Vintage Costume Jewelry Designers

     I have chosen to present some information on a few of the designers whose jewelry you will find at, "Let's Get Vintage." I hope this information will add to the enjoyment of viewing, and perhaps purchasing, the special items found here.

ALICE CAVINESS:

From Marcia Brown's book, "Signed Beauties of Costume Jewelry":

"Sparkles" Brown: The legacy of Alice Caviness is in the bold, imaginative colors of costume jewelry that truly reveal the personality of the woman behind the sparkling rhinestone reflections and flowing design lines of each piece bearing her name.

A raised oval tag with Alice Caviness emblazoned in block letters soldered on the back of her jewelry proudly proclaims the reason that buyers eagerly add her jewelry to their collections. Alice Caviness opened her jewelry business in 1945. Not only did she design her own jewelry line, but she was involved in every step of design, production and sales. She made many trips to Europe where she charmed the French with her style and mode of dress.
Failing health dimmed her eyes , and she retired from active jewelry work in 1970. She died in 1983, but her legacy lives on in the fine jewelry proudly worn by today's collector's.

Characteristic of Alice Caviness jewelry:

Imported beads, striking colors, bold color combinations, cross motif, sold in high end boutiques.

BOUCHER:

From Marcia Brown's book, "Signed Beauties of Costume Jewelry":

Frenchman, Marcel Boucher, came to the United States as a young man in 1925. He became a jewelry designer for Cartier, one of the finest jewelry companies in New York City. He designed jewelry for Mazer Brothers in the early 1930's and established his own company, "Marcel Boucher and Cie Company," in 1937. Boucher jewelry is usually signed and carries an inventory number. Early marks are "Marboux" or "MB" in a cartouche. Later marks are "Marcel Boucher" and "Boucher." Marcel Boucher died in 1965 and his wife, Sandra Boucher, ran the company until 1972.

Boucher created a line featuring six bird pins. But, oh what birds! They were birds of imagination with ornate colored stones, bright enamels, very three-dimensional..."ready to soar!" Boucher jewelry is "high-end" and can be tough to tell from the "real thing." It is very collectible and highly desirable.

CINER:

Emanuel Ciner came to America in 1866, leaving Austria when he was only one year old. By the time he was 27, he had opened his own fine jewelry store in lower Manhattan, offering outstanding wedding and engagement rings. his son, Irwin apprenticed at his father's side in 1920 and spent 59 years in the company.

The year 1930 marks when Ciner offered their first costume jewelry line, making history as the only fine jewelry company to convert completely to costume jewelry. Ciner continued to use only the finest quality materials. Swarovski rhinestones, European glass cabochons, and simulated pearls with a cultura finish, never plastic. Each pearl and every bead was hand strung and hand knotted.

Some call the company the quiet giant because of their contribution of so many fine designs, ones so timeless that Ciner is still using some from the 1940's and 1950's, They proudly use the company logo, "the Tiffany of Costume Jewelry."

Characteristics of Ciner jewelry:
Look of fine jewelry, high quality, well-designed, timelessly fashionable.

CORO, COROCRAFT, CORO DUETTE

Coro, Corocraft and Coro Duettes. Corocraft, founded in 1901 by Emanuel Cohn and Carl Rosenberger, enjoyed great growth and success which may be due to a large extent to the skills of their chief designer, Adolph Katz. After the second World War, Coro became the largest costume jewelry manufacturer in the world, producing a bewildering range of jewels designed by an army of designers under the coordination of the chief designer. Over 50 trademarks were issued to Corocraft including one of the most collectible marks ‘Duette’ which was applied to pieces in which two or more dress clips were mounted upon a frame so that they could be worn individually or together as a single pin.

Faberge - Russian Egg Pendants

The most important feast of the Russian Orthodox Church calendar is Easter.
It is celebrated with the exchanging of eggs and three kisses. The Faberge eggs began in 1884 with an Easter egg made for the Czar that became a gift for his wife, Czarina Maria. The egg reminded the empress of her homeland, and so from then on it was agreed that Faberge would make an Easter egg each year for Maria. Faberge designed Easter eggs for another eleven years until Alexander III died. Then Nicholas II, Alexander's son, continued the tradition. It was agreed that the Easter gift would always hold a surprise. These projects became the top priority of the company and were planned and worked on far in advance - a year or longer. The surprise was always kept a secret. The Imperial Easter Egg Collection commissioned by the last of the Russian Czars is known world wide.

Now you can discover the magic of owning a "small treasure" in the grand artistic tradition of the legendary Carl Faberge. Skilled Russian craftsmen, now working in the United States, are creating miniature jewelry eggs, designed to be worn as pendants, pins or charms.

Each egg is created in sterling silver, then gilded in 24 karat gold and hand enameled with several layers of multicolored enamel. This technique of enameling is an extremely delicate and highly labor intensive one involving hand application of translucent colored enamel and then firing the enamel at very high temperatures. Each egg is enameled by hand with up to seven layers of enamel.

Some styles are embellished with genuine Swarovski crystals, while others are accented with beautiful semi-precious stones. Each treasure is entirely hand crafted by the most talented artisans.

From the dawn of time eggs have been exchanged with loved ones as a symbol of birth, love and life. The miniature egg is a true work of art, created in the style of the famous Russian Imperial Court Jeweler, Faberge.

