Tuesday 29 March 2011

Fake jewellery on the Internet - Warning

Yesterday I was browsing the list of companies after goggling "vintage jewellery"
Finding several blogs/websites referring to vintage jewellery that were not as described. I though I would just make it clear the difference between real vintage jewellery and fake/wrongly advertised that really should be called -vintage style new jewellery. It would be regrettable for some one to buy what they thought was real unique vintage jewellery; only to find that they had brought a new piece of jewellery available in their thousands on the high street/web at present.


The word "vintage" is an age definition - not a designer or type of jewellery or clothing, etc.
It means that if something is vintage then it is at least 25 years or over and can be up to one hundred years of age. At one hundred years and over it becomes antique.  If it is less than 25 years old then it should be refereed to as second hand.

Most of the long chain necklaces with charms on, are either new jewellery that should be sold as "vintage style" or "vintage inspired". Some sites have used old real vintage components or charms and this should be included as part of the description. There are of course a few genuine vintage necklaces with charms for sale.

Watch out for vintage Bohemian jewellery on EBay, from sellers outside the UK. Much of this is in fact new jewellery being sold at high prices as vintage. Not authentic vintage Bohemian jewellery as the descriptions imply.

Also, watch for misleading/fake Sphinx vintage jewellery. The Sphinx jewellery company used numbers on some of their products. But unfortunately many are now attributing any piece of jewellery to Sphinx  - if it has a number on. The only way it can be identified to the company is if you can find an identical piece with the Sphinx logo on. The same applies to many other makers/manufacturers including Haskell, Trifari, jelly belly jewellery, etc. There are unfortunately fake and of lesser quality items being sold as the genuine articles. Care needs to be taken. If unsigned, look at the genuine Haskell or other makers on the internet. Books are also available that takes you through the components used. (E.G. Miriam Haskell Jewelry: Cathy Gordon & Sheila Pamfiloff) Does it look at the same quality? Look at the plaque, does it look as though it is different from the coloured metal of the rest of the jewellery. It often looks as though it is not quite right.

Even if the bidding on eBay is high - does not automatically mean this is a genuine item. A vintage Haskell parure or set, sold in the last few hours on eBay US for $750.00 approximately £468.40 with 35 bids. One of the earrings only had a plaque with a signature, which did not match the colour of the back. This set was a fake Haskell.

 All pieces shown are genuine vintage and second hand jewellery. All for sale on our website.
We do have a growing range of vintage inspired jewellery which is all brand new. Link for Sphinx jewellery to buy

2 comments:

  1. Dear Jewels and Finery
    I was interested in reading your article posted regarding fake vintage jewellery on e-bay. I am an ebayer myself and I have been clearing out my mothers items now she is getting older. I have a Sphinx bracelet and the matching earrings. They both have the Sphinx signature in a cartouche with a unique number. I would dearly love to find an example. When I goodgled it only one image came up for the exact same bracelet on imageevent ( I recall it was Flickr site) it is now no longer available. I suppose my query is that in your expertise, given that I have ahd these for a good 30 years is whether they are genuine I believe they are

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  2. Sphinx jewellery that you have will be the original. With Sphinx people get a piece of jewellery that has a number only and immediately attribute it to the company, but it may not belong to them. If you have the Sphinx cartouche and a number - then its the real deal.

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About Me

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Solihull, West Midlands, United Kingdom
I preserve the past. Researching family and local history. Finding about mine and other people's ancestors, is just one of my passions. I also love vintage costume jewellery made here in the UK. I write about my finds and like to research.