklaces to gold tone bird pins.
Price point: You’ll usually find Sarah Coventry pieces for under $20 on sites like Etsy and eBay, although some of its glass earrings and pendants can be a bit up there in pricing.
1928
It is common advice to recommend that jewelry sellers not get too attached to their inventory, but I really do have a bit of a soft spot for 1928, which produces Art Deco and Victorian replica pieces. You’ll find plenty of cameos, bar pins, and faux pearl embellishments amongst 1928’s offerings–it’s the perfect brand for coquette lovers. 1928 pieces aren’t usually stamped, but they do have a signature swirly design on the back. Keep in mind that 2028 is a more modern subsidiary, so you’ll find more contemporary fashion pieces with 2028.
Price point: 1928 jewelry usually goes for $15 to $30, and it’s highly collectible!
Affordable can sometimes be inflated with cheap quality, but this really isn’t the case for most vintage jewelry offerings. If you’re on a budget and on the market for a quality vintage jewelry piece, you can’t go wrong by browsing any of these brands. My one piece of advice would be to check the pieces very carefully before purchasing them, either IRL by inspecting every nook and cranny or online by zooming into listing images.
Before you leave, I’d love to plug in my vintage Etsy jewelry shop for your perusing! If you loved this article, you can also send me a Ko-Fi donation below.
