Sell to Us · Costume Jewelry · San Diego
San Diego kept its costume jewelry. We drive down for it.
San Diego's costume jewelry has a particular character, and it comes from the Navy. Sailors shipping out of this port for eighty years sent home sweetheart brooches, mother-of-pearl pins, and jewelry from Pacific ports of call, and the families kept them. Add the mid-century closets of La Jolla, Coronado, and Point Loma, households that entertained through the cocktail decades, and the county's estates give up costume jewelry that is better than anyone expects.
We buy costume jewelry across San Diego County, in person, for cash. We are the team behind Old 44 Vintage in San Juan Capistrano, and the sorting is the service: every clasp and pin stem checked under a loupe for the signatures that matter, suspected Bakelite tested properly, condition read honestly. The good pieces get priced individually and the modest pile gets a fair lot offer, with the reasoning explained as we go.
What San Diego boxes tend to hold
Sweetheart and military jewelry
Wartime brooches, wing pins, mother-of-pearl hearts, and jewelry sent home from Pacific deployments. San Diego produces more of it than anywhere we buy.
Signed designer costume
Miriam Haskell, Trifari, Eisenberg, Weiss, Coro Duette, and the other names collectors pay real money for.
Bakelite and mid-century pieces
Carved bangles and figural pins, plus the sculptural gold-tone jewelry of the 1950s and 60s cocktail years.
The whole inherited box
Unsorted, tangled, fine mixed with costume. We separate it on the table in front of you and price each pile honestly.
Regular routes from Oceanside to Chula Vista
We run San Diego routes regularly from our Laguna Hills warehouse: down the coast through Oceanside, Carlsbad, and Encinitas, into La Jolla and Point Loma, across to Coronado, and south to Chula Vista. Costume jewelry usually rides along with an estate or a downsizing, and we are glad to evaluate the rest of the house on the same visit, from jewelry to denim to the garage. The visit and the evaluation are free, with no obligation, and we pay cash before we leave.
A Recent Find
A 1940s Levi’s Type 1 jacket, sold to us by a former dealer who knew exactly what he had. We paid $12,000 in cash, the same day.
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
My grandmother's box has Navy pins and brooches mixed in. Do those matter?
Yes, and please do not separate them out. Sweetheart jewelry has its own collector market, and pieces with a named ship, squadron, or a Pacific port history can carry real value. We know the difference between the common pins and the special ones, and we price them honestly.
Do you really drive to San Diego for costume jewelry?
Yes. We run San Diego routes regularly, and a good jewelry box justifies a stop on its own. Text photos of the box and a few close-ups to (949) 449-1255 and we will tell you the same day whether a visit makes sense and when we are next in the county.
How do you decide what a piece is worth?
Signature first, then construction, materials, and condition. Verdigris, missing stones, and re-glued backs move the number down; a crisp signed piece in clean condition moves it up. We explain each of those calls at the table, so the number never arrives as a mystery.
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