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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A gold enameled necklace with moonstone. Work by Fred Partridge. 1900. British vintage jewelry Liberty and Co

British vintage jewelry Liberty and Co
English merchant Sir Arthur Lasenby Liberty (13 August 1843 – 11 May 1917) opened his first shop in London in 1875. Since 1894 he began to collaborate with famous jewelers, such as Archibald Knox, the leading designer of the movement “Arts and Crafts” and Jesse Marion King (1875-1949).
Liberty jewelry is often made of hand forged silver, decorated with blue and green enamel and semiprecious stones. A great interest for collectors – his Art Nouveau necklaces with floral motifs. Traditionally, the design show the influence of Celtic motifs.
The company became famous for making author’s jewelry available to the general public. Its design skilfully combined the principles of the “Arts and Crafts” movement with quality mass production. Besides, the products of this company were simultaneously fashionable, beautiful and affordable.
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Lucite heart flower brooch. 1960s. Judy Lee vintage costume jewellery

Judy Lee vintage costume jewellery
The history of Judy Lee brand began in 1949 in Chicago, founded by Blanche Viano, a fashionista and a beauty who opened a small company for the sale of jewelry. According to Blanche, the company was only a means of additional income for a young family. Soon her husband Aldo Viano became an assistant and general manager of the company.
Originally, the company was not a jewelry manufacturer. Instead, they found best designers and manufacturers and sold products at parties or wholesale in the country’s largest stores.
JL jewelry had excellent designs, reasonable price for the average buyers. According to Aldo Viano, the rapid success and prosperity of the company was due to the “fair play”, i.e. high quality products and customer service. With special gratitude he remembered a lot of talented designers with whom he was lucky to work, but in order not to miss someone, he deliberately did not mention the names.
The company worked until 1968. All of the company’s magnificent jewelry is now highly valued by collectors of the vintage jewelry.
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Exquisite Christmas Brooch, transparent and emerald rock crystal, cabochons of ruby glass. The 1990s. length 11 cm £ 95-100 CRIS. Cristobal London vintage costume jewellery

Cristobal London vintage costume jewellery
The history of Cristobal costume jewelry began in the late 1980s in the center of London, at 32 Queen Anne Street. However, the official registration of the brand took place later. Incorporated in May 2000, private company Cristobal Limited owned by John Steven Miners and Luciene James, ceased to exist in 2010.
Despite the short history, Cristobal jewelry pieces are highly collectible and even entered Judith Miller’s reference book on vintage costume jewelry published in 2004.
According to Miller, Cristobal London was an international brand for the sale and manufacture of costume jewelry. The designers created four notable collections of costume jewelry. In particular, The Butterfly, The Secret Garden, The London (earrings and necklaces) and The Christmas Collection (with several Christmas brooches).
Traditionally, the designers used Austrian crystals of 1940-1950s, and manually inserted them into magnificent color compositions. Also, they used gold plating, frosted plastic, art glass imitating natural stones, multicolor rhinestones and Swarovski crystals.
The marking includes “Cristobal London” in stylized script, on oval cartouche.
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Scary face bracelet. Golden copper. Herve Van der Straeten jewellery

Herve Van der Straeten jewellery

Known for its interior design, the Herve Van der Straighten company, based in Paris, began to manufacture costume jewelry in limited quantities in the 1990s. Rare and very popular among collectors, most works are made from 24-karat gold-plated brass and gilded copper. Also, the craftsmen used pearls and semiprecious stones of manual processing. The firing and polishing are characteristic for Herve work on metal.
Traditionally, each Hervé design includes geometric statement pieces.
Former engineer, Hervé Van Der Straeten (b. 1963) skillfully used analytical precise geometry to create highly unique statement jewellery – drop earrings and cuffs, bangles and necklaces. And what is even more important, his jewelry is easily recognizable and does not look like anyone else’s.
Noteworthy Herve jewelry entered reference book by Judith Miller published in 2004.
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Flower brooch. Green Rhinestone, gold tone. 1950s. Hollycraft vintage costume jewellery

Hollycraft vintage costume jewellery (1939-1972)
The history of Hollycraft began in 1939 in New York, when an Armenian immigrant Joseph Chorbajian founded a “The Hollywood Jewelry Manufacturing Company”. The talent and oriental temperament of Joseph allowed him to invent unusually bright ornaments, which the customers liked very much.
The company gradually increased production. At the same time, the circulation of jewelry was still quite limited. In 1939, Archie Chorbajian and Jack Hazard, who had previously worked at CORO, joined the company and brought a lot of ideas.
Unfortunately, the outbreak of the Second World War forced to suspend the family business. A new stage of development began after the end of the war. To begin with, the company had to change its name in 1953. Not to be confused with another famous company – Joseph of Hollywood, Hollywood Jewelry Mfg Co. became Hollycraft.
The peak of its popularity Hollycraft reached in the 1950s. Especially popular became Christmas jewelry collection, as well as charming floral pieces implemented in sets of bracelet, clips, necklace and brooch.
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Stunning rare brooch depicting a girl and grapes. Gold 14 carat, enamel. 1906. £ 330-365 CGPC. Gorham Manufacturing Company silver jewelry

Gorham Manufacturing Company silver jewelry
Founded in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1831 by Jabez Gorham, Gorham Manufacturing Company was the largest manufacturer of silverware in the United States in the 19th century. Chief designer William Christmas Godman (December 25, 1839 – December 7, 1921) released a line of jewelry made by hand. This jewellery combined free art-nouveau lines with the ornate decor in the spirit of the Arts and Crafts movement.
Traditionally, for creating their hand-hammered and handmade jewelry decorations masters used silver, partially covered with gold, and gold. Also, they used enamel with the inserts of natural and artificial gems – turquoise, amethyst, etc.
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