Clown head 14 K gold pendant. 1980s. Signed MA vintage gold jewelry

Signed MA vintage gold jewelry
The history of the Michael Anthony Jewelers company began in 1976, when two brothers founded their own jewelry company in New York. Michael Paolerecio (b. 1951) became the company’s president and chief executive officer, and his younger brother Anthony Paolerecio (b. 1952) became chief operating officer.
The company very quickly became successful, with multi-million dollar profits and business expansion. As early as 1987, the company was manufacturing and selling its products throughout the United States. Over 10,000 retail outlets sold handmade 14K gold jewelry, mostly amulets and pendants, but also rings. Jewelry designs included religious symbols, sports, animals, zodiac signs, initials, abstract and figurative artwork.
A characteristic feature of jewelry marked with stylized letters MA was the use of diamond cut gold, giving it a sparkling effect.
The brothers sold Michael Anthony Jewelers in the late 1990s, and went into the real estate and construction business.
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Endangered species collections. Ferret. Gold plated silver pendant necklace. 1972. American jewelry designer Eugene Bertolli (1923 – 2015)

American jewelry designer Eugene Bertolli (1923 – 2015)
The Endangered Species series, created in the early 1970s, is undoubtedly one of the most significant works of the renowned jewelry designer Eugene E. Bertolli. The collection, in particular, included figurative images of animals in the thickets of the forest – an elephant, a fox, an otter, a lynx, a ferret and a mountain lion, made of sterling silver and gilding. This collection shows Eugene Bertolli as a talented artist, sculptor, jewelry designer and nature lover.
Another significant early 1970s jewelry collection was “The Dynasty”, designed by Bertolli for Napier prior to President Nixon’s visit to China in 1972. Notably, Nixon was the first American president to visit mainland China. The collection included traditional Chinese symbols, from dragons to meaningful Chinese characters. This collection shows Bertolli not only as a talented designer and artist, but also as a well-educated person who graduated with honors from Latin School and College in his native Boston.
These same qualities allowed Bertolli to make a successful career in the iconic jewelry company Napier, in which he worked for almost 40 years. Joining Napier in the late 1940s, he began working under Frederick Rettenmeyer guidance, then as a chief designer, senior vice president, and finally, director of the company.
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Sun face crampled gold clip. 5 cm. 1980s. French jewelry designer Robert Goossens (30 January 1927 – 7 January 2016)

French jewelry designer Robert Goossens (30 January 1927 – 7 January 2016)

Born 30 January 1927 in Paris, Robert Goossens became a 20th century jewelry fashion icon, best known as Monsieur Bijou. He received this nickname thanks to his sparkling jewelry made of rock crystal, artificial and semi-precious stones, which he successfully combined in design. In post-war Paris, the future designer successfully studied the methods of casting, engraving, chasing, processing semi-precious and artificial stones, working with gold and silver. While honing his skills in jewelry design, he often visited museums, inspired by the works of the Renaissance, the art of Byzantium and Malta. In addition, Goossens traveled a lot, bringing various natural stones from his trips, especially preferring rock crystal.
Gabrielle Chanel noticed the talented young designer in 1953. Thus began a fruitful collaboration with the Chanel fashion house, for which he created jewelry throughout his life. Goossens himself wrote that he spent a lot of time talking with Mademoiselle Chanel. She supported his desire for experimentation, and it was she who inspired Robert to work with interior design. So, Chanel was the first for whom Robert created interior items: mirrors, chandeliers and tables – including the famous table made of sheaves of wheat (he later repeated this design for Yves Saint Laurent in gilded bronze), as well as a crystal ball on a pedestal with three lions, which can still be seen in Chanel’s apartment on rue Cambon.
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Art Deco butterfly pendant. Multicolor rhinestones, resin, gold tone. 1980s. Frank Usher vintage costume jewelry

