Snowflake cross ornament design sterling silver crystals pin. 1980s. Bob Siemon Design Christian jewelry

Bob Siemon Design Christian jewelry

The history of BSD-marked jewelry began almost 46 years ago. Registered in 1975 at 3501 W Segerstrom Ave Santa Ana California, domestic stock company Bob Siemon Designs Inc. produced religious goods. Specifically, Bibles, Bible covers, doorknobs, key rings, stationery, clothing, and even provided lost and found pet services. However, the company gained great fame as a manufacturer of jewelry – crosses, necklaces, rings, earrings and bracelets with Christian symbols.
Among the 11 registered trademarks of the company, there were 4 for the production of jewelry, including Exodus, The Worship Ring and Reach The World.
Noteworthy, the company has registered its divisions in other states – New Jersey (2008), Kansas (2011-2017), Missouri (2005-2018), and North Carolina (2006).
Incorporated in 1975 in California Bob Siemon Designs Inc., ceased to exist in 1989. However, its subsidiaries continued to operate in other states.
Creating jewelry by hand, the company’s craftsmen traditionally used sterling silver, gold, as well as metal alloys, pewter, and crystals.
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Crescent design clip earrings. Sterling silver, amethyst, turquoise. 1970s. Tulla Booth vintage costume jewelry

Tulla Booth vintage costume jewelry
The history of American jewelry brand Tulla Booth began over forty years ago, in April 1978. Registered at the address 37 W. 8th st., New York, NY, the company Tulla Booth Inc. ceased to exist in September 1994.
When creating jewelry, the designer used sterling silver, gilding, alloys of metals of gold and silver tones, as well as enamels, semi-precious stones and crystals. Traditional for the 1980s, the style of clips, bracelets, brooches and necklaces is haute couture and modernist. Reverse markings included stylized Tulla Booth caps with interlaced O.
American artist and designer Tulla Booth, who is now a photographer, founded another company “Tulla Booth Gallery LLC”, registered in June 2003 at the address 66 Main st in New York. She successfully exhibits and sells beautiful art photography from photographers around the world.
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Clown in a barrel vintage brooch. Gold tone, multicolor enamel. 1990s. Signed TAT vintage costume jewelry

Signed TAT vintage costume jewelry
TAT jewelers produced costume jewelry from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. These handmade products captivate with their beauty, variety and sophisticated design. In particular, figural artistic brooches, geometric design clip-on earrings, classic wave and leaf pins, art deco and runway jewelry.
The traditional materials used in TAT jewelry are gilded metal alloys, brilliant enamels, rhinestones, faux pearls and art glass imitating natural stones.
The marking on the back of each product consists of three capital letters “TAT” and a copyright symbol on the left.
Unfortunately, there is no information about the founder of the brand.
A revitalized private company, “TAT Jewelers”, located at Brannan Street, San Francisco, California, was incorporated in 1998. Its founder and owner is Hasari Temel, a Turkish retailer who also owns Oro Milano Jewelry in San Francisco. Online, T A T’s business is described as “A jewelry store offering repairs and custom designs.”
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Spider brooch pendant. Gold plated silver, red coral. 7 cm. 1990s. Italy. Symbolic coral vintage costume jewelry

Symbolic coral vintage costume jewelry

One of the very first materials that humans began to use as decoration was coral. Framed with gold or silver coral was found during excavations of ancient cities. The beautiful gem stone of up to 350 color shades has attracted people for so many centuries. As a result, there are almost no natural corals left in the world. Accordingly, jewelry with corals is becoming more expensive and every year its price will rise.
Like pearls, coral originates in water and there are more than 6,000 species of corals inhabiting salt waters.
However, only 27 of them can be processed, and only 7 are used in the jewelry industry.
According to belief, coral brings happiness, and different peoples used it as a talisman against the “evil eye”.
The Portugese believed that wearing red coral beads helps relieve headaches, while in England they used it to treat sore throat, and in Mexico – fever.
Noteworthy, people in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan believed that coral brings wealth and many children, carnelian – prosperity, joy and abundance, and turquoise bestows victory. Therefore, the combination of red (ruby, carnelian, and coral), blue and green (turquoise) has become traditional in oriental jewelry.
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Scarecrow and ghost Halloween brooch. Gold tone alloy, rhinestones, enamel. 1970s. Bijoux Cascio vintage costume jewelry

