Vintage Filigree Jewelry

Q: I am a collector of vintage costume jewelry. I'm looking for others who might like to discuss, share and sell/swap information and pieces. My favorites are Haskell and Joseff. Please respond directly to me or via this network.

A:I'm assuming you mean Joseff of Hollywood. One of the booths in the Sampler Shoppes in Las Vegas has the largest selection of Joseff of Hollywood jewelry I've ever seen. It can be found some places in Los Angeles too. The issue with Joseff jewelry, from what I understand, is that new pieces are being made today by the company with old (never before used) findings. That makes it difficult to know if a piece is a newly-crafted piece made of old material or a genuine vintage piece. If you know a way around this dilemma, please advise. The aforementioned booth also sports a signed letter from Joan Castle Joseff. Haskell prices have gone through the roof on the West Coast, with some dealers putting laughably high tags on their merchandise. We all chuckled about one dealer whose avarice is well-known; he found a Haskell necklace (a nice one with the gold filigree and lots of tiny wired seed pearls, you know the type) and put $1,500 on it. Last I'd heard he had reduced it to $900 but it still hasn't sold. (My feeling, from watching auction results and price guides, is that it's a $250 retail value piece.)

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