Costume jewelry, also called couture jewelry or fashion jewelry, encompasses a wide specrum of jewelry from antique or vintage jewelry pieces to earlier period pieces to modern jewelry. Costume jewelry doesn't contain precious gemstones and probably isn't made with gold, but it's gorgeous and some of it is very collectible.

Much costume jewelry was made with bakelite. In the 1920's jewelry designers discovered that its light weight and bright colors made it a good choice for pins, bracelets, earrings, and other jewelry.

Couture jewelry is available for the European jewelers of Chanel, Dior, St. Laurent, and Givency. Designer signed collectible costume jewelry is also popular, particularly by Jomaz, Hobe, Carnegie, Caviness, Haskell, Eisenberg.

People are more willing to accept costume jewelry or fashion jewelry as part of their jewelr wardrobes. Couture jewelry is taking place of the fine jewelry because it has the same look of fine jewelry, but without the high cost.