Designer Jewelry Gems

Imitation jewelry, commonly called costume jewelry, offers an affordable alternative to real jewelry, which can be prohibitively expensive. Every woman wants a extensive selection of bracelets, necklaces, pendants and ear-rings, and a lot have some exquisite pieces of real jewelry, however a wide collection of real gold and precious stones is not affordable for most.

This is where imitation, or costume, jewelry comes into play. It is true that, at the bottom end of the market, some imitation jewelry is of poor quality and is rightly called ‘junk jewelry’, it is also possible to get some excellent imitation jewelry that is nearly impossible to tell apart from the genuine article. Such imitation pieces will not be pure gold, but will be gold plated, and will be far less expensive than real jewelry.

Imitation jewelry originally became the rage in the ’30s when it was used as a low-cost fashion accessory for certain outfits. The idea was that the imitation jewelry would fast go out of fashion and would be replaced to match the next style that emerged. Imitation jewelry was an immediate hit and has been massively popular ever since.

Usually, imitation jewelry is manufactured from lower-cost materials such as plastic, glass, base metals, and synthetic or non-precious stones. Although some of the more expensive imitation jewelry will use gold plating, semi-precious stones or American diamonds, and the finished product can be extremely close or even identical to the real thing.

The design and production of imitation jewelry has become a massive industry. There are thousands of manufacturers globally producing high-quality necklaces, bracelets, tiaras, ear-rings and all kinds of jewelry to a very high standard. Some of the top-quality imitation jewelry originates in countries like India and Thailand where there is a long tradition of making top-quality products. However, some of the best jewelry is mass produced and marketed by western fashion giants such as Dior, Chanel and Coventry.

These days, the US has by far the biggest demand for jewelry globally, with over thirty per cent of the market share. With such a huge demand for both authentic and costume jewelry here, it is little wonder that there is an excellent range available in stores and on the internet. Competition between dealers can be fierce, so there are some excellent bargains to be had.

While imitation jewelry will never truly attain the quality, beauty and value of the genuine article, it remains popular even in the most elite circles. Movie stars such as Audrey Hepburn owned unique items of imitation jewelry, while Barbara Bush wore a faux pearl necklace to her husband’s inaugural ball.

Many unique pieces of imitation jewelry such as this are valuable collectibles, as are a lot of of the more distinctive, high-quality pieces. Therefore, it can be seen that costume jewelry needn’t be a sacrifice, but a valuable addition to any woman’s jewelry collection at a fraction of the cost of the ‘real thing’.