Fashion Costume Jewelry
Q.I want to buy something for my mom and I've saved up about $125. Anyways, I was browsing on the web trying to find her sometin and found something that she "might" like. It says its a opal tennis bracelet, but its under a category of "Costume Jewelry" So, what is costume jewelry? Does that mean its fake and used in costumes?
A.There might be a better definition out there, but my definition of costume jewelry is simply jewelry that is made of non-precious metals and/or non-precious gems. Some also consider it to be any jewelry that is not *entirely* made of precious or semi-precious materials. In other words, a brooch may have a semi-precious stone, but the stone is set in a polished brass setting instead of gold or silver. This piece would be considered "costume". Just because a piece is considered to be costume jewelry doesn't mean it will be inexpensive. Precious and semi-precious materials of course usually boost the price up due to costs, but someone who produces high quality costume pieces may price up to cover the amount of time they spend to make the piece. $125 isn't necessarily too expensive for the piece you have in mind. Consider that if this same design were made of 14K gold and diamonds, it might easily sell for $2000. I would encourage you to look around and compare prices you see for similar pieces based on size, materials and workmanship. If you still feel the piece is worth it, then buy it. For you, the buyer, your task is only to decide "Is this piece worth it to me?". Costume can mean many different things, but it mostly means that the metal is not either silver, gold or platinum, or that it is plated with precious metals rather than solid. You should absolutely inquire at the site about their definition of costume, and find out what THEY mean. Regardless of the metal used to manufacture this opal tennis bracelet, the cost of materials and labor could easily run to $125.00, depending on the quality of the opals used. However, I would think twice, maybe three times, berfore I spent that much on an opal tennis bracelet. Opals are VERY fragile, and the wear and tear that a bracelet is subject to is not the best use of this stone. Your mom will be replacing stones constantly, and buying it on the 'net means that having the piece serviced is gonna be a pain in the patooty. An opal pendant or earings might be a better choice, as they don't get bashed around as much. Costume jewelry usually describes jewelry that looks like more expensive jewelry, but is made from less expensive materials that may or may not be "fake." For example, a "fine jewelry" opal tennis bracelet would probably be solid 14K gold with genuine opals, whereas a similar "costume jewelry" bracelet would probably be gold plated or gold filled, with either glass opals or lesser quality genuine opals. There's also the category, "fashion jewelry." Fashion jewelry is typically made from genuine but less rare & expensive materials, such as sterling silver, semi-precious stones, and freshwater pearls.
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