Fashion jewelry has several name, including: costume jewellry, fake jewelry, junk jewelry and fallalery. Fashion jewelry or costume jewelry as it is popularly known became famous during the 1930’s as a cheap accessory to compliment specific outfits. Its designs and shapes changed with change in the fashion world. In a sense costume jewelly is meant to be used for a certain period of time and discarded. Its main use is to display fashion of the wearer, different from he ‘real’ jewellry made of precious stones and metals.
History of fashion jewelry:
Costume jewellry is made of less valuable materials including base metals, glass, plastic, and synthetic stones; in place of more valuable materials such as precious metals and gems. The use of fashion jewelry started almost 300 years back. 17th century saw the advent cheap glass made jewelry. During the 18th century jewelry of semi-precious metals started to be worn. This jewelry challenged the fashion trends of the aristocratic society. The cheap price of the newly found jewelry made it popular among common people. During industrial revolution of 20th century, people felt attracted towards aesthetic, gorgeous but cheap jewelry. New technologies started to produce the fashion jewelry on a large scale, which pushed its price further down.
Components of fashion jewelry:
Initially fashion jewelry was made of inexpensive components to make it popular among general public. Some original components were: gemstones (like- rhinestones), silver, nickel or brass. In today’s fashion-centric atmosphere, cosmetic jewelry has attained higher significance with the use of wide varieties of materials. Some of them are:
- high end crystals
- cubic zirconia
- simulated diamonds
- semi-precious stones
- gold- or silver-plated brass
- sterling silver
- gold plating
- nickel
- plastic
- acrylic
- leather
- wood
In modern society, cheap as well as costly; both types of fashion jewelry is available in the market.
Popularity of fashion jewelry:
Exact replicas of the high-end jewelry made the fashion jewelry highly popular. The arrival of several multinational brands in this industry, gave a major boost to fashion jewelry market. Some of them are:
- Crown Trifari
- Dior
- Monet
- Napier
- Coventry
Hollywood movies richly contributed behind the upsurge of fashion jewelry. The movie stars used to flaunt it in movies and became brand ambassadors of fashion jewelry of famous designers. Their innumerable fans, being inspired by such promotions started to wear them. Moreover, the easy availability of celebrity fashion jewelry in the market, contributed to its popularity. Coco Chanel, the great fashion designer, holds a high position in the history of fashion jewelry. She popularized the faux jewelry with the use of gold and faux pearls in it.
Fashion jewelry market:
Fashion jewelry industry has become a global industry. Almost all the continents have become specialized in particular areas of fashion jewelry. Australia, Africa, Russia and Canada supply the raw materials. India, China, India, Italy and Turkey are famous fashion jewelry production hubs. Its largest markets are located in USA, Europe, Far East, Middle East and Asia. During the last few years, India and china have witnessed a great rise in the fashion jewelry demand. By 2015, the global industry is estimated to touch $230 billion, with China and India leading the charge. There are certain problem areas in the industry which can be addressed if the supply of raw material becomes well-organized.