Kaleidoscope effect

Adorable red and white kitten brooch. 6 cm. 1980s. Ralph Massey sculpted costume jewellery

Ralph Massey sculpted costume jewellery

A very realistic brooch from the 1988 Living Nature collection. Made of resin, hand-painted and varnished. According to the artist himself, his decorations are miniature sculptures.
Born in 1938, Ralph Massey is a talented American artist, sculptor and jewelry designer. Prior to the 1980s, in his work he preferred sculpture. However, in the early 1980s, together with the artist Sylvia Benneth, he opened the art studio “Raven”. And since that time, the main direction in his creativity, has become the creation of jewelry decorations and jewelry boxes. The most interesting collection was “Wildlife”, brooches, earrings and rings in the form of animals and birds. Also, no less interesting was the line of jewellery inspired by the characters of the books “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Wizard of Oz.”
However, in the early 1990s, Massey closed his workshop “Raven” and focused exclusively on painting. All the works of Ralph Massey are rather rare and are appreciated by collectors.
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Black Mask Brooch. Black enamel, crystals. Panetta vintage costume jewellery

Panetta vintage costume jewellery
Benedetto Panetta, another Italian, wrote his name in the history of jewelry. Born in Italy, he moved to America in 1901. Being a jeweler, he first worked in small companies, but then there was a fateful meeting with a fellow countryman, and Benedetto became a designer at Trifari. In those days, Trifary was already a large and very prestigious manufactory. Having received invaluable experience, in 1945, Benedetto opens his own company “Panetta”. From the very beginning, Benedetto set a goal, to erase the line between precious jewelry and costume jewelry. According to Panetta, ornaments should look real. And I must say Benedetto succeeded in it. PANETTA jewelry looks very expensive and exquisite, and almost all products are handmade.
After the death of Benedetto in 1960, his sons Amadeo and Armand continued the family business. However, the company ceased to exist in the late 1980s.
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Sun brooch. Gold tone metal, vintage. Sonia Rykiel costume jewellery

Sonia Rykiel costume jewellery
Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine into the family of Jewish immigrants from Russia and Romania, Alfred Flis and Fanny Tesler, Sonia Rykiel – a famous French fashion designer. Sonia Rykiel (25 May 1930 – 25 August 2016) opened her first store, making clothing and accessories in 1968. However, the history of the Sonia Rykiel brand begins in 1962, when Madame Rykiel, the future mother, could not choose any outfit from what the Parisian shops offered for pregnant women. So, the talented and creative Rykie decided to take it in her hands.
Then followed first knitted sweaters, clothes for women… and gradually developed a design of jewelry to her clothing line.
According to Sonia Rykiel, for many years she did not care much to create something that will go down in history, the main goal was – to dress every woman beautifully. Costume jewellery created by her is still in demand thanks to the wonderful taste and sense of harmony of the designer.
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Stunning Leaf necklace. Opalite and blue rhinestone sterling silver. Van Dell costume jewelry

Van Dell costume jewelry
The story of Van Dell costume jewellery which began in 1935, continues to this day. This is a well-made mid-century jewelry, with a beautiful design, and traditionally high quality. The Providence-based Rhode Island jewelry company produces exquisite costume jewellery from silver, 12-carat gold and rhinestones, cultured pearls and semi-precious stones, ivory, and Austrian crystals. However, like many of the designers of the mid-20th century, the Van Dell first signed their decorations in 1939. In particular, used several different marks on their products – Van Dell 1/20 12K GF and Van Dell Sterling. Noteworthy, Van Dell decorations are not expensive, although they are considered collectible.
Van Dell jewelry
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Three brooches made of gold with enamel and gems. 1950’s. Work by Italian jeweler Enrico Serafini (1913-1968)

Italian jeweler Enrico Serafini
Born in 1913, Enrico Serafini opened his own workshop in Florence, at 4 Piazza Santa Felicita, on 15 September 1947.
Traditionally, Florence based jeweler Enrico Serafini draws inspiration from floral and natural motifs. His enamelled brooches with semiprecious and precious stones are characterized by refinement and careful processing of details. As a result, the talented designer received the Diamond International Award in 1957. Thus, he became the first Italian to get such a prestigious prize.
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Tree of life. 1940s. Rhodium plated sterling brooch. Rhine-stone pave trunk, branch and flowers. 5cm. Pennino vintage costume jewellery

Pennino vintage costume jewellery

The creators of Pennino are three brothers, the sons of Italian jeweler Pasquale Pennino. Nicknamed “Neapolitan princes” in their homeland, they had special taste, aristocratic manners and a fraction of the royal blood that flowed in their veins. The head of the family – Pasquale Pennino had his oldest son Oreste Pennino (born in Naples, 1888) in his first marriage. Having married for the second time to Giuseppina Vergati, Pasquale had four more children: Maria, Anselmo (called Frank), Gennaro (or Jack), and Carmela.
And while his children were growing up, Pasquale made his dream come true – he brought his sixteen year old son Oreste to America (1904). Following family traditions, Pasquale Pennino taught his son jewelry art, knowledge and skills which he once got from his own father, a goldsmith.
Having settled in Brooklyn, already in 1908 they sold their first Pennino jewelry decorations. The same year, his wife Giuseppina, their two younger sons and daughters have arrived.
Unfortunately, On 17,h May 1908, a few weeks after the arrival of the family, Pasquale died, not having had time to catch the fame and success of the case, which his children continued.
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Masterpiece of 19th century jewellery art – gold brooch with micromosaic. Castellani antique style jewellery

Castellani antique style jewellery
Fortunato Pio Castellani (1794-1865) became known as the pioneer of the revival of Greek and Etruscan styles. He produced his masterpieces in antique style in cooperation with his sons: Alessandro (1823-1883) and Augusto (1829-1914). By the end of the 1850s, Castellani’s workshop in Rome became a pilgrimage site for the British, who sought to obtain delightful gold ornaments with decorative motifs from the arsenal of classicism: shells, rosettes, urns, amphorae, rams, etc.
Noteworthy, Castellani reinterpreted the Greek and Etruscan styles in a new way. And before him the jewelers believed that nothing new could be learned from this period. Castellani also turned to the recent past, studied the methods of gold processing, but then set himself a difficult task: to discover the secret of Etruscan granulation. He managed to achieve impressive results and create a method, similar o that used by the Etruscans.
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