Frank Usher vintage costume jewelry
Founded in 1942, Frank Usher brand gained its notoriety when Anne Bruh (b. October 1922) and Max Bruh (17 August 1906 – 29 January, 1994) bought it in 1944. Accordingly, the brand name Frank Usher does not mean a specific person. Undoubtedly, buying a ready-made brand was a wise decision, as it allowed its owners to remain anonymous and not start their brand from scratch.
The dramatic life story of Anne and her husband Max, refugees from Nazi Germany, is worthy of a separate story, writing a book or making a film.
The Bruh family has made a significant contribution to the British fashion industry, making the company iconic and internationally renowned, with offices around the world.
Like most fashion houses, Frank Usher Limited began to create various accessories – scarves, ties and costume jewelry in the early 1980-90s. To create costume jewelry, the designers of the fashion house developed their own jewelry designs for certain collections, collaborating with jewelry companies and jewelers of that time. Traditionally, they used gold, metal alloys, faux enamel, resin, crystals and rhinestones. They sold jewelry in velvet pouches and with paper tags with printed Frank Usher logo on them.
In 1991, Max fell seriously ill and three years before Max’s death, Anne took over the fashion house, which she ran until 2000. She retired at the age of 78.
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18 K gold, diamond, pearls, lapis pendant brooch. Arthur King fine jewelry

Arthur King fine jewelry
Born in New York in 1921, Arthur Henry King was a self-taught jeweler who favored free form over “correct” classical design. A World War II veteran, King learned the lost art of wax casting while working on scrap metal abroad. It was there that he decided to connect his life with jewelry, making the first piece of jewelry from metal and sharks’teeth. After leaving the Navy, Arthur King returned to his native New York, where he opened his shop on 4th Street in Greenwich Village in the 1950s. Due to the popularity of his products, the business expanded with increased sales in major department stores and boutiques both in the US and European capitals. Already in the 1960s, he had about twenty jewelry boutiques with beautiful interiors.
Initially working in brass and silver, he later began using gold and palladium. Alongside rough organically shaped semi-precious stones he began using diamonds and other precious gems. His innovative freeform styles included organic materials, such as ivory, corals, and his favorite pearls. Noteworthy, during his travel to Thailand, Myanmar, and India he used to hunt for pearls himself engaged in deep-sea diving. Also, he was a collector of antiques, from medieval surgical instruments to ancient keys and locks.
Along with women’s brooches, necklaces and pendants, King created men’s jewelry collections. Greatly influenced by abstract painters of the 1950s and ‘60s, King sculpted his work, and was called a sculptor in gold. However, after sculpting and casting, he destroyed the mold, wanting each piece to be unique.
Arthur King died in 1991, and his manufacture and remaining shops ceased to exist.
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Silver 14K gold modernist design earrings. Alan Revere innovative jewelry

Alan Revere innovative jewelry
Born in 1947, Alan Revere grew up in a family of artists and designers. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1969 where he studied psychology, languages and art. Deciding to connect his life with art, Alan entered the University of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where he studied art, sculpture and crafts. It was there, on his first day at the jewelry workshop, that he made a piece of jewelry and discovered his true calling.
After graduating from the University in 1972, he went to the jewelry capital of Germany, the city of Pforzheim. Simultaneously with the study of jewelry, Alan Revere worked as a fashion designer and jeweler. Alan returned to the US two years later, settling in Oakland, California, where he worked as a jeweler and taught at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland.
In 1979, Revere opened his studio in San Francisco and founded the Jewellery Academy. The same year, Alan exhibited his jewelry for the first time at the ACC Craft Fair in San Francisco. For the next 15 years, he made jewelry in his workshop and sold it in hundreds of jewelry stores and galleries across the country. Alan has received a number of international awards for his innovative jewelry, which is highly collectible.
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Snake silver brooch. 1943. Harry Bertoia innovative jewelry

Harry Bertoia innovative jewelry
An Italian-born American sculptor and designer, Harry Bertoia (1916–1978) gained recognition from an early age for his innovative jewelry. He began designing jewelry at the age of eighteen, and by 1937 he had a portfolio that enabled him to become a full scholarship student and Head of the Metalworking Workshop at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Bertoia opened his first studio in 1939 and continued to produce innovative jewelry during the war years.
Bertoia later began to create large sculptures and became known as the inventor of sound sculptures. They were abstract, free-standing metalworks, some of which resonated with sound as the moving elements tinkled in the wind. Bertoia called them “sonambients”.
In 1946, the Museum of Modern Art and the Walker Art Center presented the Bertoia jewels alongside the creations of Alexander Calder. That same year, he became a US citizen, moved to Bally, Pennsylvania, and set up his own design and sculpture studio near the Knoll factory.
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