Pansy brooch. 18 K gold, diamonds, sapphire. Jean Vitau fine jewelry

Jean Vitau fine jewelry
The talented French jeweler Jean Vitau (1928-2011) became famous for his invention of the Gem lok, a reliable way to set diamonds and gemstones. An innovative designer, he was one of the first to start branding jewelry.
The young designer gained good experience working in his uncle’s jewellery shop in Paris. In the mid-1960s, he, along with his wife Irene and their three children Pascal, Philipp and Mimi, moved from Paris to New York. Already in 1967, he founded the family business Gemveto Jewelry Company, Inc. on 485 Madison Avenue in New York.
Initially, the designer specialized in diamond engagement rings. However, he soon created a line of author’s fashion jewelry “Jean Vitau Collection”, which brought him fame and led to the expansion of the business Undoubtedly, the artist drew inspiration from the beauty of nature, embodying it in his exquisite jewelry. His radiant precious necklaces, brooches and earrings in the form of animals, fish, birds and flowers seduced buyers in the most prestigious boutiques and at auctions.
The designer handcrafted high-quality jewelry from precious metals and stones and marked them with “Jean Vitau” in a stylized font, TM, 18 KP, and the year of manufacture hallmarks.
While battling cancer, Jean Vitau died in New York on February 12, 2011 at the age of 83. Accordingly, his daughter Myriam Galli, vice president of Gemveto, continued the family business.
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Exquisite design Maltese cross brooch. Copper, gold tone alloy, enamel, mother-of-pearl, glass cabochons. 9 cm. 1990s. Inga Engele vintage costume jewelry

Inga Engele vintage costume jewelry
The history of the jewelry brand Inga Engele began in 1997 as a family business of Inguna Engele as President and Ronald A. Engele as Vice President. Inga Engele, Inc., based in Oak Hill, Florida, has changed its name to Ron & Inga, Inc. in 2003 and Ronald Andrew Engele became owner and president. In 2019, the company, led by Inguna Engele, returned to its original name Inga Engele, Inc, with Ronald as Vice President and Inga L.T. Engele – Treasurer.
The founder of the family business, talented jeweler Inguna Engele (born 1963) is also a costume jewelry collector. She makes filigree Maltese crosses, brooches, earrings, bracelets, vintage-style necklaces and pendants using a variety of materials. In particular, carved Peking glass, 22 carat gold, multi-colored enamel, pearls, beads, Swarovski elements, mother-of-pearl, rhinestones and art glass imitating natural stones. Noteworthy, on her earlier pieces, the “Inga Engele” marking appeared in two lines on an oval cartouche, and on later pieces, the Inga Engele marking was in block letters, without a cartouche and in one line. So far, she has reportedly sold her handicrafts on her website, Ebay and Amazon.
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Gold filled flower brooch. 1940s. Signed A & Z vintage costume jewelry

Signed A & Z vintage costume jewelry (1905-1964)
The history of A & Z Chain Company began in 1905 in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded by Charles Anschen and Benjamin Zetlin, the company’s address wast 9 Calender Street Providence. The business moved to 116 Chestnut Street in 1909. Incorporated in 1918, the company manufactured fine gold-filled jewelry, bought and sold jewelry. According to “Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes” (1989), Charles Anschen invented and perfected the expansion watch bracelet.
In the early 1940s the new owner of the company became Benjamin H. Rossman (1892-1964).
Born in Russia, he came to the United States by himself at the age of 13 hoping to become a doctor. Instead, his first job was washing dishes in a barroom in Boston. He changed several jobs to bring his whole family to live in Roxbury Massachusetts. Rossman began working for the Hanover Jewelry Company in Boston. Eventually, he became a partner in the business with his cousin. The cousin ran the inside operations of the company, while Rossman was the salesman.
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Antique flower brooch. Gold tone, pearl, art glass. 1950s. Edlee vintage costume jewelry

