My Vintage Tennis Necklace Deep Dive
Last month at Sarah’s wedding, I spotted her aunt wearing this sparkly necklace that looked like tiny diamonds all lined up. Everyone kept staring at it. Later I found out it’s called a vintage tennis necklace. Honestly? I thought tennis necklaces had something to do with sports. Felt dumb.
Started digging online and found zero good English articles explaining the hype. Annoying. So I messaged three vintage jewelry sellers on Instagram pretending I wanted to buy. One ghosted me, one sent generic pics, but Lisa from Chicago actually video-called me showing her collection. Super nice lady.
She broke it down while holding up different pieces:
- It’s basically unbreakable – The chain links are like tiny bricks locking together. She tugged hard on one to show me. Freaked me out.
- Anyone can wear it backwards – The clasp sits in front like a pendant trick. Her 70-year-old client does this for grocery runs. Hilarious.
- Fake stones fool everyone – Lisa’s own necklace was cz and white sapphires. I couldn’t tell from real diamonds even on video.
Got so obsessed I drove to every thrift store in town last Tuesday. Found a rusted 90s version for $30 at Goodwill. Took it home, soaked in baking soda overnight. Next day, scrubbed with toothpaste like Lisa taught me. The metal actually shined up decent! Stones still looked cloudy though.
Took my $30 project to the mall jeweler. Guy laughed and said “honey that’s costume jewelry.” Felt embarrassed until he pointed at the clasp – no brand marks, and the prongs holding stones were crooked. Real ones have perfect little claws apparently. Learned two things: 1) You can’t polish trash into treasure 2) Mall jewelers judge hard.
Why’s everyone going nuts over these? After my wild goose chase, it’s simple: They’re the sweatpants of fancy jewelry. Looks expensive, feels comfy, and you can literally sleep in them without stabbing yourself. Lisa wears hers walking her pitbull. That’s the real design secret – it survives real life chaos.
Still hunting for my vintage piece. Found one on Facebook Marketplace yesterday, but the seller wants $1,200. Might just stick with my cloudy Goodwill special for now. At least when my toddler yanks it, I won’t cry over the price.