Sell to Us · Costume Jewelry
Somewhere in the costume box, a Trifari is waiting.
Nine tenths of any costume jewelry box is exactly what it looks like: pleasant, wearable, worth a few dollars a piece. The other tenth is why we ask to see the whole box. Miriam Haskell’s hand-wired baroque pearls, Trifari’s crown-marked figurals, Eisenberg’s theatrical rhinestones, Schiaparelli’s strange and saturated stones. These were costume in name only, and collectors now pay real money for the right examples in the right condition.
The signatures hide on clasps, hook backs, and pin stems, which is why so much good costume jewelry gets sold by the pound at yard sales. We check every closure. We also test suspected Bakelite properly and look hard at condition, because verdigris, replaced stones, and re-glued backs change the answer. Then we sort honestly by the tray: this pile is modest, this pile is not, and here is why.
Names worth pulling out of the pile
Miriam Haskell
Baroque pearl necklaces and brooches with hand-wired construction, signed on the plaque or hook.
Trifari
Crown Trifari figurals, Alfred Philippe designs, and jelly belly animals with Lucite centers.
Eisenberg
Eisenberg Original and block-letter pieces, big theatrical rhinestone brooches from the 1930s and 40s.
Schiaparelli and Weiss
Schiaparelli’s odd, saturated stones and Weiss rivoli and japanned pieces in clean condition.
Bakelite and Coro Duette
Carved bangles, cherry pins, figural brooches, and Coro Duette double-clip mechanisms that still work.
Costume country, from Palm Springs to Long Beach
Southern California is unusually rich costume territory. Palm Springs closets hold the cocktail-hour pieces that came out every night through the 1950s and 60s. Long Beach and Whittier estates yield 1940s sweetheart brooches by the drawerful. And the studio history of Los Angeles means theatrical pieces, Eisenberg and Joseff of Hollywood among them, surface here more than anywhere else in the country. We buy across the whole region from our Laguna Hills warehouse on Moulton Parkway, and we sort in front of you: signed from unsigned, Bakelite from Lucite, the pile worth real money from the pile that is simply pretty. You get one clear number and an honest account of how we reached it. The visit is free.
Our Word
One phone call is the whole process. A real person answers, we come to you, and you decide with a cash offer in hand.
How it works
Call us.
A real conversation about what you have, no forms, no waiting.
We come to you.
We look at everything, at your pace. We know what we're seeing.
Cash offer, same visit.
A fair price on the spot, or a full estate sale run for you.
Common questions
How do I know if my costume jewelry is signed?
Look at the clasp, the hook, the pin stem, and the backs of earrings. Signatures are tiny, often a stamped cartouche or a raised mark in the metal. Many were worn nearly smooth. We bring a loupe and check every closure at the visit, so you do not have to guess.
What is verdigris, and how much does it hurt value?
Verdigris is the green corrosion that grows on base metal, usually from moisture or old perfume. It spreads, it is hard to reverse, and collectors avoid it, so it genuinely lowers what we can pay. We will show you exactly where we see it and price around it honestly.
Will you buy the whole box or only cherry-pick the good pieces?
Either, and we tell you which trade is better for you. Usually we sort the box on the table, price the strong pieces individually, and make a fair lot offer on the rest, so nothing is left behind for the family to wonder about.
Know what it’s worth before you sell.
Our field guides explain how the market actually prices these things. No fishing, no hype: real ranges and the details that move them.
One call. We’ll take it
from there.
(949) 449-1255Mon-Sat 6 am-8 pm · Sun 8 am-5 pm
A real person answers, Monday through Saturday. Photos sent today are usually answered the same day.
Prefer photos? Text them straight to the same number · or send them here
Also from California Vintage Buyers
- Orange County jewelry boxes are full of names nobody checked.→
- The best costume jewelry in America was made for Los Angeles.→
- San Diego kept its costume jewelry. We drive down for it.→
- Sell estate jewelry to buyers who read the signature first.→
- Read the ring before anyone weighs it.→
- Sell gold jewelry to a buyer who looks before weighing.→