Bijoux Cascio vintage costume jewelry
The history of the legendary Italian jewelry brand “Cascio” spans over half a century, when a hereditary jeweler and perfumer Gaetano Cascio started his family business in Florence in 1948. The company grew rapidly, having begun to make jewelry for prestigious Italian fashion houses, along with other well-known jewelry brands. Thanks to Giovanni Battista Giorgini, who organized the first fashion show in Florence on February 12, 1951, Bijoux Cascio decorations shone at the second show in July 1951.
The company, in which Riccardo, the son of the company’s founder, had worked since the 1960s, went through a change of ownership and renovation in 1970 and 1988. However, the business continued to expand with 21 new boutiques in Italy and 4 abroad (in 1970). The range of products expanded, and along with bracelets, brooches, cufflinks, necklaces and earrings, they produced key rings, lighter cases, eyeglass chains, money clips and other accessories.
Noteworthy, in 1988, Bijoux Cascio, LTD, was registered in the United States at 100 Park Avenue, New York, New York, 10017. This helped support the business in the late 90s, when everything changed to the worse for most jewelry companies. Thanks to a commercial agreements and a production license in the USA, Cascio remained on the market.
Unfortunately, the wonderful vintage jewelry created in the middle of the last century will not be repeated. This is not only due to globalization and the huge Chinese exports of dubious quality jewelry. According to Riccardo, the anthropological reason is no less important “when old jewelers die and, you can be sure, no robot will ever be able to replace them”. No doubt.
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Geometric design brooch pendant of silver tone. 1970s. Kelly Waters vintage costume jewelry

Kelly Waters vintage costume jewelry
The history of unique costume jewelry brand hallmarked Kelly Waters began almost sixty years ago. Registered at 5 Clementine Park Boston, Massachusetts, Kelly Waters, Inc. was the family business of John F. Waters and Frances Kelly.
Due to the high quality of workmanship, one-of-a-kind design (often geometric), a variety of styles from Art Deco to modernism, their jewelry has become world famous. Traditionally, craftsmen used a variety of materials – metal alloys, pewter, gold, silver, enamel, semi-precious stones, art glass and crystals. Noteworthy, early jewelry markings include “Kelly Waters”, the company’s full name, and the stylized KW letters and copyright mark have been added since the 1990s.
Kelly Waters, Inc. ceased to exist in 2005 following the death of its founder and President, John F. Waters in 2004. However, after a short break, the family business was revived thanks to the three sons of John and Frances – Kevin, John F. Jr. and Edward. Frances Waters died in Dorchester in 2020, but her sons continue to successfully maintain high jewelry manufacturing standards.
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Double Heart brooch. Gold tone, rhinestones. 5 cm. 1980s. Claire Garnett vintage costume jewelry

Claire Garnett vintage costume jewelry
The story of English costume jewelry brand “CG” is the success story of a woman born in 1945 in Iran. 15-year-old Claire Sonya Garnett and her family moved to England in 1960. Already three years later, she became a media personality appearing on television and in cinema as a talented oriental dancer. In addition, Claire was interested in jewelry design, which led her to open her first jewelry and perfume shop in London in 1965, and second shop in 1970. The autobiographical book “The Dancer: A remarkable journey” (published in 2018 by Alan and Claire) tells a story about her amazing life.
Marked CG, or Claire Garnett, and sold in branded gift boxes, many pieces were also made in Italy. Traditionally, the designer used metal alloys of gold and silver tone, pewter, gold plating, faux pearls, crystals and semi-precious stones, such as agate.
Registered in 1981 in Nottingham, England, Garnett Ltd jewelry company ceased to exist in 2016. Since 2013, the Garnetts have been happily living at Audley Binswood luxury retirement village in the heart of Leamington Spa.
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