A nifty thing happened several months ago: 20th Century had a 20% off sale for all of their Bakelite. Yes!! I could finally go live the dream!! Beacon Hill antique stores are world-renowned for their offerings and for their high price tags, and I was finally going to be able to mitigate the second part somewhat. The owner is a quiet guy who's been in the business of antique jewelry for nearly forty years. He's owned this shop in this space for about two decades. We talked about vintage plastics, and he showed me an elusive set of Haskell faux Alexandrites (in Swarovski-style crystal). He helped me to find several Bakelite bangles that actually fit me, zomg, and he got me to try on two of the most ornate, beautiful, and serious-business tiaras I've ever seen. Think Statue of Liberty meets Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Costume and fine jewelery (as well as the aforementioned gorgeous assortment of tiaras) deck out every case, every wall, very elegantly. Though there's so many beautiful things to choose from, the shop is very well organized and doesn't feel crowded. There's an entire case devoted to Bakelite. Plus, when I was there for the sale, the whole front window was decked out in vintage American plastics. This automatically makes 20th C. LTD my favorite storefront of 2011 in the city of Boston. As another reviewer mentioned, the prices are dear, but they aren't out of orbit for what's being offered. Plus, remember: it's Beacon Hill. Still, I dare you to come to Twentieth Century Limited and leave empty-handed. read more

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OMGZ complete awesomeness overload! Sometimes I long for California, but an uber-Bostonian trek through Beacon Hill always does the trick. I was already flying high when I set out on this decadently lazy Sunday afternoon, autumn wind at my back. I had no idea the day was about to get infinitely better after my visit to Twentieth Century. This is vintage accessories at their finest. A plethora of pearl necklaces for $20 and under, a slew of trinkets and baubles to adorn your ears, wrists, necks, and fingers - everything from plastic bangles to authentic antique Dior. And it doesn't stop at jewelry - perfect your throwback ensemble with the perfect pillbox hat, dainty gloves, or ladylike purse. And if you're REALLY into opulence, splurge on a tiara! The real gem for me (no pun intended) was the $10 bin. Not only is $10 already a fantastic price for these pieces, but they also have an incremental savings system - 3 for $25. But I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that it doesn't stop there - my 4-item purchase knocked the price down even further to $8 each! Between the phenomenal staff, fabulous selection, and fantastic prices, I couldn't love this place more. And a fellow shopper of mine seemed to agree, as she exclaimed several times, "I want to just live here!" So for the love of love, stay away from So Good, don't even think about Claire's, H&M, or even my beloved Anthropologie. For a bonafide treasure hunt that's sure to end in elation, check out Twentieth Century. (check out their website for a coupon - not that you'll even need it!) read more

Twentieth Century Ltd - sparkly! - Antiques Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Costume Jewelery shopping at its BEST! The selection here is better than shops I have seen in New York or LA! Walk down the steps away from Charles Street into a room of sparkles and excitement! I have spent hours here memorized by the cases and cases of trinkets. While this is technically "vintage" stuff and not super expensive, don't expect to walk out with necklaces for $5. There is a $10 bin, but most of the stuff is a little bit pricier, think $25 for an awesome pendant necklace. BUT with this selection and the quality of the items, its more than worth it. Ladies, check out the case full of tiaras, hats and vintage purses! Head to the back of the space to find a whole wall of pearls for under $30! Guys, you are not left out! The owner has the largest collection of cuff links and tie clips I have ever seen! Penguin cuff links? Maybe hot air ballons? He has it all! He even makes these special ones, from the inside of vintage clocks that my guy friend fell in love with! The owner is SUPER knowledgeable and will tell you stories and background for every piece in the store. If you are searching for something period jewelry piece wise, or gift wise, this is 100% a stop on your journey! read more

It's grandma's jewelery box - ON STEROIDS. Seriously, they have EVERY kind of jewelery throughout the decades - armloads of pearl strands, art deco broaches, portrait pendants, chandelier earrings from the 70s and even some cute vintage hats and purses. It's not only a great place for vintage jewelry, but a great place to just get jewelry! A lot of it is costume, so it's not crazy overpriced either! Also, I met one of the jewelers there and we talked about redoing a pair of earrings I inherited and for a reasonable price! I definitely trust them with my goods - they know their stuff! read more

I love this place! 20th Century Ltd. has a seriously good collection of vintage costume jewelry. The staff are extremely knowledgeable and glad to educate their customers about the manufacturers represented in their store. Nice selection of trade beads and bakelite, and tons of Haskell pieces, some rarities among them. For kicks, ask to see the (enormous!) Vrba jewelry. Great for repairs, restoration, and appraisals. They're utterly trustworthy. Note: Not a thrift store. Don't haggle, you'll offend the natives. read more

