Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** This piece explores the shifting perception of department store jewelry—once dismissed as merely functional or sentimental—now gaining recognition as collectible artifacts of American retail and design history.
There was a time when department store jewelry was considered the sensible option — not heirloom quality, not fine jewelry, just something pretty that didn’t require a trip to a jeweler or a conversation about carats. Pieces from Macy’s, Sears, JCPenney, Marshall Field’s, and similar retailers were bought for birthdays, anniversaries, and Tuesday afternoons when someone just wanted something nice.
They sat in ceramic dishes on dressers, got tangled in jewelry boxes, and were occasionally forgotten in coat pockets. Turns out, a lot of those pieces are now sitting at auction, trading hands on eBay, or being pulled from estate sales with price tags that would genuinely surprise the people who originally bought them.
What follows is a look at 28 of the most collectible vintage department store jewelry pieces — the ones that went from practical purchase to surprisingly serious money.
Trifari’s crown pin, worn famously by Mamie Eisenhower, became one of the most recognizable pieces in American costume jewelry history. Signed Trifari crown brooches in sterling vermeil from the 1940s and early 1950s can command $300 to $600 at auction, and exceptional examples with original rhodium plating intact go higher.
Miriam Haskell occupies a peculiar position in costume jewelry — pieces that were always slightly more expensive than their department store neighbors but were sold through the same retail channels and bought by the same shoppers who considered them a bit of a splurge. That splurge now looks prescient: signed Haskell Russian gold-filled and seed pearl necklaces regularly sell between $200 and $800, and exceptional multi-strand examples at auction have crossed $1,500.
Vendome was the upscale line produced by Coro, designed for the department store customer who wanted something a step above the costume counter without approaching fine jewelry pricing. Signed Vendome crystal bead necklaces — especially those combining faceted glass beads with gold-tone filigree findings — have genuine collector followings, with multi-strand examples selling between $100 and $350.
Florenza specialized in antique-revival designs that gave costume jewelry a kind of studied antiquity — pieces that looked as if they might have been inherited rather than purchased. Signed Florenza cameo brooches in ornate gold-tone settings, particularly those with carved shell or glass cameos in Victorian-inspired frames, sell in the $50 to $180 range, and the most elaborate examples with dangling drops command considerably more.
Bogoff is the department store jewelry name that collectors consistently underestimate until they pick one up — the weight is different, the stone quality is noticeably better, the plating holds. Signed Bogoff rhinestone line bracelets from the 1940s and 1950s, particularly in clear crystal and sapphire blue, sell reliably between $75 and $200, with the rarest settings pushing past $300.
Accessocraft hit a particular sweet spot in the late 1960s and early 1970s with bold, architectural pendants that feel more sculpture than jewelry. The Maltese cross designs — often in antiqued gold-tone with colored stone insets — have become steady collectibles, selling between $45 and $150, and they photograph so well that online resellers have driven prices upward over the past several years.
Hattie Carnegie sat at the aspirational edge of department store jewelry — the pieces that cost a little more and were purchased with ceremony. Signed Carnegie enamel brooches and necklaces from the 1940s and 1950s, particularly those with figural designs in Chinese-influenced red and black enamel, sell between $200 and $600, and the most distinctive designs approach four figures among serious collectors.
Hobé — pronounced “ho-BAY” — produced some of the most technically accomplished costume jewelry to ever appear on a department store counter, with sterling silver work that holds its own against far more expensive pieces. Signed Hobé sterling floral brooches from the 1940s, with their hand-wired pearl and rhinestone construction, sell between $100 and $400 depending on complexity.
Elsa Schiaparelli’s licensed jewelry line existed in a category of its own — technically department store-accessible, unmistakably designer-conceived. Signed Schiaparelli earrings in volcanic glass and aurora borealis rhinestones from the early 1950s have a devoted collector market, with clip-back chandelier styles selling between $200 and $550 and rare colors going considerably higher.
Marcel Boucher came from a background in fine jewelry — he trained at Cartier — and that training shows in the figural animal brooches he produced for department store sale throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Signed Boucher bird and fish brooches with enamel detailing and pavé rhinestone accents sell between $200 and $600, and the most intricate articulated pieces go higher.
Richelieu produced simulated pearl sets — necklace and matching earrings — that were the reliable department store gift for decades, the kind of thing purchased at the jewelry counter for Mother’s Day and kept for forty years. Signed Richelieu sets in their original presentation boxes sell for $25 to $75, but complete three-piece sets with bracelet included, or those in unusual pearl colors like champagne and charcoal, cross into the $80 to $150 range.
Renoir of California made copper jewelry that was, in retrospect, closer to wearable sculpture than to the rhinestone-and-gold-plate mainstream of its era. Signed Renoir wide copper cuff bracelets from the late 1940s through 1960s — particularly the geometric and abstract designs — sell between $60 and $200, and the largest statement cuffs with complex hammered or cutwork patterns push toward the upper end with Mid-Century design collectors.