Category Archive: Vintage

Flower gold plated brooch. 4 cm. 1980s. Rochas vintage costume jewelry

Rochas vintage costume jewelry
The history of Rochas costume jewelry began in 1979, but the Rochas brand is almost 100 years old.
French couturier and perfumer, Marcel Louis Jules Rochas (February 24, 1902 – March 14, 1955) opened his fashion house almost 100 years ago, in 1925. The 22-year-old couturier created his fashion house in collaboration with his first wife Yvonne Coutanceau (1900-1987). Located at 100 rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the motto of Marcel Rochas was “Elegance, simplicity, and youth”.
In 1929 he married the Italian artist Rina Rosselli (1903–1998), with whom he often visited Parisian artistic circles. In June 1933, the fashion house moved to 12 Avenue Matignon, where it would remain until 1955, the year of the designer’s death. His style was simple and he became an innovative fashion designer known for his talent as a colorist.
In 1945, the company began to collaborate with the Parisian theater project “Théatre de la Mode”, which presented a collection of dolls dressed in miniature clothes, jewelry and shoes made by famous Fashion Houses. The doll, dressed by Marcel, wore a black corduroy dress with a collar adorned with diamonds and platinum.
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Basket of flowers brooch. Platinum, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, diamonds. 1920. French jewelry company Lacloche Freres

French jewelry company Lacloche Freres
The illustrious history of the family business Lacloche is one of the greatest gems of Parisian jewelry from the Belle Epoque to the 1960s. The company was known for its elegant designs and exquisite craftsmanship. Their tiaras, bracelets, pins, watches and women’s accessories (dressing tables, cigarette cases) embody the spirit of Art Nouveau and Art Deco and are some of their most famous creations. Their four generation products have adorned many crowned heads, including Queen Victoria of Spain, Duchess of Westminster, Kings of Greece and Siam, and Grace Kelly. Marked with Lacloche Frères, then Jacques Lacloche, the jewelry was created by the best workshops in Paris. In particular, Langlois, Péry, Rubel, Strauss Allard et Meyer ou Verger.

Having individually several stores in France and Spain, the three Lacloche brothers officially united in 1901. Noteworthy, they united under the name “Lacloche Frères”. First, they settled in the very center of Paris at 15 Rue de la Paix. Three years later they moved to London and then to Spain, Argentina and Egypt. Their collaborations with many of the finest jewelers of the era have produced masterpieces in a wide variety of styles, including the stylish Egyptian and East Asian Art Deco.
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Kokoshnik brooch. Gold tone metal, crystals. Moscow, 1963. Soviet vintage costume jewelry

Soviet vintage costume jewelry
First of all, there were no private jewelry workshops in the Soviet Union, at least officially registered. Instead, there were state-owned jewelry workshops and factories producing both expensive and costume jewelry. Traditionally, the vintage jewelry market offers products from the Ural, Leningrad, Shcherbinsky metal haberdashery and jewelry factories. Also, products of the Soviet republics that were once part of a single country called the USSR. In particular, the products of the Kharkov (Ukrainian SSR), Tallinn (Estonian SSR) factories, the Yerevan experimental plant “Souvenir” (Armenian SSR), and others.
Formed on the basis of a workshop at the Ural Society of Natural Science Lovers, Sverdlovsk Jewelry Factory was one of the most significant and important factories. The craftsmen made jewelry from silver and gold with jasper, rhodonite, corundum and other gems and precious stones.
The Amber Factory of the city of Kaliningrad was and remains famous producer of amber jewelry. Also, Veliky Ustyug and the Severnaya Chern factory produced exquisite museum worth wearable art jewelry.
Noteworthy, Soviet jewelry designers preferred to use natural gems and semi-precious stones instead of rhinestones, or art glass imitating gems.
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Abstract design brooch by Caroline Strieb. Sterling silver, 18k gold, opals, carved onyx. 1987. Eric Russell and Caroline Strieb jewelry art

