Kaleidoscope effect

Starburst brooch. Gold tone metal alloy, faux turquoise. 8 cm. 1970s. Judith Green vintage costume jewelry

Judith Green vintage costume jewelry
The history of Judith Green costume jewelry began in the early 1960s and lasted until mid 1970s. Based in New York, the jewelry workshop produced high quality handcrafted jewelry. The creator of these jewelry later became known as Judith Ripka. She founded namesake fine jewelry brand in New York in 1977. However, it was no longer costume jewelry, but expensive luxury jewelry.
Born and raised in New York, Judith developed a passion for jewelry from an early age. Her mother was a fashion designer who emigrated from Europe to the United States. It was she who influenced the development of Judith’s design skills and taught her to see beauty. Judith played for hours with the jewels that were in her mother’s box, trying on and combining them. According to Judith herself, jewelry making is part of her DNA and she always knew she would be a jewelry designer.
A twenty-year-old single mother, she began creating decorations and sold them to neighbors and friends. This is how her first clients and admirers of her talent appeared. At the same time, Judith worked as an assistant jewelry seller under the direction of future president Bergdorf Goodman. While working there, she saw that the jewelry market lacked beautiful pieces of jewelry that could be worn every day and for any occasion. This is how costume jewelry marked Judith Green was born.
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1953 jewelry ad. Winey Creations vintage costume jewelry

Winey Creations vintage costume jewelry
The history of Winey Creations jewelry trademark for the production of bracelets, brooches, rings, earrings and lockets began in January 1936. The trademark owner was Philadelphia, PA based company H. Weinreich Co Inc. According to the records, the company took part in 1939 New York World’s Fair. Noteworthy, H. Weinreich Co Inc. owned two trademarks – Winey Creations (since 1936) and Winey (registered in 1945). Both trademarks ceased to exist in 1960s. This brand’s high-quality, exquisite, handcrafted costume jewelry is a collectible rarity.
Philadelphia at the end of the 19th century was the same center of the jewelry industry in the USA, as Providence Rhode Island. A number of jewelry shops and workshops have sprung up in downtown Philadelphia. Traditionally family owned, most of these businesses have been run by generations of jewelers. Some of them, however, preferring to work independently, set up their own businesses. Thus, the Weinreich Brothers jewelry company, founded in 1911 in Philadelphia, operated at the same time as H. Weinreich Co Inc. Most likely, these companies were related by family ties.
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Bird wreath circle pin. Aressa for JC Penney. Gold tone, rhinestones. 1970s. JCPenney vintage costume jewelry

JCPenney vintage costume jewelry
The history of JCPenney jewelry trademark began 50 years ago, in 1971. However, the JCPenney department store chain has been known since 1902. Its founder was James Cash Penney Jr. (September 16, 1875 – February 12, 1971) – American businessman and entrepreneur. Penney began his business in partnership with William Henry McManus.
The business was very successful and the company developed rapidly and dynamically. So, already in 1928, at the height of the Great Depression, they owned 1000 department stores, and in 1941, 1600 department stores. Gradually, independent boutiques of famous brands such as Sephora, Nike and Adidas appeared inside JCPenney department stores. Also, the department stores had jewelry boutiques, including Liz Claiborne, which sells jewelry exclusively in JCPenney.
Noteworthy, many jewelry workshops created jewelry for JCPenney. In this case, the marking on such products or tags consisted of two words. For example, “Aressa for JCPenney”. The company also registered its own costume jewelry trademark in 1971. Production of costume jewelry began in the late 1970s and continued until the 2000s. Most notable were button covers created in various designs. Popular in the 1980s, as well as now, button covers replaced brooches or pins, and adorned any clothing, giving it a special look.
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Abstract design pink thermoplastic gold tone clip on earrings. 2.5 cm. 1950s. Claudette vintage costume jewelry

