Vintage clothing stores usually sell costume jewellery and tend to be a bit more affordeable than jewellers - for example, 'Steinberg and Tolkein' on the Kings Road has an interesting and mostly affordeable selection. Down the same street there is the Antiquarius Antiques Centre, which (amongst the jaw-droppingly expensive fine jewellery) also has a lot of small stalls selling costume jewellery and accessories, like bags and compacts. (Sloane Square tube for both).

In Greys Antique Market (Bond St tube) there is a fair amount of costume jewellery too, though a couple of points of caution - some of this can be quite pricy and the market has limited opening hours (ie not open at the weekend).

One favourite of mine is 'Judith Michael and Daughter' on Regents Park Road - the selection is small, but interesting. (Chalk Farm tube).

Also try Camden Passage (Angel Tube). Alfies Antique market (Edgware Rd tube) also has a fair selection.

In general, pretty much anywhere in London will be pricier than sourcing jewellery from internet stores/Ebay etc.

On our last trip, we visited Camden Passage. I got a lovely sterling silver chain and locket with scroll work on it for the equivalent of about $20. I could have bought lots of other cool stuff too if DH hadn't stopped me!!

another vote for Camden passage.
I didn't buy jewelry but a victorian blouse.

Excellent tips - thanks all!

I found some interesting pins in a charity shop just north (first stoplight, I think) of the S. Kensington tube stop. There's a post office on the left side at that light so turn right & on that street there are a few charity shops. Worth a look.

Camden Passage at Angel. The best day to go is Wednesday, if you can.

If you want to know more about costume jewellery, you should read British antique expert Judith Miller's "Costume Jewelry" from Dorling Kindersly.

Thin

Thanks for that book tip, Thin.

Besides the markets - definitely be on the look out for charity shops. Virtually all of them have some costume jewelry.

This long TimeOut article lists some of the best geographically http://www.timeout.com/london/shopping/features/2503.html

Oh - well -- the grammar is wrong - but the link is good

covent gardens had market stalls with costume jewellery

The Covent Garden Market is on Monday mornings

If you're getting to Portobello Rd via Notting Hill tube then have a look at the vintage clothes exchange. It's in that road that leads to the market and has the Sun in Spleandour pub in it (Pembridge Rd I think it is - but don't hold me to that).

That has a load of tom (Tomfoolery = jewelery) in it, most of it costume stuff.

There's a great shop called The Button Queen near Bond Street station. Many many funky and antique buttons, which may be up your alley.

http://www.thebuttonqueen.co.uk/

Srry, haven't read the replies just about to finish my break at work and wanted to recommend Camden Market.

partyon: The thread and the OP's trip were 18 months ago. It was topped by an advertiser who got zapped . . .

Opps, that what I get for logging on quickly during a break from work. Something really does need to be done to reduce/eliminate advertising on these forums.

All good suggestions. You could also look out for Sunday antiques fairs. They have lately been held at the Rembrandt Hotel across fromthe V&A.

check out www.gbaw.co.uk

Even though it was topped by an advertiser, this is one example of a thread I might find useful. Didn't see it the first time, and full of interesting tips. Glad it percolated to the top again.

I agree, Nikki! I guess that even scofflaws can be helpful sometimes.

I went thru a spree of buying random old (super cheap in most cases) jewelry on eBay ~2-3 yrs ago, just for fun, as I know less than nothing about it, but I certainly had a good time while doing it!

I wonder if such ads as the one above are an "unintended consequence" of the way Fodor posts now appear on Google. Anyone who wants to hawk their wares can do so more easily now, it would seem......

The ad is gone . . Actually, we get a lot less advertising than we used to. Only the odd numbskull now -- used to get regular spam attacks.

I found an amazing enamel butterfly pin for 6 GBP in an antique shop in Edinburgh off the Royal Mile. The little old lady running the shop must have been in her 80's and was the sweetest thing. It was one of my favorite purchases.