End of April Book Review by Sam Mitchell Title: Costume Jewelry 101 the basics of starting, building & upgrading Author: Julia C. Carroll Type of Book: Large Soft Bound Average Price: $24.95 In or Out of Print: In print Number of Pages: 304 Brief Description of Book: Julia has put together a really good book in a format that is great for the beginning collector. Really unique to the book is Julia’s acronym “GUIDE” and how each letter is used in evaluating the jewelry you want to buy 1. NOTE: Reviews Based on the following Scoring Measure: 1 Being "Forget It" and 10 Being "Must Have" QUANTITY OF PICTURES: Comments: Lots of pictures SCORE: 8 QUALITY OF PICTURES: Black and White Pictures? Color? How good are the pictures? Are there close ups of the marks? Comments: All jewelry pictures are in color with Add’s in black and white. Surprisingly enough there are few pictures of marks SCORE: 7 QUANTITY OF INFORMATION: Range of information offered? Is information thorough? Comments: Basic dates and operation history with each jewelry designer along with her unique “GUIDE” recommendations. SCORE: 8 QUALITY OF INFORMATION: Accuracy (are there mistakes?): Comments: SCORE: 8 VALUES LISTED: Are they helpful or realistic? Comments: Lots of the prices in the book are really good SCORE: 8 USER FRIENDLY:Is the book easy to read and follow? Are things easy to find (table of contents/index)? Comments: No problems here SCORE: 9 TOTAL AVERAGE SCORE: 8 Is this a must have book? YES Overall Comments: A must have book for the beginner and makes a good quick reference for the pro. Her use of the acronym “GUIDE” is a really great addition to the book in helping you evaluate the jewelry you are looking to buy. Her Four recommended Designers for the beginners “Trifari, Coro Weiss and Kramer” are good recommendations for the beginners because they are plentiful and easy to find, and are collectible in varying degrees. The rest of the book gives brief info on a wide variety of designers, including some you may not have considered such as “11 W. 30th Street” “1928" and “Sadie Green”. The book also gives you a small section on Upgrading you collection, tips for selling online or Ebay , Basic Repairs and Cleaning, Cataloging, Storing and Insuring a collection. | |
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