Interview with Carole Tannenbaum

Collectors of vintage jewelry may be familiar with the name Carole Tannenbaum. Carole is a high-profile personality in the worlds of costume jewelry and fashion, and is one of North America’s foremost collectors of vintage costume jewelry.

Her pieces have been featured in more than forty international venues, including Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Barneys. They have also been showcased in exhibitions in museums that include New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Carole is the author of the book called "Fabulous Fakes," which gives you details of one hundred years of the most amazing pieces of costume jewelry ever produced, in brilliant and beautiful color. It tells their story, starting with mass-produced Victorian jewelry, moving through the wonderfully sophisticated lines of art deco geometrics, and ending with 1990s designer and artisanal jewelry.

The Collector's Weekly recently interviewed Ms. Tannenbaum, and the discussion is very interesting and filled with rich details of some noted high designers such as Coco Chanel, Schreiner, and Coppola e Toppo. She also discusses bakelite vintage jewelry, and talks about her collecting tastes and how she amassed the vintage jewelry collection that sheshe owns.

The Carole Tannenbaum interview is very comprehensive and you can view the whole transcript of it on the Collector's Weekly site. It's quite extensive and well worth the read.

What is a Maker's Mark?

Some vintage jewelry designer sign their pieces with various signatures on the back. These are called maker's marks. These markings can be part of the actual metal, or they can be on metal plates which are then soldered to the metal. Sometimes, a piece can be signed in a different way - perhaps on the front or back of a hand painted piece. In this case, the author will sign a piece with paint. However, most marker's marks are done in metal.

These markings are sometimes referred to hallmarks, but a hallmark refers to an indication of metal content found on a jewelry piece. It can be alone or in combination with the mark of the designer. A maker's mark by itself is not considered a hallmark.

Many maker's marks are fairly obvious - they are visible with the naked eye when you turn the piece over. Sometimes, though, a mark can be very tiny and you can find it just about anywhere on a piece, so it is important to examine the jewelry carefully to see if it is marked.

I've seen signatures on the pin part of clasps, in tiny lettering on the edge of the setting, inside of a bale where a pendant hangs from a chain, on a clasp tag, and on an enlarged O ring near the clasp. They are found on the back of the clasps for necklaces and bracelets, on the underside of pendants and pieces of other necklaces, and backs of brooches.

Designers do not always use the same marking. There are many designers who have used four, five, or even more, different marks through the years. The following are photos of a few maker's marks that you may have seen. These are from designers Sarah Coventry, Coro (sterling), Schreiner and Weiss.

In Comparision, the following are hallmarks (some also have maker's marks incorporated into the marking):

Not all vintage jewelry is marked but many are. There are notable designers who used only paper hang tags which were often removed when the piece was worn and then discarded. Juliana jewelry, made by Delizza and Elster, is probably the most well known design of this type.

Other designers marked many of their pieces, but also made some which were not marked. To identify these, one needs a good knowledge of their design techniques. I'll cover some of these in a later blog.

Vintage Jewelry Lane has a wide range of designer signed jewelry. Have a look to see if your favorite designer is featured this month.