Collector's Guides by Graham Rae, John Wainwright, Judith Miller (2003, Hardcover)

Several years ago, I decided to try my hand at selling a few pieces of vintage costume jewelry along with the textiles I had already been selling. I had always been fascinated by antique jewelry pieces and had purchased some lovely brooches, as well as a few pretty earring pairs, in high school and college. The only problem was that I had always just bought what I liked, paying little attention to designers or materials. In an effort to better educate myself on the subject, I went to a local bookstore and grabbed the only book on the shelf relating to vintage jewelry, Judith Miller's Collector's Guide to Costume Jewelry. Since then, I have browsed and/or purchased many similar books, but this has remained my favorite. Ms. Miller's book presents a wide range of designer signed and unsigned pieces, accompanied by vivid descriptions that will help beginners and more seasoned collector's develop a deep appreciation for and understanding of the elements that make vintage costume jewelry so collectible. She also manages to provide succint but extremely informative information about key designers and processes without boring the reader with large blocks of mundane text. Best of all is the fabulous photography which is so detailed that you feel as if you're holding each of the pieces in your hand!