Sell to Us · Costume Jewelry
Somewhere in the costume box, a Trifari is waiting.
Free visit · cash offers · no obligation
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 or text photos.
A real conversation about what you have, no pressure to sell.
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. Or skip the guessing entirely: text photos of the backs of a few pieces to (949) 449-1255 and we will read the marks the same day.
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.
Where do I look for the maker's mark?
Check the back of a brooch near the pin, the inside of a clasp on a necklace, and the reverse of an earring clip. Marks are small and often worn, so use a phone camera zoomed in under a bright light. Haskell used a small horseshoe or oval plaque, and Trifari put a crown over the T, which is the single most useful mark in the box.
Is unsigned costume jewelry worth anything?
Usually $5 to $50 and often sold in lots, which is the honest baseline. The exception matters though: Miriam Haskell did not mark most work before the late 1940s, so early Haskell is identified by its hand-wired construction on pierced brass filigree rather than by any signature. Do not bin the unsigned pieces before someone has looked.
Should I sort or clean the box first?
Sort nothing and clean nothing. Untangling and grouping tends to separate pieces that belong together as a set, which is worth more intact, and polishing can strip the finish off plated work and dull rhinestone foil backs permanently. Bring the whole box exactly as you found it.
Most of my mother's jewelry is from the 1970s and 1980s. Is any of it worth selling?
Honestly, most later mass-market costume brings $5 to $50 a piece and sells in lots, and we say so plainly. The value in this category concentrates in the 1930s through 1960s: signed Trifari, Haskell, Eisenberg, and good Bakelite. But families misdate jewelry constantly, and older pieces ride in the same boxes, so check the clasps before deciding. Text photos to (949) 449-1255 and we will tell you which decades you are actually holding.
Would I get more selling the costume jewelry myself on eBay?
A patient seller who can identify every piece correctly, photograph it well, and price it against sold listings will gross more per piece, minus fees around 13 to 15 percent and the labor. Costume jewelry is also one of the most misidentified categories online, and a Haskell listed as generic costume loses real money. A full box is a season of evenings. One visit prices the strong pieces individually and the rest as an honest lot.
Is there a minimum, a fee, or a consignment wait?
None of the three. There is no minimum number of pieces, no charge for the visit or the evaluation, and no consignment, so you are not waiting on an auction or on someone else's sale to be paid. We price the collection in front of you and pay cash the same visit, however many boxes it turns out to be, and you owe nothing if you decide not to sell.
The box has a few real pieces mixed in with the costume. Do we need two different buyers?
Not to find out what you have. Bring the box exactly as it is and we read the whole thing at your table: the fine pieces get a free identification with no stake in the answer, marks read out loud and explained, so you know what you are holding before anyone offers a number on anything. If you decide to part with those, we know the reputable buyers in Southern California and will point you to the right one. The costume, the signed pieces, the Bakelite and the rest of the collection get a real offer from us the same visit. What costs families money is pre-sorting the box by appearance, because the difference between a modest piece and a valuable one is a mark on a clasp, not the shine.
I have a whole collection, not just a piece or two. Do you buy in quantity?
Quantity is our favorite version of this category. The economics of costume jewelry reward volume: one strong signed piece pays for the visit, and a large collection nearly always holds several. We make house calls for larger lots anywhere in Southern California, sort everything at your table, price the signed and special pieces one by one, put one honest bulk offer on the remainder, and pay cash the same day, however many boxes it turns out to be.
One of the pins has a clear dome like glass for a belly. Is that a jelly belly?
Very possibly, and set it aside gently. Trifari's jelly belly animal pins carry a clear Lucite dome as the animal's body, and good examples bring $200 to $600 depending on the animal and condition. Look for the crown over the T on the back. Do not polish the dome or try to reseat a loose one; Lucite scratches easily, and original untouched condition is what carries the price.
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) 449-12555.0 on Google · Free visit, no obligation · Cash the same visit
Mon-Sat 6 am-8 pm · Sun 8 am-5 pm
A real person answers seven days a week, weekends included. Photos sent today are usually answered the same day.
Prefer photos? Text them straight to the same number · or send them here
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