Back In Tiem Vintage Jewelry Featured in an Artfire Collection

Vintage inspired ...

Curated By: emeraldlily

ArtFire.com

Craft Tutorials

A Salute to Our Veterans

Vintage Jewelry Artist of the Day

WEST GERMANY, GERMANY & EAST GERMANY: 1871 - PresentThe German Empire originated in 1871 and was called Germany through 1948 (after Word War II) when in 1949, it split to West and East Germany. West Germany, the U.S. British and French Zones of Occupation became the Federal Republic of Germany with Bonn as its capital. East Germany (the Soviet zone), West Berlin (the western sectors) and East Berlin (the Eastern sector) became known as the German Democratic Republic (a socialist state) comprising the provinces of eastern Pomerania, eastern Brandenburg, Silesia, and East and West Prussia with its capital Berlin. In October 1990, East and West Germany unified again, and the country is now known as Germany.

Items produced including costume jewelry made before and up through 1948 are marked: “Germany”. Those made in 1949 from West Germany were marked: “Western Zone Germany“, “American Zone Germany“, “W. Germany“, “West Germany”, “Made in West Germany”, and “Made in Western Germany”. In East Germany, items were marked: “German Democratic Republic”. To sum, jewelry pieces marked just “Germany” were almost certain to be pre-WWII unless they are newer (1990 - Present).

The German costume jewelry styles designed and manufactured in the Art Nouveau (poetic interpretation of nature 1890-1915) and Art Deco (geometric figures and symmetrical forms 1919-1930) include necklaces, bracelets, brooches/pins, earrings, pendants. medallions, and rings started in 1903. Sterling silver, silver-tone, gold-tone, rhodium, brass, chromium, filigree, and white base metals were used along with imitation stones of turquoise, amethyst, emerald, opal, ruby, topaz, lapis, and pearl (to name a few), clear and multi colored crystals, rhinestones, lampwork beads, crackle glass and art glass beads. Matching sets of pendants and medallions consisting of a necklace, earrings and bracelet with Cameos of ladies and flowers surrounded by delicate pearls and rhinestones on filigree gold-tone and silver-tone metal enameled were also designed and produced in West Germany and Germany. The European country, by hand, created exceptional examples of costume jewelry. The costume jewelry, the old style designs of Germany and West Germany, were probably produced in the 1920’s through the 1950’s, and were similar to those of Miriam Haskell, Original by Robert, Stanley Hagler and De Mario. Costume jewelry made in West Germany is becoming scarce and hard to find.

Just Sold this today

I just sold this beautiful green glass and rhinestone bracelet.

I bet someone will be wearing this for christmas.

Vintage jewelry Research

Illusions Jewels Website is an unbelievable tool for  researching vintage jewelry. It has an extensive collection of jewelry marks and Jewelry Designer History. I found out that my "reindeer" bracelet (seen below) was actually a Vintage Coro Genuine Norseland Sterling silver bracelet.

Vintage jewelry Designer Of the Day

LEO GLASS CO.: 1928 - 1957
The Leo Glass Company NYC was founded in 1928 by Leo Glass after having worked in costume jewelry design for the Lisner Company for 10 years. Family members also designed some of the jewelry. In the beginning, the company imported as well as manufactured its costume jewelry until 1941 bringing to the public jewelry of the highest quality, highly priced, using sterling silver metal with the best stones found throughout the country. In 1946, the company started producing costume jewelry including necklaces, bracelets, earrings, brooches, clips, lockets, rings and chatelaines of clear rhinestones reducing creativity and design quality to medium and low standards. Mark: "Courtly Jewels" on a crown type tag. Designers for the company included Leo Glass, Ann Glass, Beatrice Glass and in 1941, David Mir. Mark: Leo Glass" in script and "Leo Glass Sterling". In 1957, the Leo Glass Company went bankrupt and all good were auctioned off on August 27, 1957.

Vintage Jewelry Designer of the Day

TRIFARI (TKE OR TRIFARI, KRUSSMAN & FISHEL: 1918 - Present

Gustavo Trifari emigrated from Italy to the U.S. in 1904 and founded Trifari NYC in 1910 after being a partner and jewelry designer with his uncle in Trifari & Trifari for several years. Gustavo’s grandfather Luigi Trifari, a goldsmith, had a small workshop in Naples, Italy in the mid 1800s producing fine jewelry where Gustavo, working in his workshop, learned the jewelry trade.

In 1917, Leo Krussman joined the Trifari Company as a sales director and later became a partner, leading to the forming of the Trifari and Krussman Company. A third partner, Carl Fishel, an experienced and well known salesman also became a partner in the firm, in the early 1920s. The company again changed its name to Trifari, Krussman & Fishel.

Trifari was considered one of the largest and best known producers of costume jewelry. It started producing hair ornaments, buckles, and bar pins in silver and base metals set with rhinestones and later manufactured, a broad range of costume jewelry creating superb designs and workmanship at different price levels. The Trifari jewelry produced had a distinctive look, resembling fine jewelry, which can easily be recognized by collectors. Much of this is due to the work of a great designer, Alfred Philippe, who worked and designed jewelry for Trifari, for approximately 38years, from 1930 to 1968, using high quality imported Swarovski rhinestones that were hand-set in the jewelry piece. Philippe worked as a designer of fine jewelry for Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, and brought to Trifari many imaginative ideas. He is largely responsible for the creation and development of Trifari's distinctive and classic look. There were also other well-known designers who joined Trifari: Jean Paris (1958 - 1965), Andre Boeuf (1967 - 1979), who had worked for Cartier, and Diane Love (1971-1974) who designed the company's modern and contemporary jewelry in the early 1970s. Up until the 1960s, Trifari lead the world in the industry of costume jewelry producing the highest quality and styles from imaginative sterling vermeil figurals of the 1940's to its classic gold and silver-tone jewelry of today. The Trifari figurals, retro florals, and jelly-bellies from the 1930s and 1940s are sought after today by collectors. Mark: "TFK" 1917, "Trifari with a crown above the T" 1930s, "Trifari, Krussman, Fishel", "Trifari with a crown and copyright symbol", and "Diane". The Trifari figurals, retro florals, and jelly-bellies from the 1930's and 1940's continue to be in high demand by collectors. The Trifari Company was purchased by Hallmark in the late 1970s, Crystal Grands Jewelry Corp. 1988, Chase Capital Partners, Lattice Holding Division of the Monet Group 1994, and Liz Claiborne in July 2000 with production moved out of the U.S.

Here is one of my Trifari Pieces

Crown Trifari Brushed Gold Bow Brooch with Diamond Accents. A brushed goldtone bow measuring 2 1/2" wide by 1 1/2 high. Accented with 10 crystal rhinestones.
Excellent condition