Kaleidoscope effect

Exotic fish brooch. Pave amber and clear crystals, gold tone. 1980s. Signed KUO vintage costume jewelry

Signed KUO vintage costume jewelry
Born 1946 in Beijing, Robert Kuo grew up in a creative environment. His father was an art professor, enamelist and a watercolor painter. From the age of fifteen, he helped his father, learning the technique of cloisonne enamel. In 1973 he immigrated to the United States. His first trademark “KLOISON K” was active from 1976 to 1980s. At first, he produced handcrafted cloisonne household accessories, bowls, vases and jewelry items. Combining Chinese traditions and styles of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, Kuo created unique pieces of art. His earlier pieces – bracelets, medallions, necklaces and rings were marked with letter “K” inside circle.
Subsequently, he gained fame as a furniture and interior designer and this is what he continues to do, leaving jewelry production.
In fact, his company Robert Kuo, Ltd., Inc. founded in 1984, registered several brands for the production of lamps, decorative furniture, and jewelry. First used in 1987, “Kuo” trademark on production of jewelry, “including but not limited to cloisonne” was active until 2008.
Traditionally, his 1980s designs included nature inspired figural pins and brooches of gold tone with rhinestones. Also, hand painted cloisonne enamel bracelets, earrings and pins. The marking on the back of each item includes the word “KUO” in capital letters on an oval base.
Noteworthy, there are several jewelry brands with the Kuo name, which naturally causes a lot of confusion. In particular, David Kuo, Alice Kuo, Kathy Kuo, J.S. Kuo, Jan Kuo, Studio Kuo, Emm Kuo, and Kuo Designs. According to their marking style, design and material, they have nothing to do with costume jewelry hallmarked “KUO”.
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Cross dangling clip on earrings. 24 K gold plated, art glass. 8.7 cm, 1980s. David Hill vintage costume jewelry

David Hill vintage costume jewelry
Born in 1935, David N. Hill, graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy, had to work as an engineer. However, his creative nature and passion for jewelry art and design made him choose another career. In 1973 he registered his own jewelry company, which in 1976 became the part of family business “Ciner Fashion Jewelry”.
Noteworthy, David married Pat Ciner, the granddaughter of Emanuel Ciner, president and owner of the famous jewelry company. David and Pat had two children Jean and Douglas, who later joined their family business. After the death of Emanuel Ciner in 1979, his granddaughter Pat Ciner Hill and David Hill headed the company. Pat and David successfully led the family business for several decades.
According to New York Times, 73-year-old David N. Hill died on May 4th, 2008. So, the company was run by his widow and their daughter Jean Hill, who became the fourth generation of Ciner family business.
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Red maple leaf brooch. Gold tone metal alloy, enamel. 1980s. David Dubin vintage costume jewelry

David Dubin vintage costume jewelry
New York based spouses David and Nancy Dubin opened their family business David Dubin Ltd. in 1980 and immediately became famous. The key to their success was their bright and extraordinary designs featured in expensive catalogs distributed in the United States and abroad. They sold their jewelry pieces in such stores as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bloomingdales. The company, unfortunately, lasted for a decade, in the 1980s. Although David and Nancy continued to produce their jewelry for some time. They even decided to start the production of silver jewelry with inexpensive stones, but this turn did not prolong the life of the company. According to their interviews, their customer base was constantly shrinking. Besides, it was very difficult to be a small, creative company those days. In the early 1990s, the American market sharply changed its focus from costume jewelry to gold and platinum products. This prompted the owners to close the business.
After the closure of the company, Nancy Dubin became vice president of Victoria Design, Victoria + Co.’s jewelry division. Her husband David went into real estate.
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Emblem of the company, two doves pendant of gold tone. 1990s. Cecile Jeanne vintage costume jewelry

Cecile Jeanne vintage costume jewelry
The history of the French jewelry brand “Cecile & Jeanne” began in 1990 when brother and sister Elie and Jeanne set up their own family business. The name of the company is not accidental, Cecile is the name of Elie and Jeanne’s mother and Jeanne’s daughter. Located in the center of Paris, their studio creates jewelry by hand, in the best French tradition. A laconic and memorable flying dove, a symbol of hope for peace and future, has become the emblem of the company.
The first boutique of the company appeared in 1994 at 12 Francs Bourgeois street, in the center of Paris. Then, the company opened its boutiques not only in Paris, but also in Tel Aviv, Tokyo, San Francisco, and New York. A successful company in the production of stylish jewelry, bags and accessories, the trademark has become world famous. Jeanne’s unique jewelry was presented at the Museum of Art and Design in New York City in 2009.
Jeanna, the chief designer of the company, traditionally works with various materials: alloys, silver, natural stones, glass beads, as well as with pâte de verre glass paste. Her daughter Cécile has been involved in the world of fashion, beauty and jewelry since childhood. In 2019, after training as a lawyer, she joined the family business.
Noteworthy, the marking on the back of each etem includes “Cecile Jeanne” and the iconic diamante crystal next to the signature.
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1990s brooch pin. Silver tone alloy, rhodium plated, rhinestones. 4 cm. Ralph Lauren vintage costume jewelry

