What Is Costume Fine 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? Sure is expensive if that is what it means.
A: 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.