MARENA:

MARENA jewelry creations are 18kt gold plated. They may be worn as pins or pendants since each one has attached openings through which you may use a chain or hoop, as well as the typical pin closure. They combine genuine materials such as semi-precious stones, mother-of-pearl and other rare shells in perfection with Austrian crystals, among the most typical jewelry stones of the turn of the twentieth century.

Made in Germany, each one is created by hand, most are one-of-a-kind. MARENA jewels are unique creations which will enhance the individuality of each woman. Each pin comes with a certificate of authenticity that is written in both German and English.

MAZER/JOMAZ

The Mazer brothers opened a jewelry business in 1917 in Philadelphia and started producing costume jewelry in 1939 after moving to New York. One of their designers, Andre Fleurides, used to work for Van Cleef & Arpels, and designed for them from 1940. In 1946, the brothers split and Joseph Mazer set up on his own under the name of Jomaz. In the same vein as Boucher, their pieces were exemplified by the highest quality of design and manufacture.

PENNINO

The Pennino brothers, of New York grew from a fine jewelry company started in 1926 in New York by Frank Pennino. They produced the most wonderful naturalistic designs in gold plated metal, commonly silver. Large bows and tassels ware much sought after favourites and are of superb quality. Regency jewels are well known for their brilliance of crystal stones and innovative use of colors. Eminently wearable, they are always in demand.

POLCINI

LEDO is the name given to the Leading Jewelry Company in 1949, originally founded in 1911 by Ralph Polcini. The company produced hand-set rhinestone jewelry often in deco designs, resembling genuine jewelry in style, design and quality. After Ralph Polcini death, the company was inherited by his son who later renamed the company POLCINI in the 1960's. POLCINI companies produced very good quality hand set jewelry. Their designs were traditional and conservative. Range of pieces with reconstituted opal was very highly successful. The company appears to have gone out of business in 1980.

REGENCY:

From Marcia Brown's book, "Signed Beauties of Costume Jewelry":

The jewelry is believed to have been produced by the Regent Jewelry Company, located at Number 20, either on 36th or 37th Street, deep in the heart of the jewelry district of New York City, and in business during the 1950's closing its doors in the 1970's.

This company, with the most spectacular colors of rhinestones, proudly marked their jewelry, "REGENCY," always in capital letters. You will never see one of their stones that is not filled to the brim with a depth of hue that is almost blinding. Their beauty is eternal.

Every company usually included butterflies in their line, but no one made them like Regency!

SHERMAN JEWELRY

Manufactured in Canada from 1947 to 1981.

Gustave Sherman is considered by many to be Canada's premier jewelry designer.  The Sherman Costume Jewelry Company produced the highest quality pieces using only the best Swarovski crystals.  Meticulous detail was paid to each and every item.  The plating on most Sherman jewelry is highly polished, with rhodium plating being the most common.  The Sherman jewelry offered by "Let's Get Vintage" attests to the excellent reputation enjoyed by this quality firm.

This highly collectible jewelry has always been popular in its native Canada and is becoming even more desirable as it gains popularity here in the United States.

STANLEY HAGLER NYC

Stanley Hagler created some of the most extravagant pieces of costume jewelry ever. After designing a bracelet for the then Duchess of Windsor, Mrs Simpson he went from strength to strength and award after award. His most desirable work is those in which faux seed pearls were hand wired onto Russian Gold Plated filigree backing. The amount of work involved is remarkable as are the designs, which all help to make Hagler jewelry very desireable, collectable and wearable.

SWAROVSKI:

Swarovski is an Austrian company that makes high-quality rhinestones, beautiful cut crystals, costume jewelry, and other glass-related items.  The company was founded by Daniel Swarovski (1862-1956), the son of a glass faceter. In 1892, Daniel developed a new mechanized technique for faceting glass crystals, creating a sparkling, diamond-like chaton." He then started a factory (and company) in Wattens, Austria (in the Tyrolean Alps) in 1895. In the 1970's, the company expanded to Providence, Rhode Island ,and then later moved to Cranston, Rhode Island. In 1955, Swarovski and Christian Dior developed the iridescent Aurora Borelais stone. The company began a line of rhinestone costume jewelry in 1977. Since 1988, the Swarovski logo has been a swan. Before this date the logo was an edelweiss flower.

TRIFARI

Trifari is without doubt the most famous design house and manufacturer of costume jewelry the world has ever seen. From its inception in 1912, named after its founder Gustavo Trifari, it made hair ornaments, buckles and bar pins in silver and base metal set with rhinestones. Leo Krussman joined the firm in 1917 and the name was changed to Trifari and Krussman. The addition of Carl, the third business partner, completed the famous three:- Trifari, Krussman and Fischel, and the firms signature became the famous KTF so loved by collectors. In 1930, Alfred Philippe joined the firm as chief designer and a measure of his genius is that he was regularly contracted to design whole collections for Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. Alfred Philippe designed for Trifari for over 40 years and the firm became the greatest of the great. A vast amount of designs were produced, all of which were in the highest quality and style. Up until the 1960’s Trifari lead the world in the industry and their pieces are among the most loved and collected.

VENDOME

Vendome was a line of jewelry produced by Coro. Using wonderful crystals in prong settings Vendome pieces are highly sought after. Albert Weiss, a former Coro employee set up his own firm in 1942 and went from success to success in the 1950’s and 60’s. Very well known for imaginative use of rhinestones some of the most famous pieces include the ‘Christmas Tree’ and fruit pins.