Ralph Lauren vintage costume jewelry
The name of a fashion designer, billionaire and corporation owner Ralph Lauren has become a legend. Today, his corporation has more than eight hundred trademarks, including twenty jewelry brands registered by PRL USA Holdings, Inc at different times. Among them, in particular, were Chaps and Ralph Lauren, the oldest trademarks.
The son of Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union, Ralph Lifshitz was born on October 14, 1939, in Bronx, USA. His family was rather poor. So, even as a child, Lifshitz decided that he would be rich. In 1955, he changes his surname to a more Americanized one – Lauren.
Lauren began his career as a tie designer in 1964, taking a job in a clothing store, and soon started his own business. Successful designer, his ties appeared at Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus stores.
Noteworthy, in the mid-70s, he introduced his perfume, sportswear, and accessories lines, including costume jewelry. The company also launched its first menswear collection featuring the Polo Player logo. Numerous awards have made the brand one of the most prestigious in the world. Besides, the Designers Council of America has awarded Ralph Lauren the title of Fashion Legends.
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Sea shell gold tone buckle made for Calderon. 8 cm. 1982. Clara Studio vintage costume jewelry

Clara Studio vintage costume jewelry
The family business of Russian émigré Clara Kasavina and her husband, the famous US artist and sculptor Misha Berger, began exactly forty years ago.
Born in St. Petersburg, 27-year-old Clara and her little daughter Anya (now acclaimed artist Anya Rubin) left Russia in the 1970s. Arriving in the United States, she first found herself in Manhattan, which made a great impression on her. Even then, according to Clara, she knew that “one of these windows will be my office one day.”
Clara works in a creative union with her husband Misha Berger, whom she met in 1979. They registered their jewelry company Clara Studio, Inc. in April 1981. The company’s address is Long Island City, New York, 11101. Working in their studio factory in New York, they created costume jewelry mainly in the 1980s and 90s. However, most of all they succeeded in creating women’s handbags. According to critics, every CLARA KASAVINA handbag is a work of art, made to the highest standards of current global design.
The handbags are presented in the best stores around the world, museums and private collections of Hollywood celebrities and famous people.
Klara and Mikhail also registered the second “Asymmetry” trademark in 1992, which ceased to exist in 2003. Noteworthy, there are two more companies with similar names in the USA, but they are not related to Klara Kasavina’s company. In particular, Clara Studio, Inc. (Arkansas, since 29 Aug 1989), and Clara Campos Studio, Inc. (Florida, since 3 Sep 2013).
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Terrier dog brooch. Gold tone metal, rhinestones. 1990s. Signed CT vintage costume jewelry

Signed CT vintage costume jewelry
These fine quality handcrafted figurative brooches marked “CT” are worthy of knowing their author. Unfortunately, I still do not have firm confidence in the origin of the CT jewelry brand.
Among the few companies that labeled their jewelry with CT, two brands attract my attention most of all. Interestingly, both owners of this brand are well-known personalities in the USA. In particular, registered in 1993 trademark owned by the famous supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. Noteworthy, Cheryl was the owner of six “Cheryl Tiegs” brands for the production of sportswear and women’s clothing, watches, wigs, and jewelry. And only two of them were registered under the initials “CT”. “Cheryl Tiegs” jewelry brand was active from 1993 to 2001, and “CT” marked jewelry produced for no more than five years, from 1993 to 1998. According to the press, the supermodel first unveiled her jewelry line on September 22, 1993.
The second most likely owner of the CT brand was Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), known by the stage name Conway Twitty. Few people know that he, like Cheryl Tiegs, was the owner of 6 brands for the production of fabrics, furniture, souvenirs, and jewelry. His “CT” marked jewelry brand existed from 1969 to 1983.
Another company that produced CT-marked jewelry was New England Sterling, Inc., located in Cranston, Rhode Island. The company, which operated since 1934, registered the CT brand, which was active from 1997 to 1999. However, its marking is different, since the letters CT are used with dots – С.Т.
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