Inside the Jewelry Box - Volume 1

 A Peek Inside the Jewelry Box Reference Book

I am always looking for new and interesting reference books which deal with the topic of collecting vintage jewelry.  There are many of them out there, and I have written about some of my favorites in the past.

Inside the Jewelry Box, volume 1 is one that I have and would highly recommend.  It is especially helpful for those who are looking for information on some designers who aren't mentioned in the more widely known reference books.  Some designers not often mentioned who are featured in this book are Les Bernard, Louse of de Lillo, Claudette, Mazer Brothers and many others.

The book also features designers who are more well known but also very collectible, such as Hobé, Florenza, and Hattie Carnegie.

This book is based on the author's informative and interesting news columns that have run in antique publications across the country since 1997. These articles are presented here, along with photographs of hundreds of pieces of vintage costume jewelry with descriptions, designer names, and current collector values.

A section on costume jewelry on the Internet is also included, which profiles in detail, the best costume jewelery sites on the web, including biographies of each dealer and a synopsis of what makes the sites special. There are also hints for those wishing to sell their jewelry at auction. There are even vintage costume jewelry advertisements to add pizazz to the book.

 Finally, an informative section on where to buy replacement stones, how to restring beads and pearls, how to repair costume jewelry, and how to join vintage costume jewelry clubs rounds out the book. 2004 values.

The book is available from Amazon and other leading book dealers nation wide.

Today's Featured Jewelry Designer - Florenza

Today's featured vintage jewelry designer is Florenza. The company was started in New York by designer Daniel Kasoff.

This jewelry company has a very interesting start up story. The story is told of how, as a young man, Daniel was in a restaurant in New York and had his coat stolen. Another customer at the restaurant who happened to be dining on the same day was the owner of the Speier Jewelry Company. He came to Daniel's rescue with money to purchase a new coat.

Daniel repaid his debt as soon as he could and was rewarded for his honesty with a position at the Speier jewelry company. He worked there for 10 years and learned the business from the ground up.

Daniel has saved enough in the following years so that by 1948, he was able to open his own business - The Dan Kasoff Company. The company sold his pieces to wholesalers around the world and his jewelry was found in department stores and specialty shops across the USA. The next 8 years proved to be an enormous growing period for his company.

In the 1950s, his son joined him in the business and the company introduced the name Florenza. They chose this name as an honor to Daniel's wife Florence. This is the line that became known for the elaborate old world designs with antiqued goldtone settings which were made to simulate fine antique jewelry.

Design characteristics of Florenza jewelry included antiqued goldtone settings, old world designs, and the creative use of novelty glass stones,. They also had a large line which included the use of genuine shell cameos.

Some of the company's noted customers were Weiss, Kramer, Hattie Carnegie, Coro and Revlon. These customers would bring in the instructions for jewelry and their instructions and ideas found their way into design pictures which then often resulted in the finished product with the well known designer's name. These designs were the property of the customer and carried their name - not the Florenza name.

Only original Kasoff creations carried the name of Florenza. These designs were marketed in many upscale stores as Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord and Taylor and Bloomingdale. The company closed its doors in 1980.

Florenza pieces were marked with the word in script (often on a foil hang tag) or in block, either on a cartouche, or impressed directly into the metal. Here are examples of some of the marks.

The prices of Florenza pieces have been undervalued but are rising on the collectibles market today. Collectors appreciate the varied use of glass stones and cameo collectors prize their pieces which use shell cameos. Since it is still relatively easy to acquire a nice collection at fairly reasonable prices, there is no need to sacrifice quality in your hunt for Florenza jewelry. Look for full sets, shell cameo designs and some of their ornate bracelets.

Collecting Vintage Jewelry Part 10 - How to shop for and value vintage jewelry

This is another chapter in my ongoing series about various aspects of vintage jewelry. Today we'll discuss how to shop for vintage jewelry, how to value it and where to start in your search.

Bellini Art Deco Rhinestone Bracelet

The prices on vintage jewelry are not static. They change with the passage of time, and they also change with current trends and popular designers. A few years ago, I could pick up Trifari pieces relatively cheaply. Now, even on ebay, the prices of good pieces are very expensive. It appears the Italians want Trifari jewelry back in their country and they have discovered the internet for jewelry buying.

