Kaleidoscope effect

New York City Skyline brooch. Sterling silver, mother-of-pearl. Great Falls Metal Works GFMW vintage costume jewelry

GFMW vintage costume jewelry
The history of the company began in 1968, when the married couple Jan Palombo and her husband Michael Brothers founded their own jewelry workshop GFMW Inc. The Great Falls Metal Works was located in an old silk factory near historic Great Falls in Paterson, New Jersey. Their daughter Flora Anne Brothers, who has helped her parents create jewelry since childhood, later studied jewelry in Europe. Back home, she joined the family business and became the company’s chief designer.
Traditionally hand crafted, all jewelry was made from 925 sterling silver, 14 carat gold, natural stones and minerals. The company is still operating, but there are no brooches in their range for a long time. Produced in the 1960s – 1980s, these high quality brooches demonstrate a very interesting design, exquisite workmanship and are collectible.
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Abstract design brooch. Metal alloy, bronze. 4.6 cm. 1960s. Robert Zentall vintage costume jewelry

Zentall vintage costume jewelry
Undoubtedly, the jewelry of this brand is of collectible value. The history of the company dates back to 1952, when Robert Zentall founded his own jewelry company ROBERT ZENTALL, INC. in Mount Vernon, NY. In addition to hand crafted jewelry, the designers created decorations for Christmas trees.
Noteworthy, stylish and high-quality designer costume jewelry marked “Zentall” became world famous very soon. This happened in particular, in 1954, thanks to the magazine Vogue. The designers of this company used both semi-precious stones, corals and lucite, art glass, faux pearls and enamels. As a base for decorations jewelers used a textured alloy of metals, sterling silver, pewter, and sometimes used gold plating. The company mainly produced jewelry in the Art Nouveau style and abstract forms, as well as funny brooches with images of animals and birds. The company’s jewelers focused on the texture of the material. Having worked for more than three decades, the company ceased to exist in 1984.
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Two-faced Janus brooch. Gold tone alloy, faux pearls, enamel. 1980s. 4.5 cm. Signed Fendi vintage costume jewelry

Fendi vintage costume jewelry
One of the oldest Italian fashion houses, Fendi has been creating clothing, leather and fur products, perfumes and accessories for more than 100 years! The company was founded in 1918 by Adele Casagrande as a leather and fur shop in Rome on Via del Plebizio. In 1925, Adele married Eduardo Fendi and they decided to change their name to Fendi.
After the end of WWII, all five daughters of the Fendi couple joined the company: Paola, Anna, Franca, Carla and Alda. The most important business decision of the sisters was the invitation of the young German designer Karl Lagerfeld. As a creative director, he came up with the famous Fendi logo for the House.
Traditionally, Fendi vintage decorations – statement jewelry of bold designs and catching eye massive earrings, brooches and necklaces. Made of textured metal or sterling silver tone, with the use of gold plating, enamel, glass and faux pearls, all pieces have logo FF on the back or front side, or just signed Fendi.
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Topaz Butterfly Brooch. Gold tone metal alloy, crystals, rhinestones. Signed Alex & Ani vintage costume jewelry

Signed Alex & Ani vintage costume jewelry
Born in 1966, the future founder of “Alex & Ani” Carolyn Rafaelian grew up in a family of Armenian immigrants. Ralph Rafaelian, her father, was a jeweler who used to work for such famous jewelry brands as Monet and Trifari, and later founded his own jewelry company. Undoubtedly, it was him, who instilled in his daughter love for jewelry art.
Founded in 1990s by Carolyn Rafaelian, the company’s name consists of two names of her daughters Alex & Ani. Early jewelry design by Alex and Ani LLC resembles Eisenberg costume jewelry with the rich use of crystals and rhinestones. In fact, when she first began creating jewelry, she used some molds purchased from Eisenberg.
Noteworthy, located in Cranston, Rhode Island, ‘Alex&Ani’ is exclusively manufactured in the United States. Besides, the company doesn’t import materials, using recycled materials purchased from local Rhode Island mills. Signed Alex & Ani on the back, each piece is hand crafted with high quality and craftsmanship. According Carolyn Rafaelian, their jewelry pieces are eco friendly. “We adhere to higher environmental standards and rules”.

