Sailor with accordion vintage brooch. Silver tone metal, enamel, rhinestones. 1940s. Calvaire vintage costume jewelry

Signed Calvaire vintage costume jewelry

Happy Sailor playing the accordion – an interesting figural vintage brooch of the Second World War period, reflecting the spirit of alliance and carrying historical information. This brooch, like all costume decorations marked Calvaire, belongs to the American jewelry company Calvaire Inc. NY. founded in the early 1920s. Noteworthy, its founders, Stella Aronson (1885 – 1968) and Rachel Calish (c. 1884 – 1951) practically did not produce costume jewelry themselves. Instead, they traveled to Europe. In particular, to France, where they bought the best examples of costume jewelry of the time, putting their hallmark on them.
During WWII, when the war raged in Europe, they continued to buy jewelry in the United States. There are several types of hallmarks of this company – “Calvaire” in script, or “Sterling Calvaire”, or “Le Petit Paris, Calvaire, Paris – New York”.
The company’s decline began in the 1950s when Rachel C. Calish, co-founder and bookkeeper of the company died on 9 September 1951 in New York. After working for another two or three years, the company ceased to exist. Today, all products of this brand are rare and collectible, the price of which increases every year.
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Pink flower brooch. Gold tone metal alloy, enamel, crystals. 7.5 cm. 1980s. DuJay vintage costume jewelry

DuJay vintage costume jewelry

The American brand DuJay, presumably founded in 1934 by Jules Hirsch and Jacques H. Leff, as a division of Hirsch & Leff, has fantastic collections! Delicate, thin, pearlescent enamels of this company can be compared only with Boucher enamels. Noteworthy, this company rarely marked their limited editions jewelry. Instead, they attached paper tags to their products. Collectors know how valuable this company’s jewelry is, however, finding and identifying masterpieces of the Dujay brand is a whole art. Traditionally, they are defined by their unique style and beauty, plant inflorescences, artistic strokes, shades, enamel density, crystal quality, fasteners, and so on.
Some of Dujay pieces, for example, Band series of fur clips designed by Jacques H Leff in 1939 are noted in Brunialti’s “American Costume Jewelry” (Volume I page 162). In particular, 5 members of the band – a drum major, a drummer, a trombone player, French horn player and a bas drum player.
The company ceased to exist in the early 1980s.
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Peapod plastic brooch. Faux pearls, alloy, plastic. 9.5 cm. 1990s. Cilea Paris vintage costume jewelry

Cilea Paris vintage costume jewelry
The history of Silea company began when two people met – an accountant by profession Stephane Ravel and an artist Monique Védie, who worked in her cozy studio in Paris. Monica Vedie taught Stephane how to make jewelry, since the student turned out to be talented. Subsequently, Stephane already worked alone in his small Paris apartment, naming the brand after his wife – Cilea. Thus, Cilea began operations in 1992. Following the developed technology, Stephane began to create magnificently beautiful volumetric decorations in the form of flowers, insects and fruits.
To create his three-dimensional decorations he used polymer plastic rhodoite (plasticized acetylcellulose): a lightweight but very durable material. Earrings, rings, brooches and necklaces in the form of flowers, fruits, vegetables are cut, shaped and painted by hand. Floral, modern or animal inspiration has been the guiding thread of the company from the very beginning. Despite their size, these decorations are lightweight, and can be easily worn on light blouses and dresses. Produced in small editions, Cilea Jewelry is sold at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Noteworthy, since 1995 the company has got its own symbol – an anemone flower, with endless design and color scheme. In 2012, the company leaves its Paris studio to settle in the Breton lands with a team reduced to one employee. This is how a new page in the company’s history began with a new team, new designers, new collections and ideas.
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Flying duck brooch. Gold tone, rhinestones, colored glass, gilding. 1960s. 8.5 cm. Signed Charel vintage costume jewelry

