Imitation jewelry, sometimes called costume jewelry, is a low-cost alternative to real jewelry, which can be prohibitively expensive. Every woman would like a large collection of rings, necklaces, pendants and jewels, and many own some beautiful items of real jewelry, but a wide collection of real gold and precious stones is not affordable for most.
This is where imitation, or costume, jewelry comes in. While it is true that, at the bottom end of the market, a lot of imitation jewelry is of low quality and is rightly called ‘junk jewelry’, it is also possible to get some very high-quality imitation jewelry that is almost impossible to tell apart from the genuine article. Such imitation pieces may not be pure gold, but will be gold plated, and will be far less expensive than real jewelry.
Imitation jewelry first became the rage in the ’30s when it was used as an affordable fashion accessory for certain outfits. The idea was that the costume jewelry would fast go out of fashion and would be replaced to match the next style to come along. Imitation jewelry was an immediate hit and has been hugely popular ever since.
For the most part, imitation jewelry is produced from lower-cost materials like plastic, glass, base metals, and synthetic or non-precious stones. Although some high-end imitation jewelry will use gold plating, semi-precious stones or American diamonds, and the jewelry can be very close or even identical to the real thing.
The design and production of costume jewelry has become a huge industry. There are thousands of manufacturers around the world producing high-quality necklaces, anklets, tiaras, ear-rings and all kinds of jewelry to an extremely high standard. Some of the best imitation jewelry originates in countries like India and China where there is a very old tradition of crafting top-quality products. That said, some of the best items is mass produced and sold by western fashion giants such as Dior, Chanel and Coventry.
At present, the United States has by far the highest demand for jewelry globally, with more than 30% of the market share. With such a huge demand for both genuine and costume jewelry here, it is no surprise that there is an excellent range for sale in stores and on the internet. Competition between sellers can be fierce, so there are some real bargains to be had.
While costume jewelry will never really match the quality, beauty and value of the real thing, it remains popular even in the highest circles. Hollywood stars such as Audrey Hepburn wore unique items of imitation jewelry, while Barbara Bush wore an imitation pearl necklace to George’s inaugural ball.
Many unique pieces of imitation jewelry such as this are very expensive collectibles, as are many of the more distinctive, high-quality pieces. Therefore, it can be seen that imitation jewelry needn’t be cheap and tacky, but a genuinely valuable addition to any woman’s collection at a fraction of the cost of the ‘real thing’.