Jewelry-on-a-Stick Collecting the Antique Hat Pin

by Lorraine Syratt ©2009

The hat pin was once thought to be a weapon rather than a practical fastener. In the early 1900's, suffragettes became angry activists, feared by some and thought to be irrational by others. As a result, hat pins longer than 9" were outlawed. This was the Edwardian period when hat styles for women were enormous and heavy under silken ribbons and feathery plumage. It wasn't unusual for a woman to need two or three 12" hat pins to hold her fashionable accouterment in place. Smaller hats for women soon followed.

Women seldom use hat pins today, but with the resurgence of the hat in fashion in the 1980s and 1990s, collectors began to view hat pins as jewelry-on-a-stick and something worthy of display.

The most sought after antique hat pins are those with fanciful stylish designs on their tips. Those made of sterling silver with art nouveau flourishes; signed pieces and those with gemstone ends in beautiful settings are all favored among collectors. Any one of these can easily be valued at $100 or more. A simple inexpensive collection might include those with a single glass bead. These less intricate hat pins were made for the masses and can be found easily for less than $10.

Learn to Spot the Fakes

•  There are numerous fakes on the market. Those designed with a series of glass beads on one end are easily recognized as fakes, but others may not be.

•  Sometimes a collector comes across a hat pin that has her stumped. These are the ones that have been re-built with both an antique stem and a piece of costume jewelry welded to the top or an antique hat pin top on a new stem. Only research will teach the collector to know the difference.

•  Look for signs of glue rather than welding.

•  Ensure the stones in a jeweled end are original and fit the setting perfectly.

A collection of vintage hat pins standing up like sentinels in an antique hat pin holder can be beautiful  and one that is fun to build, display or even wear slipped through a lapel. Nearly every antique market or mall will have a few dealers who carry a small collection of hat pins. Online venues are also great sources for hat pin collectors.