This is a literal jewel box of a store, filled top to bottom with all things vintage, exquisite, shiny, costumey, jangly and sparkly. Ducking in here to browse is a treat and a trap, because you won't be able to resist buying something. The prices aren't cheap, but seem fair, and you can find some good deals. I have a pair of glittery black art deco earrings from the 1960s that were $65 when purchased five years ago. I also have a bronze bangle and a blue glass cocktail ring that always receive compliments, costing a total of $10 from the discount bins.These are great if you have an eye and the time to look through all the pins, plastic bangles and earrings. Also, I recently bought 3 necklaces for a total price of $50: a GORGEOUS white pearl choker (1950s), a bright gold chain with an oversized yet delicate leaf pendant, and a happy blue sequin and white bead multistrand super long necklace, both 1970s. This vintage jewelry boutique has cases lining the walls, brimming with all manner of costume jewelry, grouped by material, time period, style, and designer. One could spend hours looking at the array bijoux. Its exhilarating and breathtaking. On a trip to drop off some jewelry for repair, I tried not to torture myself too much by looking at $600 necklaces and $300 rings, but I did stop in my tracks for a $200 bracelet that will now haunt my dreams. I will be going back to visit it soon and see if we are meant to be together. If you ever need a tiara, and I hope that one day i do, this is the place.They also carry smaller selections of tempting handbags, wallets, scarves, hats, gloves, cuff links, and other accouterments. This place has been around a long time and I love frequenting it. For anyone who likes jewelry (um, who doesn't?!), this place should be visited at least once. This place is truly a rare gem...hey-oh! read more

The owner lost a pin I left for repair. They have yet to find or replace it and when I stopped by today, I see t business has left. What a scam! read more

I love this store. I have gotten 3 gifts for my fiance here and she has loved them all. You will pay a bit more than you might on ebay, but in exchange for that you get the amazing selection, you can judge the condition of the pieces in person, as well as the trust knowing that the jewelry is what they say it is (which can be a big issue for vintage jewelry online). If you consider that you never get a dud from them, you probably wind up saving money. The experience of hunting through all of their cases for just the right thing is fun. I found the staff to be patient, helpful, and kind. I actually look forward to birthdays/anniversaries/Xmas so I can go back--how many dudes say that? read more

Buyer beware. I purchased a brooch here that was misidentified as mourning jet and paid $225 for it (marked down from $400!). Upon further examination, including taking it to a reputable jeweler, it was confirmed as bakelite (plastic). Bakelite in this style retails at about $30 (I found comparable examples online in the $30-$40 range). They have a large collection of bakelite so should have known the brooch was bakelite and not jet. They are either scammers and/or should not be dealing in "antique" jewelry. read more

Fascinating place with vintage hats as well as jewelry. Expensive, but I love the grab bag section where I can sometimes find some good beads in really bad jewelry. read more

Twentieth Century Ltd. is a vintage jewelry wonderland! Located in the posh Beacon Hill, they have some amazing and truly beautiful pieces from all time periods, dating back even from the turn of the century. I initially walked in to look at their cameos, and they had a vast selection.The sales associate was really helpful as well as insightful. He told us all about the different jewelry collections and how they go on acquiring the different pieces. The prices range, but the truly unique pieces are undoubtedly expensive. read more

I'm not sure who this store is trying to cater too, but it is certainly not for collectors of antique jewelry. Many of their antique earrings have been converted from screwbacks to posts rendering them worthless to collectors. When asked why they had been converted the woman snapped "no one would buy them otherwise." Um, I would have... Their Bakelite earrings have also been given the same treatment (horror) and their bangle selection consists mainly of spacers priced for $100. You can get them on eBay for 15$. Bottom line -- Way overpriced with a snobby saleswoman. As a 30 year collector of vintage jewelry, I'll never go back. read more

I had a really horrible experience with this store. In November, I purchased what I thought was an authentic Coach purse from the woman at the store (who after I purchased it, told me to go across the street to find cheaper coach bags... which I though was strange for a seller to do). The purse was priced at $200 and I received a 20% sale discount, which total with taxes, came to $148. When I got home to NYC, I looked up the style code that was on the inside of the bag and found out it was fake. A well known fake number. I called the store immediately. The man first said he didn't know that Coach bags had style numbers. They said I could return it and they would even reimburse my shipping cost. After I sent it back, I didn't hear from them. I sent them an email with the tracking number. I received a nasty reply back that there is no way I purchased the bag at the store. I immediately called them and they accused me of trying to rip them off. I had to call my bank (Chase) and explain what was going on. I submitted documents of my receipts and the story. I was traveling with a friend, so I had her submit a letter that she witnessed me modeling the purse and that I had indeed purchased it at the store (She had also purchased jewelry at the store). It took a few months, but Chase did find in my favor. I think it was because the store neglected to submit any documents themselves. But it was really a terrible experience. Their response to the situation was just awful. read more

