The costume jewelry market has seen an increasing number of pieces made from new molds taken from vintage originals. Dozens of familiar designs are being sold by operations in California, Florida and North Carolina, using production and assembly labor from different points overseas. Eisenberg, Trifari, Boucher, Hobe, Weiss, Coroa and Coro Craft are only some of the popular old names being reproduced in a broad range of styles.

There are more and more pieces of Bakelite being carved from blanks of old stock. Since this was first described in the February 2000 issue of ACRN, many readers have asked for more information. Shown here is a 1 wide red Bakelite bracelet recently carved from old stock. This piece is currently selling in a mail order catalog for $100. An authentic vintage piece of similar size, color and carving would be worth $250-$350.

How to decide if its old, repro, fake or a look-alike.

Most articles you read on these pages include old examples side by side with reproductions. With this months subject - badges and watch fobs - we are only showing the reproductions. Why Because the vast majority of these new items have no old counterparts. They are fantasy items.

Photos by Larry Stanley

A Missouri wholesale company recently expanded its line of imitation and fantasy badges, fobs and diestamped metal novelties to include the figural fobs shown here. These new pieces are actually quite well made and show remarkable detail. Most, however, like the Alcatraz electric chair and the Dalton safe, are only cleverly created fantasy items without any authentic old counterparts. Wholesale prices for these pieces average $5 to $9.

One of the best ways to avoid reproductions and fakes is to know and understand how originals are made. Reproductions are rarely made the same as originals due to changes in materials, labor costs and modern production techniques. When looking at brooches, you can get a good idea of the age of the piece by studying the catches, hinges and pins Fig. 1.

Two widely faked marks on base metals in the market are 14K Italy and 585 These forged marks commonly appear on pieces with no gold content.

At the time of the last feature article on costume jewelry in 1996, fakes and copies were being made of some of the more expensive originals including the socalled jelly belly pieces.

New keywind pocket watches with painted cases were first shown in ACRN in September 1999. The decoration on those watches was a head and shoulders portrait of Tsar Nicholas II. The decoration on the latest watches is a wooden sailing ship in a storm tossed sea.