Category Archive: Vintage

A Person Under Umbrella brooch. Gold and silver tone metal. Lady Remington vintage costume jewelry

Based in Virginia, Lady Remington Fashion Jewelry Inc worked under this name for a fairly short period from 1986 to 2004. Jewelry of this brand is rare, since it was a side line (jewelry production) of the famous Remington company. Its founder was Victor Kiam, owner of New England Patriots and president of Remington Products. Victor Kiam was known in the 1980s for showing himself in a Remington commercial in which, he said, he liked razors so much that he bought the company. In 1986, Victor Kiam bought Act II jewelry company for direct sales and renamed it Lady Remington. However, already in 2004, his son renamed the company Lia Sophia, in honor of his two daughters. As for Lia Sophia, it was a direct selling jewelry business which involved thousands of women as independent sales representatives in the tradition of Avon and Tupperware. However, the company has gone out of business 28 years later, in 2014.
Noteworthy, Lady Remington jewelry has the LR mark and sometimes 925S (925 silver) on the back of the jewelry. Traditionally, when creating decorations jewelers used 925 silver, gold and silver tone metal, faux pearls, stones, rhinestones and enamel.
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Cat in a crown brooch. Silver tone metal, crystal and amber rhinestone. Victorian Trading Co costume jewelry

Victorian Trading Co costume jewelry
Founded in 1987 by Melissa Rolston, Victorian Trading Co. was a home-based business designing retro greeting cards. However, soon the company has developed the production to antique inspired replicas.
Located in Los Angeles, USA, the jewelry company Victorian Trading Co. produces retro inspired Victorian era items, including fashion, footwear, home and furniture decor, as well as collectibles. Victorian Trading vintage style decorations preserve the glamour and romance of a bygone era. Lovingly handcrafted, these jewelry pieces produced in late 1990s – early 2000s as copies of vintage costume jewelry, have gradually become vintage items themselves. Noteworthy, they have become the subject of collecting.
According to the information on the website, the main jewelry designers who work for the company are Shelley Cooper and Anne Koplik.
Traditionally, when creating costume decorations, the designer uses various metals, such as brass, bronze, jewelry alloy, gold and silver tone metal and sterling silver. Also, porcelain, marcasite, enamel, Czech and Swarovski crystals, rhinestones, and freshwater seed pearls.

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Daisy sash brooch. Silver tone metal, blue rhinestones. Kandell & Marcus NY vintage costume jewelry

Kandell & Marcus NY vintage costume jewelry
New York based jewelry company Kandell & Marcus produced high quality jewelry in 1940-1950s. Active in the middle of the last century, Kendall & Marcus NY was very famous jewelry brand, and the reason why they stopped designing decorations remains unknown. Accordingly, their high quality limited edition handmade jewelry is rather hard to find.
Traditionally, the jewelers of this company produced fine jewelry inspired by the culture of Victorian epoch, as well as the Art Nouveau style, popular in the early 20th century. The materials for the production of costume jewelry usually included sterling silver, brass, metal alloys of gold tone, multicolor rhinestones, cabochons, crystals and enamel.
Noteworthy, the designers marked their decorations on the reverse with the full name of the company – Kandell & Marcus NY.
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Pendant brooch. Plique-à-Jour Enamel, 18 Karat Gold, diamonds, black cabochon early 1900s. American Modern – Marcus & Co jewelry

American Modern – Marcus & Co jewelry
German born Herman Marcus came to New York in 1850 and began to do what he liked, working as a designer in the famous company Tiffany & Co. However, after almost thirty years, he decided to leave this famous company in order to establish his own. Fortunately, his two adult sons supported their father and since 1884 the three of them have successfully worked at Marcus & Co. Fifteen years later, Herman died (1899), but his sons successfully continued to manage the jewelry company, already known both in New York and beyond.
Among the materials that they used to create the jewelry was multicolor enamel, precious and semiprecious stones. Traditionally, the jewelers of this company produced fine jewelry inspired by the culture of Egypt and the Renaissance, as well as the Art Nouveau style, popular in the early 20th century.
Noteworthy, Marcus & Co. jewelers studied the skill of enameling in the Paris workshop of the famous designer Rene Lalique. As a result, jewelry of this brand is rare, located in museums and are of collectible value.
Sold to Gimbels in 1941, the company merged with Black, Starr & Frost in 1962.
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Pink floral design brooch. Gold tone metal, crystals, faux coral cabochons. 1970s. Ellen Tracy vintage costume jewelry

Ellen Tracy vintage costume jewelry
The American company Ellen Tracy appeared in 1949, and Herbert Gallen became its founder. After some time, designer Linda Allard also started working for the company, It was Gallen himself who hired recent college graduate Linda Allard as a design assistant in 1962. And twenty-two years later, in 1984, her name became part of the company name.
At first, the brand was engaged in the production of blouses, but after a few years the product range was replenished with evening dresses, shoes and accessories, and then perfumes.
Stylish and beautiful accessories such as watches, jewelry and bags became part of the images offered by the company’s designer. As the jewelry production of this company was very limited, gradually, it turned into a collection item. Noteworthy, the company still exists, continuing the evolution of the brand.
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Owl brooch. Gold tone jewelry alloy, gold plated, ivory tone enamel. Lind-Gal Inc vintage costume jewelry

Lind-Gal Inc vintage costume jewelry
Costume jewelry of this brand is rare in the market of vintage costume jewelry. Also, information about this brand is very scarce. According to sources, the company created in 1952 in New York, supposedly existed until the end of the 1980s, since products of a later period are not found. Traditionally, the jewelers of this company used metal alloys of gold and silver tones. Also, there are jewelry pieces made of sterling silver and 14 carat gold. Often, when creating many jewelry, designers used ceramics and hand-painted enamels. Noteworthy, all decorations have a distinct mark on the back side. It includes the copyright mark and initials LG, or the same LG mark and letters in a heart-shaped frame.
One of the designs of this company was a touching series of humanized animals, released in the 1950-60s. Among these sad and cute animals carrying a sack on a stick are a turtle, a dog and an elephant. According to belief, Lind Gal loved cats, that’s why we can see this animal in various designs of his figurative brooches.
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Gold Key brooch of gold tone. Made in 1960s. Signed JOY vintage costume jewelry

Signed JOY vintage costume jewelry
First of all, there is not much information about the company which produced jewelry decorations with marking JOY. However, some researches based on the facts and technique let me suppose JOY decorations may relate to Lester Joy. Talented innovative designer Lester Joy was among the founders of Les Bernard (1963), a pioneer in the field of costume jewelry of high class design. Most of these decorations are made in the 1950s, early 1960s, just before the appearance of Les Bernard in 1963.
Traditionally, Lester Joy used Plique a Jour techinque, poured faux stained glass, or stained glass resin, which, in combination with the gold surface formed an unusually beautiful duet. Made in a variety of styles, Joy vintage decorations are all of high quality and are quite rare in the vintage jewelry market.

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