Kaleidoscope effect

Swan round filigree frame pendant. Gold tone, enamel. 1960s. Signed SHP vintage costume jewelry

Signed SHP vintage costume jewelry

The history of the jewelry brand S.H.P. covers a fairly short period, from 1965 to 1971. The trademark was owned by Stanley Home Products Inc., located in Westfield, Massachusetts. The company’s founder was Canadian-born Frank Stanley Beveridge (1879 – 1956). He began his family business on production of home cleaning and personal care products during the Great Depression in 1931. Noteworthy, the company launched hundreds of brands, and the jewelry brand was one of them, founded after Stanley’s death.
Initially a small company, over the years it has grown into a million-dollar corporation with hundreds of brands and subsidiaries in most states. First, in Oklahoma (1941), then New York (1945), Ohio (1946), Texas (1949), Virginia (1950), Missouri (1951), etc.
Notably, the company sold its products through home shopping parties, where housewives from across the US could earn extra money working as consultants. They hosted such gatherings, showing their guests the latest and greatest Stanley merchandise. According to 1952 ad, “10 000 women had their own Stanley Hostess parties…”.
Today, the New Jersey-headquartered company sells home care, personal care, and health products online.
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Victorian oval shaped gold plated brooch with purple crystal. GC Hudson vintage costume jewelry

GC Hudson vintage costume jewelry
One of the oldest jewelry manufacturing companies G. C. Hudson & Co., Inc. began operations in 1890. The company’s original address was 126 Broad St., North Attleboro, Massachusetts. It is important to note that the first mention of the company was in “The Jewelers’ Circular and Horological Review”, published in November 1893. In 1900, the company, founded by George Cheever Hudson, employed about thirty jewelers.
Traditionally, craftsmen used gold, silver, semi-precious stones, rock crystal and art glass imitating natural gems. Victorian and Art Nouveau brooches, necklaces, earrings, cufflinks and pins were marked GCH&CO., GCH or GCH & CO.
After Hudson’s death, G. Herbert French became president of the company. The company went out of business in the 1940s, and Hudson antique jewelry is a highly collectible item today.
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Textured gold plated metal pendant of abstract design. 1980s. Gerard Pasquier vintage costume jewelry

Gerard Pasquier vintage costume jewelry
Born in 1925, French designer Gérard Pasquier launched his namesake brand in 1953. The women’s clothing business was located at 21 Rue Saint Fiacre, Paris. Initially, the company produced collections of skirts, blouses and dresses with simple and elegant lines, which immediately became popular. The success of the first collections brought the company international fame, and in 1956 Pasquier founded Gérard Pasquier International.
In addition to clothes, the company launched the production of shoes, eyeglasses, bags, gloves, wristwatches and other accessories.
Noteworthy, in 1977, Pasquier became one of the first to use television to advertise his brand and a network of Parisian boutiques. At the same time, the company began manufacturing costume jewelry, which did not last long, mainly in the 1980s. Handcrafted in limited quantities, podium brooches and pendants marked Gérard Pasquier are extremely rare and highly collectible.
Monsieur Gérard Pasquier died at the age of 79 in July 2004. Luckily, the Pasquier name remains in the fashion business thanks to the designer’s son, Philippe Pasquier.
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Black and white pearl silver tone branch brooch. Signed Majorica vintage costume jewelry

Majorica vintage costume jewelry
The history of the world famous jewelry company Majorica began in 1890 in Spain. Thanks to painstaking scientific research, the company patented the technology for creating pearls which were identical to the natural processes that take place in an oyster. Traditionally, jewelers used 925 sterling silver and 14 or 18 carat gold.
It is important to note that the subsidiaries of the international corporation Majorica, S.A., existed in different years in other countries, including the UK and the USA.
According to the ads published in the 1950s, the most precious simulated pearls in the world was Majorica. “Once upon a pearl time there was a time when only an oyster could produce the rare incandescent lustre of a beautiful pearl necklace. However, thanks to patience and skill, Majoricas are inexpensively made available to you from the lovely Isle of Majorca, Spain”.
These pearls became known as Majoricas, the most valuable cultured pearls in the world. Remarkably, the company kept the technique of pearl production a secret, as they reported in advertising.
For more than a century, the company has gone through changes of owners, ups and downs. Today, its owner is corporation Industria Espanola De Perlas Imitacion,s.a., based in Barcelona, Spain.
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Brooch. 14k and 22k golds, sterling silver, fine silver; Mixed metals and wire work. 1988. Vicki Eisenfeld Vintage Fine Art Jewelry

