Often people say, if you want to invest, buy „real“ jewelry. But you should know that the worth of an ordinary real piece will be only the material costs. So usually you will loose the price you were paying for the crafting and design-job.
Jewelry was always the biggest luxury to show off your wealth:
To show the world that you are able to spend the money on things you need at least to survive.
Ironically is was for ages the only financial insurance women got. They were given diamonds for each child they gave birth to, not to forget the proposal and wedding ring. Sometimes these were her only personal belongings.
Thankfully the society left these passes and went to a world were women don’t need these „give aways“ anymore and therefore can enjoy the pure beauty of jewelry.
With women’s emancipation vanishes the dream of being a princess with a crown and a ring that looks like being dropped in the Buckingham palace.
Women like to wear jewelry to feel good, to bring light and style to their wardrobe (and body).
110 years ago modern women started massively to develop their own clothing style and with it came jewelry.
Due to industrialization and working-women, the fashion industries were born and fashion democratized.
Jewelry, splited up in traditional and modern designs.
Funny enough the modern ones are the ones to still fascinate people looking for the spirit of former cultural vibes.
The fashion costume jewelry could go further, they experimented with wood, metals, raisin, enamel… It was made for expression and fun and it was made by hand, so there went as much knowledge and finesse in the pieces as in real jewelries.
Even more: In these small fashion-objects is the whole spirit of designer collections included!
They are kind of a fashion essence and the best of it: Less delicate, storage-complicated or fitting- dependent.
So: If you buy real good vintage designer jewelry you are rather collecting a fashion item than jewelry!
And therefore the price depends on the designer, the fabrication, the rarity, the provenance, and its condition. In most of all cases it will rise in value as this kind of high-quality costume jewelry runs out and there will always be people who estimate nicely handcrafted cool designs from former times.