Selecting Vintage Jewelry For Your Wedding Day

 

Once the perfect wedding dress is found, brides often begin to think about accessories.

If you are looking for a way to get your jewelry choices to stand out (while satisfying the “something old” requirement), one option is vintage jewelry.

Fun fact: To be considered vintage jewelry, the jewelry piece must be more than 20 years old yet less than 100 years old.

Jewelry that has been around for a long period of time has seen a lot of history, and when you wear it you’re becoming part of that history! Whether you are looking for complex diamond arrangements, elaborate settings, metal, or gemstones, you can find pretty much anything you’re looking for in a vintage jewelry piece.

Here are some of the tips from Invaluable for sourcing the best vintage pieces.

Hand Me Downs

When you’re looking to get some new-to-you jewelry, your first instinct may be to buy it. However, why tap into your budget when you likely already have some great jewelry in your family?

Your relatives (or soon to be mother in law!)may have plenty of special jewelry pieces that they’d be more than happy to share with you. Wearing a family heirloom on the big day couldn’t be more meaningful. This is also a great way to check off “something borrowed” from your list!

Place Your Bid

You can buy almost anything online these days, and it can certainly be a great way to save time. But if you want to find something that no one else will have, you’ll want to stay away from the more obvious online retailers.

Luckily, there are plenty of unique shops on sites like Etsy, and quality online auction sites like Invaluable. Etsy brings you a very personalized shopping experience and offers many handcrafted options, while Invaluable deals only with reputable auction houses and carries a wide variety of vintage jewelry pieces that you won’t find anywhere else.

Old Fashioned Footwork

You know that one quirky, old shop in your town that has been there for years but you’ve never been to? Every town has at least one! If you’re really on a quest for original pieces, then these are the places you want to go. Call your bridesmaids and turn it into a shop-hopping adventure!

Even if nothing jumps out at you, you can ask the store owners for other places to check out! Or use a site like Gsalr.com to find local garage and estate sales that may hold hidden gems.

Shhh, It’s Fake…

In all honesty, finding an authentic piece of vintage jewelry that matches your style, and fits you perfectly, can be a challenge. You’re planning a wedding here, so time is of the essence. If all else fails, don’t be afraid to compromise.

If you can’t find a true vintage piece, there are plenty of modern pieces that are inspired by vintage designs can be just as good, and no one’s going to know the difference. You can easily find replicas of certain pieces or even modern jewelry that was designed with a certain era in mind. Even if it’s not authentic, it will still be just as beautiful!

Fall In Love With It

No matter where it comes from, or what it looks like, it’s your jewelry on your wedding day and you need to love it. In the end, that should be your only requirement for finding the piece of jewelry that’s right for you.

Thanks to Invaluable for sharing these Vintage Jewelry tips with us!