Christmas in July and Making up for Lost Time
Christmas in July sale runs through July 22. At checkout, use the CODE christmas in july.
I’ve always been nuts about jewelry, but my interest in vintage jewelry really began when I inherited a few pieces. I was fascinated with the designs and the techniques used to create them. I love old Czech pieces set with glass. I love the flow of the lines and the combination of materials used by many vintage designers. Some of my own work been inspired by “vintage ideas”.
Here three of my favorite designers – one of these days I’ll do an article on more vintage designers I love.
Eisenberg -Eisenberg started in Chicago in 1880 as the first “American” designer clothing company. The company manufactured jewelry to accent the clothing. During the 1930s and 1940s, Eisenberg & Sons was one of the best regarded manufacturers of costume jewelry. Prior to 1950, Eisenberg jewelry was designed for an upscale audience and was only sold in carefully selected stores. Rhinestone jewelry was very popular – both clear and colored, but the pieces with clear stones and marketed as Eisenberg Ice commanded a premium price. Authentic pieces of vintage Eisenberg jewelry can be identified by the mark: Eisenberg Original was used from around 1935 to 1945. Eisenberg and Eisenberg Ice were the names used from about 1945 to 1950. Some pieces dating between 1952 and 1970 have no marks at all.
Juliana D&E -Juliana pieces have lots of stones and very little metal Juliana jewelry was produced by Delizza and Elster. The DeLizza and Elster company was founded in 1947 and manufactured all sorts of elements and jewelry for well established costume jewelers – Hobe, Kenneth J. Lane, and Weiss. Over time much of the D&E jewelry in this style became known as “Juliana.” The tagged Juliana pieces were only produced for a couple of years in the late 1960s. Unless the paper hang tag is retained, most of these pieces are totally unmarked.
Hobe’ – Hobé Cie was founded in 1887 by goldsmith Jacques Hobé. The Hobe’ mark was first employed in 1926.
Jacques’ son, William, established an American branch of the company in 1927. Early on, William made costumes and jewelry for the Ziegfield Follies and a number of Hollywood stars favored Hobe’ designs. This celebrity connection during the 1950s boosted the popularity of Hobe’s rhinestone jewelry.
I’m trying to catch up after being out of the studio for about 12 weeks. This summer I will be completing a lot of pieces I started earlier. Last March I was working on a number of flower and plant designs. There are several different techniques I’m using to incorporate natural textures and lines in these pieces. There are repousse pieces too, including a bracelet and earrings in a leaf design. Once the work is completed, all of these pieces and others need to have their pictures taken.