Designer

This single word means a lot of things, to a lot of people. There is usually an item or two (or more!) by designers that you’ve wanted to own for a long time, but for one reason or another, you haven’t taken that leap.

There are plenty of hesitations, although the main one tends to be the price tag. Designer items are often considered “elite” or “exclusive”, and part of the reason for this is that these high-quality items often have a lofty price tag. The prices are often influenced by the price of obtaining materials, gemstones, and the simple fact that many of these high-end items are hand-made, and tend to be made in limited quantities.

This exclusivity poses many questions, most of which fall into the category of “How do I get a designer piece for myself?” For many people it comes down to one denominator: saving. So if you had the option to get a designer item, at retail quality, and avoid retail prices, wouldn’t you take it? A bag that is $6000 purchased new at a Louis Vuitton store might be 50% off in a store that sells like-new vintage designer bags, which means you have an extra $3000 to spend on whatever you want!

There are plenty of options and avenues to pursue, but one of the most viable for both economic and environmental reasons is looking for vintage designer items.

“Vintage” often gets misrepresented, especially when it comes to designer items. Many people believe that since vintage items are seen as “old”, that they have to be in poor condition, worn-out, or simply outdated. The reality, in fact, is quite the opposite.

Many places, including Leo Hamel Fine Jewelers, are incredibly specific about what they will purchase, meaning that any vintage items are in great, if not perfect, condition. All of our vintage designer items are in new, or like-new condition, and will hold their condition, and value, for a long time to come.

An added bonus of buying designer from second-hand sellers, especially ones like us, is that we carefully research all items brought to us to make sure they are authentic, high-quality, and a piece that we are proud to carry in our store. When you visit a brick and mortar store like ours, you don’t have to worry if that bag you’re buying is real or not because we’ve already done the work for you. Skip the hassle of researching serial numbers in blurry e-bay photos and come visit our showroom.

Additionally, vintage designer items often have a timeless look to them. Or, if they are very era specific, they follow the trends of that era and are highly sought after because of this. Current trends in fashion are leaning heavily into the aesthetics of decades of the past, and can be seen in collections from Forever21 to Veronica Beard to Gucci and more.

Upcycling and reviving vintage items is a very on trend at the moment, so much so that in December of 2020, Vogue reported that the hashtags of #upcycling and #vintage have a combined 8 billion views on TikTok, and since then that number has only increased to 5.8 billion for upcycling alone, and an additional 11.8 billion for vintage. Keep in mind, this is only one platform of many.

The prevalence of fast fashion in our culture has created an environmental deficit and has pushed many younger people to seek for ways to maintain their unique styles while trying to minimize their impact on the environment. Fast fashion is fashion made quickly in factories that is only meant to last for a season or two, and the clothes that are thrown away tend to have a lasting impact on the environment in addition to the already harmful environmental run-off from making these items. This social push has trickled its way through society, and we are seeing a rise in thrift/bargain hunting, vintage reselling, and vintage designer becoming more popular than ever before.

In our store alone, we carry a myriad of vintage designer names, like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Tiffany & Co., , like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Tiffany & Co., David Yurman, Chanel, and more. Each of our pieces, while it may not necessarily be unique from the brand, is unique in the fact that we are likely to never have two of the same piece in our store, though that doesn’t mean we can’t find you your sought after piece.

Additionally, because stores like ours are high end re-sellers of pre-owned items, you won’t find better prices at big box stores, even during their biggest sales of the year. We are consistently better priced than retail, and our skilled staff has the time and ability to help you find the vintage designer piece that fits your lifestyle and personal preferences.

Vintage designer items also give you plenty of options for gifting to the designer lover in your life, without making you pay full rack rate for the pieces. You can give them the brand name they want, at a price you’ll love, all while being an ethical consumer and not contributing to environmentally damaging practices.

If you’re considering adding designer names to your jewelry and accessory collections, we are here to help! Feel free to come down to our showroom at 1851 San Diego Ave, San Diego CA 92110, where we would be thrilled to help you find the perfect pieces for you, or the designer lover in your life.