If you bring your jewelry here to have it restrung, I would suggest being very specific with what you expect. I had three pieces done. The first one they weren't able to reuse the original clasp so without consulting me they replaced it with crappy cheap one (and broke the original in the process), completely devaluing the piece. The second one they restrung the pearls way too tight, totally changing the lay of the necklace. The last one, a bracelet, was originally strung with blue thread and they replaced it with yellow to match the beads, but changing the lovely contrast. For this I paid $50, $30, and $20 each. Not great. read more

Wow, very bad experience. I'm so disappointed on several counts. The customer service is horrendous. I've been here on several occasions and thought maybe it was a fluke, perhaps someone was just having a bad day. I love vintage jewelry, and know a medium-amount about it, but I found this place to be shockingly overpriced, and cluttered. Plus, on both of the two occasions I was in there, I found the sales staff (and the owner) to be amazingly rude and condescending. Once I dealt with a woman (maybe 60-ish) who works there, and the other time I interacted with a 40-ish guy, and also the owner, an older guy. To make a long story short, I felt that my being there was an intrusion to them. How many rude people can you get in one store? The vibe there is miserable. The unbelievably bad customer service, coupled with overpriced jewelry, makes this place one to avoid. Too bad; I wanted to like it! I would recommend Cambridge Antiques Co-op or the Waltham Antiques Co-op for good vintage jewelry and friendly, knowlegable staff. read more

I just called 20th Century Ltd. Goods on the recommendation of a friend. I was looking for 1930s style eyeglasses (which could be considered a jewelry item), and merely asked if they carried that sort of item. The woman snobbily replied "We are a jewelry store. Call the antiques store down the street". It was as if I was bothering her, especially when I asked her to repeat the name of the antiques store. It was just unfortunate and rude. I hope they are nicer to their customers in person! read more

This is my favorite shop on Charles Street. It is not handicap accessible as there are 4-5 steep steps down into the shop. They have vintage jewelry of all kinds. I think I recognized something my grandmother used to wear. read more

BEWARE!! I have had an awful deceitful experience at this store. I was visiting boston from out of town with my aunt and I spotted a ring i really loved. The woman who worked there showed me the ring. The ring had a white thread with a price tag $60 on it. I tried the ring on and told her I would come back for it. Unfortunately Sunday was the next day and they open at 12 pm and I was leaving Boston at 9:30 am. I called the shop to purchase the ring over the phone. A man answered and when I explained which ring it was he told me that ring was $150. I told him I was just there yesterday and the lady saw me try it on and even confirmed it was indeed $60 as the price tag read. He continued to tell me it was $150. I asked him to send me a picture of the ring to make sure it was the same ring I tried on. He took 20 mins to send me the picture and the ring now had a red thread attached to it with a diff tag that had pen written $150 on it. He clearly was taking advantage of the fact I wanted the ring and was not there in person to see the original tag. I told him the thread was white yesterday and the tag was different and said $60. I told him I would even pay for shipping. He did not budge and was extremely rude and even insinuated I was lying!! He is a huge scammer!! Buyer beware! read more

This place is really great. I came in here today just browsing, and found a piece that I've been looking for for months. The staff was very nice and very knowledgeable, and the jewelry was absolutely stunning. I found a 14K Gold ring with a 2K Aquamarine stone setting. Wow. It sparkles. It's breathtaking. Yes, it was very pricy, but well worth it. Ladies, send your fiancees here, they have some of the most beautiful pieces I've seen. Really. The owner/boss was a little paranoid and not very friendly, but the woman who was helping me was very very nice. read more

This store really does have a great selection of vintage jewelry from rhinestones to bakelite. I got a really cool bracelet there this week. I was tempted by some of their sterling silver cigarette cases and dance purses, too. The clerk was pretty snotty when I asked if the price on an item was at all flexible, thus my three star rating instead of five. read more

A seriously fun place to poke around. This place is crammed to the gills with fun things to look at, but if you look carefully you can see that it is loosely organized by decade and quality. At the front are the stellar vintage pieces totally out of my price range, but farther back into the store are some great affordable pieces, and even farther back, a room with vintage jewelry boxes and prints. I described the dress I was trying to coordinate with, and the guy helping me pulled out trays from behind the counter with more necklaces organized by color. I wasn't looking for an investment piece, just something to wear to a couple weddings this summer that had a little more soul than what I could find at the mall - success! p.s. Their website has an introductory coupon. read more