Claudette vintage costume jewelry
The history of vintage jewelry with the Claudette label spans a fairly short period, about a decade. The trademark belonged to the American company Premier Jewelry Co. Inc. based in New York. The first products of this brand appeared in December 1945 and were produced until the mid-1950s. Accordingly, it is quite difficult to find Claudette marked jewelry.
Traditionally, Claudette are handcrafted, exquisite jewelry pieces made of multicolor thermoplastic (synonymous with Bakelite). Also, gold and silver tone alloys and Aurora Borealis rhinestones. Thermoplastic with a special moon glow in various colors and shades is the most characteristic feature of this brand’s jewelry. In addition, the most typical are sets of two or three items – brooches and bracelets, clips and necklaces. The costume jewelry of this brand is highly collectible.
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Leaf design 18 K gold plated pendant. 1980s. Revlon vintage costume jewelry

Revlon vintage costume jewelry

Founded 90 years ago in New York, Revlon Inc is an internationally renowned cosmetics and perfumery company. Its founders, brothers Charles and Joseph Revson, in collaboration with chemist Charles Lachman, began with the production of multi-color nail enamel. Although this was the time of the Great Depression, the company enjoyed great success – already in 1938 it became a multimillion-dollar corporation.
The corporation expanded, and since 1955, the subsidiaries of Revlon Inc. appeared in Delaware, New Jersey, Arizona, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Florida, California and other states. Also, Revlon branches have appeared in Mexico City, London, Paris, Tokyo and Sydney.
The range of products has expanded incredibly – from manicure products and perfumes, to clothes and even accessories for dolls. Among the thousands of Revlon trademarks, there were six jewellery brands. In particular, Revlon, Little Miss Revlon, Charlie (1992), Unforgettable, Jean Nate and Almay (1993). Noteworthy, all jewelry brands ceased to exist in the early 2000s.
In fact, the company began producing exquisite perfume lockets, perfume bottle brooches in the early 1970s. Very often, such jewelry advertised and promoted brand’s perfumes and cosmetics.
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Amber cabochon 12 K gold filled clip on earrings. 1960s. Signed LSP vintage costume jewelry

Signed LSP vintage costume jewelry (1939-1975)

The history of the L.S.P. jewelry brand began nearly ninety years ago in Attleboro, Massachusetts. Founded by a partnership between Henry A. Peterson and Lester S. Peterson “L.S. Peterson Co Inc” began its activity in the late 1930s. According to all sources, the company began operations at least in 1939. Thus, the Official Gazette of the US Patent Office registered a patent for a bracelet made by the company in 1940. In addition, company managers took part in hearings on the use of silver for war purposes in the US Congress in 1941.
The company made jewelry from silver and gold using natural stones – moss agate, turquoise, tiger’s eye, quartz, hematite and others. The marking on the back side of each decoration includes initials “LSP Co” and “sterling”, or gold purity. The local Navajo silversmiths hired by the company worked in accordance with the creative traditions of Native Americans.
In 1975, Ronald W. Bolivar took over the business and renamed the company to RWB. The head office address of the company changed to 5 Fox Meadow Lane, Wayland, MA, 01778. Noteworthy, RWB Inc. ceased to exist in 1985.
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Nickel sterling silver brooch. 1988. Work by American jewelry designer Tony Papp (1961-1991)

American jewelry designer Tony Papp
The life of the talented jewelry designer Anthony Papp was bright but tragic. Born into the family of renowned theater producer and director Joseph Papp (1921 – 1991), he died very young, at the age of 29, and the same year as his 70-year-old father. The cause of his death was AIDS. Having lived a short life, he nevertheless managed to enter the history of jewelry design. This year the designer would have turned 60 and one can only imagine how many jewelry masterpieces he would have been able to create if he had not died so early.
A graduate of the Parsons School of Design, Anthony opened his gallery in the prestigious Trump Tower shopping district in 1986. Noteworthy, the first visitors to the opening were Donald Trump and the famous father of the designer.
Along with his works, Anthony Papp exhibited works by famous and emerging jewelers. However, due to high competition and financial difficulties, the gallery existed for only 2 years. Papp’s modernist metal designs were unable to withstand the brilliant sheen of the famous brands.
During his short life, he managed to teach at art schools and create unique jewelry exhibited in major galleries in his native New York, Boston and Philadelphia. Traditionally, Papp used several metals that created some play in his flowing, three-dimensional geometric designs. According to the designer himself, Russian constructivists inspired him most of all, and he was a constructivist at heart.
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