Rose yellow gold plated ring. 1940s. Barbara Reed vintage costume jewelry

Barbara Reed vintage costume jewelry
The history of Barbara Reed jewelry brand began in Detroit, Michigan, founded in 1946 as a family business. Barbara Reed Creations (alternative name Barbara Reed Originals), owned by Frank D. Reed, Jr., was in operation for more than ten years. The company known for its innovative concept in the manufacture of jewelry, ceased to exist in 1960.
Patented between 1947 and 1956, the company’s best-known jewelry lines included interchangeable gemstone sets, advertized as “magne-gems”.
Ring, pendant, or pin sets usually included 5, 9, or 12 interchangeable tops. The tops varied from multi-coloured lucite, pearls, art glass imitating natural stones, or volumetric flower designs in 18 K gold. Sold in branded velvet boxes, the brand name and carat of the gold were printed on a satin lining inside the box. Undoubtedly, these sets made a great gift for any woman. Instead of buying a lot of jewelry, she could change the color of the inserts to match her outfit.
The high quality of Barbara Reed products, created 70 years ago, has stood the test of time. Handcrafted from 18 K gold, rhinestones, imitation pearls and lucite, BR pieces are rare and collectible.
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Checkerboard clip earrings. Gold tone, black enamel. 1990s. Signed Daria vintage costume jewelry

Signed Daria vintage costume jewelry
The history of American jewelry trademark Daria began in 1989 in Warwick Rhode Island. The trademark owner was Dane Manufacturing Co Inc (later Dane Group, Inc.).
Incorporated in 1981, Dane Manufacturing Co was founded by hereditary jeweler William M. D’Amore Jr (born in 1952). The company launched two trademarks on production of costume jewelry in 1989 – Colour Parade and Daria. However, Dane Manufacturing Co Inc became inactive in 2002. Accordingly, Colour Parade and Daria trademarks ceased to exist too.
The design of Daria jewelry includes figural, fashion and classic brooches, clip earrings and necklaces made in gold and silver tone, enamel and rhinestones.
The marking includes a stylized word Daria on an oval cartouche.
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Silver and gold tone art glass clips. 3 cm. 1990s. Evelyne Alay vintage costume jewelry

Evelyne Alay vintage costume jewelry (1990s)
The history of the American jewelry brand “Evelyne Alay” spans a short period of less than a decade. Incorporated in 1996 in Miami Florida, Evelyne Alay Designs Inc. was a family business founded by Evelyne Leone (company president) and Joseph Leone.
Noteworthy, the company produced costume jewelry both under its own name and under the Perlas Elegancia brand (founded in 1998). The company’s craftsmen created fashion couture jewelry by hand, using gilding, silver, and art glass imitating semi-precious stones. A distinctive feature of the design of Perlas Elegancia necklaces, bracelets, earrings and brooches was the use of pearls made in Mallorca, Spain.
After eight years in the fashion jewelry market, Evelyne Alay Designs, Inc. ceased to exist in 2006.
Today, jewelry pieces marked Evelyne Alay and made mostly in 1996 – 2000 are quite rare and collectible.
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Koala brooch. Textured 18 K gold, ruby eye, diamond. George Lederman vintage animal brooches

George Lederman vintage animal brooches
The history of George Lederman Inc. began in 1945, founded by Michel Barmache and George E. Lederman in New York. However, even before founding their family business in NY, Michel and George had a jewelry workshop in Paris and sold their products in the best boutiques.
Innovative jewelers, they constantly applied for jewelry patents. Among them, in particular, were clasps for bracelets in 1934, a flexible bracelet in 1941, a bracelet in 1945 and others.
High quality workmanship, the use of gold, platinum, precious stones, exquisite design and attention to detail have brought fame to the company. Notably, GL has designed jewelry for such iconic brands as Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany & Co. and Cartier.
Renewed in 1963, George Lederman, Inc. (located on Madison Avenue, New York, NY) introduced the new “GL” logo. It is this logo that marks all the jewelry of the company, along with an indication of the carat of gold.
The company is currently run by the third generation jeweler Janine Lederman.
Marked GL animalistic brooch collection, created in the 1990s, became a real hit. The anatomically accurate animal figurines are handcrafted from 18k textured gold, rubies, emeralds and diamonds. Noteworthy, the collection includes more than 400 wild and even prehistoric animals. In fact, this is the world’s largest collection of handmade gold animal jewelry.
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Primary school student Teddy bear in glasses, ABC vest and red apple, symbol of knowledge, wisdom, and education. Articulated brooch pendant. Gold tone, enamel, rhinestone. 4 cm. 1995. Signed Batya vintage costume jewelry

Signed Batya vintage costume jewelry
The history of Batya jewelry began in 1974 in Los Angeles, California. Headed by Marton S. Stark (b. 1929) Batya Originals Inc. launched two jewelry brands for the production of costume jewelry and accessories. In addition to Batya, they owned the “Marika Pearl” trademark.
Originally, the company employed 6 people and produced limited quantities of handmade jewelry for women and children. The brand’s most notable designs included teddy bear brooches/pendants with articulated arms, legs and head. Also, in various festive looks – Christmas, Birthday, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Wedding, etc.
Traditionally, craftsmen used gold plating, metal alloys, enamel and rhinestones. Often sold in branded boxes, each brooch is marked Batya in capital letters.
The wholesale and manufacturing company operated for over two decades and ceased to exist in 1998.
Notably, there is a similar brand, Batya Jewelry Design, owned by Bette Allen and based in Tucson, Arizona. However, this is a completely different brand, specializing in hand-forged jewelry made from sterling silver, copper and natural stones. In addition, the markings include a hand-engraved author’s name, metal and design name.
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Pink quartz sterling silver floral design brooch. British jeweler Bernard Instone 1891-1987

British jeweler Bernard Instone (1891-1987)
Born in Birmingham in 1891, Bernard Instone developed an interest in jewelry when he was only seven years old. Undoubtedly, his older brother, a talented jeweler, influenced Bernard. Already at the age of 12, Bernard began to study jewelry making, receiving a scholarship from the Birmingham School of Art. As a student, he created the necklace that today adorns the Birmingham Museum.
After graduating from art school, he began his career as a jeweler in the workshop of the famous English jeweler John Paul Cooper. In addition, for some time he perfected his skills as a jeweler in Germany, and even created a brooch for the king of Bavaria.
However, in 1913, Bernard returned home to Birmingham, where he taught at the Vittoria Street School, where he had once studied. At the same time, he created custom-made jewelry.
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Scenic design artisan bronze tone round shaped clip on earring. 1990s. Lynne Champion vintage costume jewelry

Lynne Champion vintage costume jewelry
The history of the Lynne Champion SF jewelry brand began in 1993 in San Francisco.
Born in 1954, Lynn Champion is an Australian fashion designer, author and founder of a successful global jewelry business. According to her biography, she began designing jewelry in the 1980s. In 1992, she met her husband, Nicholas James Bonura, with whom she lived happily in San Francisco until his death in 2008. Prior to their meeting, Lynn had her own business in Australia as a jewelry seller, fashion designer, B&B owner, chef and writer. While living in San Francisco, she continued to make jewelry under the Lynne Champion SF label. The business expanded and soon she had retail stores and distributors around the world. In addition, she ran the fashion company Excessorise.
Lynn described her amazing life in her autobiographical book Champion Stories (later filmed in New York) published in 2013.
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