Eric Russell and Caroline Strieb jewelry art
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based innovative goldsmith, Eric Russell (b. 1954) began making jewelry at the age of fourteen. And he was hanging around craft shows while he was still in high school. Strieb and Russell met by chance in the Philadelphia studio of Jonathan Stember in 1979. Strieb was working there on her course artwork at Philadelphia College of Art. And Russell was working there for the Rhinebeck Craft Show. He got together with Caroline in 1979, and they both reinforced and supported each other.
In 1982, they launched their creative family business. Through the years, Russell and Strieb’s work has retained the sense of controlled chaos-there are many elements in each piece, but they always coexisted harmoniously. Russell’s work grew more complicated in technique as the years went by, and his skills grew along with his artistic vision. From 1981 through 1985, Russell and Strieb took part in art exhibitions and sold their jewelry at gallery shows.
Traditionally, the designers used sterling silver, 14k, 18k, and 22k gold, colored gemstones, tourmaline, pearls, diamonds and other gems and minerals.
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Rose flower brooch. 5 cm. Gold plated, faux pearl. 1980s. Signed Aconda vintage costume jewelry

Signed Aconda vintage costume jewelry
The history of Aconda-branded vintage jewelry spans about three decades, from the late 1950s to the 1980s. Based in West Germany, the company produced fur clips, tie pins, lapel pins and brooches in classic and Art Deco style. Traditionally, the craftsmen of this company used metal alloys, bronze and silver with 14 carat gold plating. They also used zirconia, crystals, rhinestones, faux pearls and enamel. Each product was marked with the word “Aconda” and a copyright sign. Distinguished by very fine workmanship and high-quality Aconda jewelry is rare and collectible.
Unfortunately, there is no more detailed information on the Internet about the company that produced costume jewelry in the 50-80s of the last century in West Germany. Nor is it in the archival documents on the registration of patents, companies and trademarks.
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Floral design bouquet brooch. Gold tone metal alloy, faux pearls. 5.5 cm. 1980s. Alexis Lahellec vintage costume jewelry

Alexis Lahellec vintage costume jewelry
A renowned French fashion and home interior designer, Alexis Lahellec began his creative career in the 1960s. In 1980-90-s the designer has created a unique collection of costume jewelry which is highly collectible now. Noteworthy, while creating his jewelry, the artist worked in collaboration with other designers. In particular, he collaborated with the jeweler Yaron for a long time, after whom he named his first jewelry collection, created in 1983. Also, he created a jewelry collection in collaboration with the artist and fashion designer Nicolas De Waël.
Handcrafted from chrome plastic “Cookware” collection (1985) was a great success. Since 1986 he started using hammered golden resin. Also, he created a series of colorful costume jewelry made of handpainted resin reminding the work of Niki de Saint Phalle. Traditionally, the designer marked his pieces with his full name “Alexis Lahellec” and “Paris”, or “made in France”.
Unfortunately, Lahellec is no longer creating jewellery. Instead, he is working on interior design, furniture and decorative items.
Wearable art, Avant Garde design statement costume jewelry created by Lahellec, is sold at art auctions, and the price of it will rise.
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Dewdrop on a leaf brooch. Textured sterling silver, gold plated, crystal. 1940s. Rodi Wienenberger vintage costume jewelry

Rodi Wienenberger vintage costume jewelry
The history of ROWI, or Rodi & Wienenberger jewelry began in Pforzheim, Germany, in 1885, when Eugen Rodi and Wilhelm Wienenberger founded their company. Initially, it was a small workshop with a staff of four to make medallions, bracelets and brooches. In 1904, they began to apply American gold plating technology, where two layers of gold plating were applied to a silver plated metal jewel. Thus, they could guarantee that their jewelry pieces would retain their golden luster throughout their life.
The company flourished in 1890, employing 80 people, and by the end of 1899 employed about 700 people. And five years later it was a joint stock company with a capital of 500,000 marks. Eugene Rodi retired in 1900, and Wienenberger became the head of the company. Already in 1910 they built a new five-story factory.
After the First World War, the production premises had to be expanded again by buying neighboring plots of land. In addition to jewelry, they began manufacturing pocket watch cases.
In 1924, Wilhelm Wienenberger resigned from the management due to his health problems and Karl-Wilhelm Katz, who was responsible for export, took over the business.
Noteworthy, the marking GR or OR means gilding, and R anchor W is an old marking used around the 1935-1940s.
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