Finding Vintage "Gems" at Union Max

I grew up with costume jewelry. I love the structural quality of it, the cuffs and collars, the giant glimmering stones. Costume jewelry always seems more impressive than anything else you are wearing, and certainly more impressive than any fine jewelry you could possibly wear, short of the Hope Diamond or the collection of Cleopatra.

Today the fashion world calls costume jewelry “statement pieces,” which really just means big, exciting jewelry that isn’t made out of anything too fancy. But in my eyes, most of this stuff doesn’t hold a candle to vintage costume jewelry – to the gorgeous pieces of the 1940s, 50s and 60s – the heyday of costume jewelry.

My favorite place to go in search of vintage costume jewelry is Union Max, on the corner of Union and Columbia streets, just off the beaten path.

Susan Goldberg has owned the store with her daughters for 11 years now, and while the shop sells great vintage clothes and tchotchkes, it is the beads and jewelry that is its crowning glory.

In 1991, Goldberg bought out portion after portion of the bead stock of a jewelry factory on West 37th Street in Manhattan, which was going out of business.

She suddenly found herself with quite a lot of vintage beads.

“This is the tip of the iceberg,” she told me when I asked just how many beads she has.

The beads range for ten cents to three dollars, and if you’re artistically inclined, you won’t find beautiful specimens like this anywhere else.

Likewise, Goldberg’s collection of costume jewelry is expansive, and constantly being replenished.

“Most of the pieces are from the 50s, but there are also earlier pieces, from the 20s, as well as pieces from the 80s.”

Union Max has become a destination point for costume designers and fashion stylists, Goldberg told me.

The difference between antique costume jewelry and contemporary “statement pieces,” besides aesthetic preference, is that antique costume jewelry is shockingly affordable, unlike some jewelry today that will cost you $300, and yet it’s not made of anything "worth" much.

I found an incredible “silver” necklace from the 60s, from which hangs a very large almost tree-like pendant. With a strapless black dress it would be stunning. This necklace is priced at $30, and like everything else in the store, is virtually one-of-a-kind.

Another favorite piece of mine is a necklace from either the late 40s or early 50s (it exhibits the structuralism of the 40s style). Made of golden beads and tubes, it is gloriously three-dimensional. The curved tubes resemble spider legs, and yet it doesn’t suffer from the boring literalism you sometimes see in jewelry. This necklace is highly architectural, one hundred percent unique, and only $35.

Union Max has an astounding stock of rhinestone jewelry dating from the 1950s, the golden age of rhinestones.

“People used to dress up then,” Goldberg explained, “women would put on this jewelry to go to the movies on Friday nights. Now everyone is in jeans.”

What is most phenomenal about the rhinestone pieces is the design – necklaces that hang like bolo ties, earrings so intricate it’s astounding. Most of the rhinestone earrings are priced around $50-60, and they are breathtaking.

But if you’re looking for something a little more subtle and everyday, Goldberg has a section of $6 jewelry that is quite delightful. So delightful, in fact, that I purchased a pair awhile back to wear on New Years Eve. Nothing flashy, but lovely.

“Someone could get something that pleases them for very little  - we’re a recession store,” says Goldberg. “You can get a pair of earrings for $6 that will make you very happy.”

Indeed.

***

Official hours are Friday through Sunday 1 - 7 p.m.

Call ahead during the week, as Union Max is often additionally open during weekday afternoons (718) 222-1785