Signed Charel vintage costume jewelry
The history of Charel Jewelry Co Inc. founded in Brooklyn, NY, began at the end of WWII. Incorporated in 1945, the company ended its activity before 1980. The rare, hand-made Charel jewelry is an example of the high quality and craftsmanship of the jewelers. Traditionally, the craftsmen of this company used alloys of metals of gold and silver tones, lucite, artificial pearls, enamel, rhinestones and crystals. All costume decorations of this company are a rare collectible vintage, and undoubtedly, the price for them will increase every year.
In fact, all products bearing the Charel marking without a copyright sign refer to the period before 1955. According to history, in 1947 the US Congress expanded copyright laws to include product illustrations and art designs. Noteworthy, in 1955 a federal judge ruled that jewelry designs are “works of art” and therefore should be protected under US copyright law. Meanwhile, on the basis of this law, another famous Trifari company won a case against Charel in a lawsuit in 1955.
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Beetle on the leaf clip on earrings. Bronze, sterling silver. Stephen Dweck vintage costume jewelry

Stephen Dweck vintage costume jewelry
The author of these hand-made earrings is Stephen Dweck, an American artist and sculptor who started his jewelry career in 1981 in Brooklyn, New York. Inspired by nature, the earring designs are simply incredible – meticulously crafted in bronze and silver, a leaf and insect. Traditionally marked on the back, these earrings, like all other pieces by this designer, make a lasting impression.
Meanwhile, Stephen Dweck’s jewelry sets itself apart from the work of other designers, thanks to the skillful carvings of natural stones and metals. Intricately hand carved and engraved, each piece is a wearable work of art.
Noteworthy, the master’s works are on permanent display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, the Dallas Museum of Art and the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
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Cufflinks. Golden pagoda against Mount Fuji and cherry blossoms. Sterling silver, handpainted porcelain. 1950s. Toshikane Japan porcelain costume jewelry

Toshikane Japan porcelain costume jewelry
The history of Toshikane brand began in Tokyo in 1943 on a wave of European fashion jewelry making its way into Japan. It all started with porcelain buttons, which became fashionable to decorate traditional clothes, then cufflinks, tie clips, bracelets, clips, brooches, and souvenir spoons …
Traditionally, the craftsmen used mainly high-grade silver, or jewelry alloy. But, the main thing in any Toshikane decoration is porcelain inserts with volumetric (3D) images. Created by hand, each Toshikane product carries a fabulous national flavor and a special, inimitable style. Flowers, birds, animals, sea horses, dragons, masks, gods, geisha, miniature Japanese landscapes – symbolic subjects that can be viewed for hours.
Unfortunately, the company did not exist for long, ending its activities in the late 1960s, having left behind, albeit a few, but certainly inimitable small works of art.
Highly collectible, these jewelry decorations will cost more every year.
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A night at the opera. A couple in a theater stall brooch. Book piece. 1940s. Gold tone metal, enamel, rhinestones. Frederick Mosell vintage costume jewelry

Frederick Mosell vintage costume jewelry
The history of the American jewelry brand Mosell began in 1940, when the French emigrant Frederick Mosell came to New York. Founding Frederick Mosell Jewelry Co. NY, he began producing costume jewelry in exquisite designs. Handcrafted, especially interesting are his plot brooches. These brooches, unlike all the others, in addition to aesthetic pleasure, carry some other emotional message. They create a special mood and become more interesting as a decoration. Basically, these story brooches date from the 1940s – 1950s. In the 1960s, there are already much less of them, due to the influence of time and fashion.
Catwalk and the so-called Egyptian revival style replaced plot decorations. Handmade in limited numbers, large gold-plated necklaces, brooches and earrings with large crystals and cabochons were suitable for wearing with an evening dress.
Also, animal and plant designs were very popular – birds, insects, starfish, ferns, leaves, etc.
Rare in the vintage jewelry market, Mosell jewelry, referenced in jewelry guides, is collectible. After four decades of successful work, Mosell ceased to exist in 1980.
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