There are a lot of great resources out there, if you know where to look. Below, you’ll find a variety of resources I have found or been recommended, including a couple of antiques dealers that I truly trust.
Books
A lot of these books are out of print, but may be available through abebooks or other used book stores.
Antique jewellery
- Vivienne Becker: Art Nouveau Jewelry
- Vivienne Becker: Antique and 20th Century Jewellery
- Roseann Ettinger: 1840-1940 Popular Jewelry
- C. Jeanenne Bell, GG: Answers to Questions About Old Jewelry 1840-1950: Identification and Value Guide
- John Benjamin: Starting to Collect Antique Jewellery
- David Bennett and Daniela Mascetti: Understanding Jewellery
- Judith Miller: Miller’s Antiques Marks: More than 6,000 marks to identify your silver, ceramics, glass and other treasures
Jewellery in general
- Christie Romero: Warman’s Jewelry: Fine & Costume Jewelry
- Susanne Ganiscke and Yvonne J. Markowitz: Looking at Jewelry: A Guide to Terms, Styles, and Techniques
Gemstones
- Richard W. Wise: Secrets of the Gem Trade: The Connoisseur’s Guide to Precious Gemstones
- Keith Wallis, FGA: Gemstones: Understanding, Identifying, Buying
- Renée Newman, GG: Gemstone Buying Guide: How to evaluate, identify, select & care for colored gems
- Cally Hall: Gemstones: The clearest recognition guides available (Smithsonian Handbooks)
- Judith Crowe: The Jeweler’s Directory of Gemstones: A Complete Guide to Appraising and Using Precious Stones, from Cut and Color to Shape and Setting
Online resources
- The Society of Jewellery Historians
- American Society of Jewelry Historians
- Antique Jewelry University
- The Silver Hallmarks Directory
- Antiquers forum
- Birmingham Assay Office
Places to buy antique jewellery
Miscellaneous
- Antiques Freaks (a podcast that is more about vintage and collecting than antiques, but very entertaining!)