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Spinel, cultured pearl and diamond brooch. German jewelry designer Karl Rothmüller

German jewelry designer Karl Rothmüller
Born 1860 in Munich, Karl Rothmüller was a Bavarian goldsmith, purveyor to the royal court and professor of fine arts. He was one of the most important German jewelers of his time and one of the main representatives of Munich jewelry that stood at the turn of the century.

Rothmüller was a student of Fritz von Miller, a graduate of the Royal School of Arts and Crafts in Munich. Also, he graduated from the Vienna School of Applied Arts. Working in Berlin, Paris and London, he opened his studio in 1886, and began participating in exhibitions of applied arts. So, in 1897 he showed his work at the exhibition at Glaspalast, and in 1900 he successfully participated in the Paris World Exhibition. As a result, in 1908 he was awarded the title of Royal Bavarian Court Goldsmith.
Success in business and creativity allowed him to open several jewelry boutiques – on Müllerstrasse, in Hermann Volhardt’s Regina-Palast-Hotel at Maximiliansplatz 5 and Perusastraße. Rothmüller was a longtime board member of the Bayerische Kunstgewerbe-Verein. As a friend of the Benno and Teresa Danner family, he had a significant influence on the latter, since he founded the Danner Foundation after the death of her husband in 1920. In 1925 he was appointed professor of fine arts. Karl Rothmüller died on 23 January 1930.
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City skyscraper pin. Gold tone alloy, clear rhinestones. PIM Piscitelli vintage costume jewelry

PIM Piscitelli vintage costume jewelry
An American designer of Italian origin, Joseph P. Piscitelli, Sr. founded his jewelry brand PIM in the late 1950s. Before starting his brand, he had worked as a designer for a famous company of that time – Star Manufacturing Co. Noteworthy, Piscitelli marked his products with the abbreviation PIM for a rather short time, since already in 1960 he renamed the company to Piscitelli co. It was a family owned business located at 1125 Pontiac Avenue, Cranston, Rhode Island.
A small staff of designers and craftsmen created high end costume jewelry by hand – earrings, rings, bracelets, brooches and necklaces. Traditionally, the craftsmen used the highest quality materials – gold-plated metal alloys, sterling silver, Austrian crystals and art glass, rhinestones and enamel. The Piscitelli family business was successful until the 1980s, and it is these products that are now mostly appreciated in the vintage jewelry market.
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Eye brooch. Silver plated metal alloy, art glass, rhinestones. 1950s. Roger Jean-Pierre vintage costume jewelry

Roger Jean-Pierre vintage costume jewelry
It is no coincidence that the talented 24-year-old French designer Roger Jean-Pierre (1910s – 1976) began his career working for the famous Elsa Schiaparelli. Undoubtedly, Schiaparelli noticed and appreciated this talent. As a result, works created in 6-year period for Schiaparelli now adorn the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
And for the next six years (1940 – 1946) he designed clothes for Jean Clement. In the period from 1947 to 1958, as the director of Maison Francis Winter, he created jewelry and accessories for many fashion houses. In particular, Dior, Balenciaga, Gres, Balmain and Lelong, for which he has designed about 2,500 models (signed “Winter”, or “Jean-Pierre”). Glamorous designs often included rhinestones laid out in intricate patterns. In his jewelry, elite models shone on the pages of Vogue magazine. Drawing inspiration from the details of the Edwardian era, he has always worked with exclusively greatest fashion designers. Among them – Christian Dior, Balenciaga and for several years was an advisor to Coro on their Vendome line.
After losing his wife and stepson, he lost interest both in jewelry making, and in life. He closed his Paris atelier in 1976 and died soon after.
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