Edlee vintage costume jewelry
The history of the Edlee jewelry brand began in 1947 as a family business founded by Edward Stempa (1908 – 1984) and his wife Lee Stempa. Born in Poland, Edward Stempa moved to the United States before World War II and settled in Bronx, New York. His company’s name Edlee Creations, Inc. comes from the first two letters of his name and the name of his wife. The couple had two sons, Myron (born 1932) and Jerome (born 1935).
NY Edlee Creations, located at 560 Seventh Avenue in New York City, was a small team of artisans who made high-quality novelties and jewelry in Art Deco and Etruscan style with floral motifs. Traditionally, they used multicolored iridescent rhinestones, molded luminous glass, enamel, pewter and metal alloys. Notably, the earliest marking included Edward Stempa N.Y.C., and since 1947 changed to EDLEE with a copyright mark.
Many of Edward Stempa’s designs have been included in Copyright Catalogs published since 1950. Edward retired in 1973 and sold his business. Today, Edlee jewelry is quite rare and highly collectible.
Noteworthy, Edlee Jewelers Corp., incorporated on February 26, 1974 and headed by Edward Russo, ceased to exist in 2012. Anyway, it was a different company.
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Aqua blue and clear rhinestone sterling silver floral design brooch. Tru-Kay vintage costume jewelry

Tru-Kay vintage costume jewelry (1946-1982)
The history of the Tru-Kay jewelry brand began over 76 years ago in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Founded in February 1946, Tru-Kay Manufacturing Co. was a family business headed by Alan M. Kaufman, its president. The company handcrafted high-quality classic design jewelry using 12K and 14K gold, sterling silver, cultured pearls, genuine coral, jade, shell, Austrian crystal or rhinestones. The markings on the oval cartouche included the initials TK and the hallmark of gold. In addition, most of the jewelry sold in large stores was packaged in beautiful branded boxes with a foil tag and a stylized Tru-Kay logo.
Noteworthy, in 1982 the company became part of the Richline Group Inc. and received the alternative trade name Belair Mfg.
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Juggling Chinese brooch. 18 K gold, carved ivory, diamonds, enamel, coral, platinum. 1960s. Donald Claflin fine jewelry

Donald Claflin fine jewelry
Massachusetts-born designer Donald Claflin (1935-1979) entered jewelry history as the creator of many unique artistic designs for the most famous jewelry companies of the time. Among them, in particular, were David Webb, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany & Co and Bulgari.
He graduated from the Parsons School of Design in New York and began his career as a textile designer. However, he soon turned to jewelry making, working for David Webb and then for Van Cleef & Arpels. In 1965 he joined Tiffany & Co. Among his most famous works is the Tanzanite collection, Safari, and Pre-Colombian. Also, series of whimsical figurative brooches based on children’s books – Alice in Wonderland, Humpty Dumpty, Chicken Little and others. From 1977 he worked for Bulgari until his sudden death at the age of 44.
Today, his bright jewelry pieces made of precious metals, gems and multi-colored enamel are highly collectible and sold at the most prestigious auctions.
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Hyacinths brooch. Gold tone metal, rhinestones. 10 cm. 1944. Jewelry designer Adolph Katz

Jewelry designer Adolph Katz
Coro’s chief designer, Adolph Katz, worked for the famous jewelry company for almost half a century, from 1924 to the 1970s. The vision of a talented artist jeweler determined the success of Coro, a company that has been in business since 1901. It was originally an accessories store in New York, founded by businessmen Carl Rosenberg and Emmanuel Kohn. At the height of the Great Depression, in 1929 they opened a large factory. By the mid-30s, the company became the largest jewelry manufacturer under the leadership of the leading designer Adolph Katz.
He became chief designer and production manager in 1937, vice president in 1948, and executive vice president in 1960.
Responsible for reviewing the designs of younger artists, he made decisions about which ones would be accepted into production. According to patent records, Katz has had more patents for jewelry design than anyone else in the industry. It was Katz who brought the company success with his diverse and stunningly beautiful jewelry designs.
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