Vicki Eisenfeld Vintage Fine Art Jewelry
For nearly 50 years, Vicki Eisenfeld has run a studio at the Farmington Valley Art Center in West Hartford, Connecticut, which she founded in the 1980s. She studied Fine Art in Carnegie Mellon University and for some years continued to study jewelry and improve her skills in working with metal and stones.
The combination of metals in one product, which created an unusual texture and play of color, became most popular in the late 1970s. Vicki Eisenfeld was one of several American designers who embodied their artistic vision in the intricate technique of integrating metals using high-carat gold.
Created in the 1980s-1990s, Eisenfeld’s jewelry resembles weaving, where instead of a thread, the designer uses precious wire made of pink, yellow and white gold of 14, 18 and 22 carats.
In addition to gold, Eisenfeld uses sterling and pure silver, expanding the range of white shades in contrast with gold. The combination of different techniques makes these products extremely complex in design and execution.
According to the designer, what inspires her most is art and design, the beauty and complexity of ancient cultures. In addition to gold and silver of different colors and samples, she uses precious stones, agates, pearls and beads from all over the world. Her pieces are patterned, complex, intense and multi-layered beauty puzzles.
Today, wearable artworks created by many-awarded artist jeweler Vicki Eisenfeld has been featured in many art museums and galleries in the USA.
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Flower brooch. Cultured Pearl, Ruby and Diamond. King of Diamonds Harry Winston

King of Diamonds Harry Winston (March 1, 1896 – December 28, 1978)
To determine exactly when the history of the Harry Winston brand began is difficult to determine, although the official date of foundation of Harry H. Winston Jewels, Inc. is 1932.
Harry’s father Jacob, Jewish immigrant from Russian Empire, opened his jewelry store in Manhattan in 1890. Noteworthy, Harry has shown an interest in jewelry and gemstones since childhood. Incredibly, at the age of 13 he became a millionaire, and opened his own company Premier Diamond when he was 14 years old!
Five years later, the 19-year-old millionaire began to buy the most expensive collections of jewelry and stones for millions of dollars, receiving the well-deserved title “King of Diamonds”.
Upon his death, Winston bequeathed the company to his two sons, Ronald and Bruce. In 2000, Ronald, along with his partner Fenway Partners, bought out Bruce’s stake for $54.1 million.
Currently, Harry Winston, Inc. operates tens of showrooms and numerous branches in New York, Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, Dallas, Chicago, and all over the world.
Winston owned a unique collection of sixty notable diamonds, which are practically unparalleled in the whole world.
The contribution of Harry Winston to the jewelry business is enormous. He developed new types of cutting, applied new methods of fastening and created unusual frames. His idea of a multi-level arrangement of stones showed precious stones in all their glory.
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Virgin Mary Charm Pendant. 18 K gold. Paul Brandt vintage jewelry

Paul Brandt vintage jewelry
The history of the Paul Brandt jewelry brand began in the early 1900s in Paris and spanned four decades. Its founder was Paul-Émile Brandt (1883-1952), born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. At the turn of the century, a young man moved to Paris, where he studied jewelry design, enameling, engraving and silversmithing. After graduation in 1905, he established his own jewelry workshop in Paris.
From the very beginning, Brandt created Art Nouveau floral and geometric motif bracelets, earrings, brooches and necklaces. Traditionally, he used silver, gold, platinum and precious stones – sapphires, diamonds and emeralds. Also, his design included various natural stones – malachite, moonstone, labradorite, lapis lazuli, rock crystal, pearl, as well as eggshell lacquer and enamel.
After his success at the National Art Exhibition in Paris in 1906, the Parisian Museum of Decorative Arts bought some of his earliest jewelry pieces.
In addition to precious jewelry, Brandt created cigarette cases, which were in great demand in the post-war period. Today, antique jewelry and cigarette cases made by Brandt appear at the most prestigious auctions, including Christie’s, in his native Switzerland.
Noteworthy, in 1946 Brandt reduced the jewelry production, switching to tinware. Talented artist, jeweler and designer, Paul-Émile Brandt died in Paris in 1952. The next year his workshop at Rue de Tlemcen ceased to exist.
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