Origination & Description Of Costume Jewelry

Jewelry that is fabricated as adornment for complementing a specific fashionable garment or costume is known as costume jewelry. It is also familiar as fallalery, trinkets, junk jewellery, fashion jewelry, fake jewelry, etc. It is an accessory which is disposable and cheap and is meant for wearing only with a particular outfit. It was invented in the 1930s and though it was fashionable, it remained for a short phase of time. It got outdated by itself and was then repurchased for fitting with a brand new garment or style of fashion. Its chief usage is wholly in fashion and it is made up of glass, synthetic stones, plastic, base metals, which are not so valuable. The label costume jewelry dates back to 20th century. The term is a reflection of the word costume for referring what is now known as a outfit. Stimulated gemstones which were inexpensive like the brass, rhinestones, silver; Lucite, nickel, etc were used for making costume jewelry. During the time of depression even manufacturers' down-graded rhinestones for meeting the production cost. During the era of World War II a fascinating phenomenon took place when the incorporation of sterling silver was seen in designs of costume jewelry. This was mainly due to two reasons. The substances which were used for base metal were required for the production during the war time which is the military applications and there was a ban on the usage of these in the private quarter. Another reason is that conventionally base metal was quite popular as it had the ability to approximate the colour of platinum, and the similar function was fulfilled by sterling silver. Thus the production of sterling silver costume jewelry took place and still they are found in some vintage jewelry souk. A broad range of materials is incorporated by costume jewelry that is modern. Instead of valuable stones, cubic zirconia simulated diamonds; some valuable stones, high end crystals, etc are used. Metals consist of sterling silver, gold, vermeil, etc.
For almost 300 years, costume jewelry is a part of culture. But the actual golden era for this jewelry started in the mid 20th century. During this period the new middle class started wearing gorgeous but cheap jewelry. So the demand for costume jewellery began to increase at a rapid speed and in the machine age, this kind of jewelry coincided with the peoples' needs. It had become very popular.