There are lots of places to aquire vintage jewelry. eBay has a fantastic range of it. But be careful. Although there are undeniably bargains there, there are also many pitfalls. Many sellers do not use good clear photos of their jewelry and may have undisclosed faults that you won't discover until you have paid for the item and have received it. Also, you may have a big cleaning program in store for your piece. Many sellers on ebay do not clean their jewelry at all. So, buyer beware. Choose your sellers wisely, ask questions when you are unsure, and know your values.

I prefer to use ebay as good place to see how the market values jewelry. You can search completed listings for two weeks for your search term and get a good idea of what certain designers and types of jewelry is going for. It will give you a very good idea of the "wholesale" price of vintage jewelry.

Going to live auctions can often result in wonderful jewelry finds. And don't forget flea markets and antique shops as you head out for vacations later this summer. These are all good places for vintage jewelry. Scour the local papers for news of upcoming auctions. Often they will tell you whether jewelry will be part of the estate. If you don't mind doing the leg work and then polishing and cleaning the jewelry, all of these could be means for procuring jewelry.

Eisenberg Milk Glass Brooch with Rhinestones

If you don't want to do the legwork and the cleaning process, then you usually will have better luck with quality buying from a well known and established vintage jewelry seller online. There are a multitude of vintage jewelry sellers. Some of them have been established for years, and some may be new and just starting out. You can usually find this information on their websites.

Established sellers know the market well, and normally offer vintage jewelry with good clear photos and the pieces are in good condition. Always, always look for back photos of jewelry that you are buying. The back of a piece can tell you many things about it (including fakes, and undisclosed damage.) If you don't see a back of a jewelry item that you like, move on to another seller. In my experiece, it only takes a little more time to write up an add and give complete photos of it, so not putting them in is lazy at best and deceptive at worst.

Now - suppose you find a vintage jewelry item that you like. There are several factors to consider before parting with your money.

• Do you have a good idea of the current market price?
• Is the jewelry clean and in good condition?
• Is the piece signed by the designer? This will add value to the jewelry. (an exception is Juliana Jewelry which was never signed on the piece, but had paper hang tags only)
• Is the jewelry piece a "book piece" featured in some of the popular vintage jewelry reference books? This sometimes can add value as it makes them particularly desirable. I've been trying to buy a set of the Har Coolieman jewelry for months with no luck. Every time I find them, the price goes through the roof. They are a much sought after book piece.
• Are there any extras included?

There are many extras that can make a piece of vintage jewelry worth more.

• Many designers made sets or parures. Is this piece a part of a set and are all of the pieces included here?
• Does it come in the original box? This always adds value, and particularly so when the box is in very good condition. They also indicate that the jewelry has been stored well over the years.
• Does it have original tags? This is a special find. Many designers used paper tags on their jewelry, when were often discarded on the first wearing. Finding original tags on vintage jewelry can easily add 20-30% to the value.
• Popular designers who are highly collectible will make the piece more expensive and valuable. Many designers such as Hattie Carnegie, Miriam Haskell, Eisenberg, Juliana, and the like were not prolific designers, so the pieces are more rare than the average jewelry pieces. And designers such as McLelland Barclay, Boucher, Jomaz are very sought after.

B.David Aurora Borealis Rhinestone Parure

Armed with these facts and a few tools (magnifying glass, and loupes are helpful to see small details if you can see the piece in person), it is time to start out on your first vintage jewelry buying tip. Have fun!!

All of the items pictured are available for sale on Vintage Jewelry Lane. Just click on the pictures to go to the item pages for the description and prices.

This finishes the series on collecting vintage jewelry. Over the next few months, I'll be discussing various vintage jewelry designers in great detail. 

Collecting Vintage Jewelry - Part 9 - Dress Clips, Fur Clips and Shoe Clips

This is another chapter in my ongoing series about what you should be looking for as you assemble a collection of vintage jewelry. In past chapters we have talked about condition, metal backs, types of stone settings, types of stones used, pin clasps, earring backs, etc.

Today's chapter will talk about the various types of dress clips, fur clips and shoe used during the popular early periods in vintage jewelry manufacture.

While modern day sellers often use the term dress clip and fur clip interchangeably, there are definite differences in the design and intended use of them.

