Why Can't Costume and Fine Jewelry Just Get Along?
Zara and Prada can coexist in your closet, right? Let's talk about high-low accessorizing.
In jewelry circles, most fine jewelry fans don’t deal with the costume stuff.
“Oh, I don’t wear costume jewelry,” you’ll hear them say. I’ve even been known to snub rolled gold a time or two. But I do have a fairly robust collection of costume jewelry because, just like high-low dressing works for various reasons, so does high-low accessorizing. Those who love costume jewelry often descend the endless rabbit hole of collecting and rarely resurface to spend big money on fine. Those who collect fine often feel like they’ve outgrown anything less.
It’s kind of like in fashion circles, where most runway writers don’t deal with everyone else (read: the “lowly” supply chain or sustainability writer, i.e. me) because there’s this sense the former has something the latter doesn’t. But the thing about style is, everyone has the ability to see it, set it and wear it, regardless of which camp they fall into. And the thing about a jewelry collection is, it needs balance. Some pieces are for fancy nights out. Others are for beach days or moments when drawing attention wouldn’t be wise, and neither would losing something.
Most of us can probably agree we don’t want costume jewelry for our wedding rings, but a chunky statement earring? I’d definitely go faux. Maybe you have the budget to pay for that earring’s weight in gold, but even if you do, what would it feel like to lose that? Even costume cocktail rings are more fun because designers have the freedom to create something interesting without breaking the bank to do it.
For everyday wear, I choose fine. Things I can immerse in water, forget about and all ends well. For fun, I almost always choose costume. Pieces with color, scale, unique shapes—things that add interest to an outfit in a way fine jewelry won’t always do. And not today’s costume jewelry, of course, but the vintage pieces that have heft and craftsmanship and haven’t lost an ounce of their vibrant gild or enamel or general quality over decades of wear. Unlike factory made modern pieces, a lot of vintage costume jewelry was still made by artisans whose aim was to create pieces that feel like fine but weren’t priced like it.
Ciner is a prime example. Emanuel Ciner was the master behind the label that started as a fine jewelry house in New York in 1892. As any fine jeweler, he used gold and platinum, diamonds and precious stones. But when the Great Depression hit, people had less money and, subsequently, less ability to spend big money on a comparatively small pleasure. Jewelry sales tanked. Kimono Dragon, a hub for some of the best vintage jewelry out there, wrote of Ciner recently:
“Rather than closing its doors, Ciner reinvented itself by creating high-end costume jewelry designed to rival the elegance of fine jewelry without sacrificing quality.”
What came next was a powerhouse of costume jewelry design and some of the house’s most iconic pieces. To this day, Ciner pieces are collector’s items among jewelry lovers, faux and fine alike.
So, the moral of the story is: high-low accessorizing for the win. Just like even the richest among us don’t have entire closets of couture, striking a balance between fine jewelry and costume is what will give your jewelry wardrobe character and range. That’s the stuff that lends itself to signature style and a collection that will take you anywhere you want to go.
Thank you for writing this. The snobbery around people who think costume jewelry is beneath them is something I’ve never understood.
Agreed! There’s a place for both. As long as consumers do their research and know what they are buying… and then wear the pieces accordingly AND take care of them as needed, based on the quality.