MONDAY MUST HAVE: 1989 VINTAGE BARRERA NECKLACE

This weeks Monday must have is this stunning vintage 1989 statement necklace by Jose and Maria Barrera for Avon. Avon collaborated with many famous designers such as Elizabeth Taylor, Kenneth J Lane and Barrera to produce special lines of jewellery which have become increasingly collectable. This beautiful bold necklace features an ivy leaf design and filigree detail and would be a gorgeous addition to any vintage jewellery collection.

PERFECT SUMMER PASTEL JEWELLERY

New in store: Pretty pastel blue 1950s vintage jewellery by Coro

VINTAGE JEWELLERY ADVERTISING

I love vintage advertisements and spend many a happy hour finding new ones to pin on my Pinterest board. Here are a few of my favourites.

 A 1981 Vintage Napier advert with the original neckace

MONDAY MUST HAVE: Vintage Necklace by Napier

Perfect for summer, this weeks Monday Must Have is this gorgeous chunky 1980s vintage necklace by Napier. 

CORO VINTAGE COSTUME JEWELLERY

In 1901 Emmanuel Cohn and Carl Rosenberger opened a small shop on Broadway, New York City selling jewellery and accessories. They employed talented designers and initially outsourced their jewellery to other companies for manufacture. They eventually opened their own Island factory in 1929 and went on to become the largest costume jewellery manufacturer in Rhode the world, employing somewhere in the region of 3500 staff.

Led by the Director of sales Royal Marcher, the company achieved its vision of growth with Coro jewellery being sold throughout the US. Factories were opened in England and Canada expanding their production overseas.

Coro produced a high volume of fashionable costume jewellery aimed mainly at the lower to mid price range. They also produced more expensive, high end costume jewellery which was manufactured using higher quality materials such as sterling silver.

Adolph Katz joined Coro in 1924 as design director and was responsible for choosing which designs to manufacturer from the many talented designers employed by the company. He worked for Coro for nearly 40 years and his name appears on many Coro jewellery patents. Although he did not design the jewellery himself, it was his creative vision that contributed greatly to the success of the company .

1950s Vintage Coro Bracelet

BEADED JEWELLERY

Since very early in our civilisation beads have been worn as jewellery.Early beads were fashioned from natural materials such as bone, shell, wood and were worn for their intrinsic natural beauty as decorative items or to express deeper symbolic belief systems. The oldest beads made by humans were found in Israel. They were fashioned from small shells and are thought to be around 100000 years old. 

Beaded jewellery became very fashionable in the latter part of the 1950s and 1960s. One of my favourite costume jewellery designers of this era is Stanley Hagler, whose clever use of various beads including murano glass, faux baroque pearls, seed pearls and beads resulted in jewellery of breathtaking beauty. He established his company in 1953 and famously designed a bracelet for Wallace Simpson, who became a fan of his jewellery and was often seen wearing it. In 1989 Ian St Gieler became the chief designer. Jewellery by Stanley Hagler is highly collectible with prices reflecting this.

 Ian St Gielar at Stanley Hagler Floral Cluster Necklace

Another company famous for their stunning beaded creations was Coppola e Toppo. Lyda Toppo worked with her brother Bruno Coppola to produce intricately detailed and ornate pieces of beaded costume jewellery using a variety of beads including Murano glass and Austrian crystal. Their 

jewellery often featured multiple strands of graduated coloured beads as well as ornately designed clasps.  They began production in 1946 and designed jewellery for some of the top names of the time, including Elsa Shiaparelli, Christian Dior and Valentino. The company ceased production in 1986

AURORA BOREALIS VINTAGE JEWELLERY

Popular in the late 1950s and first part of the 1960s, Aurora Borealis stones were used extensively by costume jewellery manufacturers to create jewels with glittering brilliance and sparkle. Named after the atmospheric phenomenon otherwise known as ‘the northern lights’, Aurora Borealis stones have a beautiful iridescent, rainbow effect that reflects the colours around it.

                   

                        1960s DeLizza and Elster for Sarah Coventry Vintage Brooch

This lustrous effect is due to a metallic chemical coating which was developed by the Austrian company Swarovski in 1956. They worked closely with Christian Dior who were the first to use Aurora Borealis coated stones in their jewellery designs. Other costume jewellery designers soon got on board, creating beautiful necklaces, brooches, bracelets, earrings and rings containing the popular crystals. This mass production of Aurora Borealis jewellery made it much more affordable and available to all budgets.

Often abbreviated to AB, Aurora Borealis vintage costume jewellery will always have been made after 1956. When cleaning or storing AB jewellery it is important to take extra care as the coating is delicate and can easily become scratched. 

LISNER VINTAGE JEWELLERY

D. Lisner & Company was established by David Lisner in 1904. Born in Germany he emigrated to New York City with his family in the 1860s. The company began as a wholesale business, importing jewellery and other items from Europe to sell in the US. They imported and sold jewellery by Elsa Shiaparelli, but the importation of goods from Europe became increasingly difficult in the years leading up to the war.  

The company began producing its own jewellery which was manufactured by Rhode Island factories, including Whiting and Davis. Their costume jewellery was very popular during the 1950s and 60s due to the quality of their designs and affordability. Higher quality, more expensive lines were also produced such as their Richeleu range which was sold in the late 1950s and 1960s. Nature featured prominently in their designs with leaves, flowers and fruit being incorporated. They used colourful moulded Lucite (an acrylic plastic) as well as various coloured rhinestones, aurora borealis, and moulded glass; all set in silver plated, chrome and black japanned metals.

D. Lisner & Company bought the Richeleu pearl company in the 1970s and changed their name to the Lisner Richeleu Corporation in 1978. The company ceased production in the mid 1980s

Vintage Lisner Brooch