Fur clips have two long sharp prongs which are attached to a spring on the back of the clip. They are meant to pierce fur without doing much damage to the fur pelt. Sometimes, these clips would be marked with the designer name on the top of the hinge and the patent number, if any, under the hinge mechanism. Others would have the patent number on the actual piece itself. Here are some examples of Fur Clip mechanisms (the last one is a modern Kenneth Lane clip.)

photos courtesy of ebay sellers: frenchysvintage, sweetthingsvintage and gloriajean

Dress clips have a larger and wider piece of metal which has "teeth" intended to grasp thin material like a dress or shirt. There are many styles of dress clips. Some were flat hinged pieces of metal with no decoration and others were ornately filigreed in design. Occasionally, one would be more of a wired frame design. Normally, a patent number is found on the underneath part of the hinge mechanism. There are numerous bakelite dress clips from this period too.

Some examples of fairly plain dress clips mechanisms:

Photos courtesy ofvintagejewelrylane and ebay sellers parlin_darlin,meemaws_house, and cvmant

These examples show the difference in a filigree dress clip back:

photos couresty of vintagejewelrylane and ebay seller gillette1

Most early vintage jewelry manufacturers made dress and fur clips, but Coro and Trifari are two notable ones. Many of these clips were patented, but not all were. Some additional designers who made dress and fur clips in number are Miriam Haskell, Eisenberg, Hobé, Hattie Carnegie, Nettie Rosenstein, and Polcini, among others.

It is rare to see a dress or fur clip which was manufactured much later than the middle of the 20th century, so that makes it fairly easy to date vintage clips, at least in the general sense. They were common during the Art Deco and Art Nouveau period up to the mid 1950s and 60s. Earlier and later examples are available, but they are exceptions, rather than the norm. (One notable exception to the early rule of manufacture is contemporary designer Kenneth Jay Lane who makes modern fur clips.)

A special type of clip in this category is a pair of clips which has a special mechanism which allowed two brooches to be worn as a single pin. Coro and Trifari are famous for these double pins. Coro called theirs "Duettes" and Trifari named their creations "Clip-Mates." There are many other manufacturers of these double clips - many were European in design.

The following photos show a common design mechanism for the combination pins. The first two photos show a Coro duette both closed and open and the third photo shows the Trifari Clip Mate.

Photos courtesy of ebay sellers chitknit and peepsnmeems

Shoe Clips were commonly seen in the 1950s and 1960s and are still made today, although not as often worn as they used to be. They were worn in pairs and were meant to embellish a plain pair of shoes. Here are some common shoe clip designs:

For the best investment, try to purchase pairs of fur clips or dress clips. They are always more valuable than the single piece, even if you decide not to wear them together. Here is an example of a pair of owl fur clips showing the back mechanism:

Photo courtesy of ebay seller lovethyneighbor43214

Be sure to visit my Vintage Jewelry Lane Site. I have a nice range of shoe clips and dress clips for sale at reasonable prices.

Be sure to check back soon for the last installment in this series. I'll cover how to shop for vintage jewelry, how to value it, and how to purchase for a good price. I'll also give some tips for buying online and tell you about extras that add value to a piece.

Vintage Costume Jewelry History Designers

I didn't realize Utube would be a place for videos concerning vintage jewelry. Much to my surprise, I discovered this one yesterday. It's a wonderful video about the history of Vintage Costume Jewelry designers, such as Schiaparelli, Hattie Carnegie, Vendome, Miriam Haskell, Marcel Boucher, Hobé, Weiss, Eisenberg, Kenneth Jay Lane, Florenza, Trifari, Mazer, Weiss , Stanley Hagler, Mazer, Coco Chanel, Renoir Matisse, and others.

The video discusses the popularity of costume jewelry after World War I, when precious metals and gemstones became scarce. The video even discusses bakelite jewelry, copper, and jelly belly jewelry. The author of the video, Gail Gupton, talks about most of the major vintage jewelry desginers, and gives some dates and design styles that they used.

It is a great video and well worth taking the time to listen to it.

After you listen to the video, be sure to also visit my website, Vintage Jewelry Lane, for a wide selection of vintage jewelry from most of the designers that the video mentions.