Kaleidoscope effect

Emblem of the company, two doves pendant of gold tone. 1990s. Cecile Jeanne vintage costume jewelry

Cecile Jeanne vintage costume jewelry
The history of the French jewelry brand “Cecile & Jeanne” began in 1990 when brother and sister Elie and Jeanne set up their own family business. The name of the company is not accidental, Cecile is the name of Elie and Jeanne’s mother and Jeanne’s daughter. Located in the center of Paris, their studio creates jewelry by hand, in the best French tradition. A laconic and memorable flying dove, a symbol of hope for peace and future, has become the emblem of the company.
The first boutique of the company appeared in 1994 at 12 Francs Bourgeois street, in the center of Paris. Then, the company opened its boutiques not only in Paris, but also in Tel Aviv, Tokyo, San Francisco, and New York. A successful company in the production of stylish jewelry, bags and accessories, the trademark has become world famous. Jeanne’s unique jewelry was presented at the Museum of Art and Design in New York City in 2009.
Jeanna, the chief designer of the company, traditionally works with various materials: alloys, silver, natural stones, glass beads, as well as with pâte de verre glass paste. Her daughter Cécile has been involved in the world of fashion, beauty and jewelry since childhood. In 2019, after training as a lawyer, she joined the family business.
Noteworthy, the marking on the back of each etem includes “Cecile Jeanne” and the iconic diamante crystal next to the signature.
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1990s brooch pin. Silver tone alloy, rhodium plated, rhinestones. 4 cm. Ralph Lauren vintage costume jewelry

Ralph Lauren vintage costume jewelry
The name of a fashion designer, billionaire and corporation owner Ralph Lauren has become a legend. Today, his corporation has more than eight hundred trademarks, including twenty jewelry brands registered by PRL USA Holdings, Inc at different times. Among them, in particular, were Chaps and Ralph Lauren, the oldest trademarks.
The son of Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union, Ralph Lifshitz was born on October 14, 1939, in Bronx, USA. His family was rather poor. So, even as a child, Lifshitz decided that he would be rich. In 1955, he changes his surname to a more Americanized one – Lauren.
Lauren began his career as a tie designer in 1964, taking a job in a clothing store, and soon started his own business. Successful designer, his ties appeared at Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus stores.
Noteworthy, in the mid-70s, he introduced his perfume, sportswear, and accessories lines, including costume jewelry. The company also launched its first menswear collection featuring the Polo Player logo. Numerous awards have made the brand one of the most prestigious in the world. Besides, the Designers Council of America has awarded Ralph Lauren the title of Fashion Legends.
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Sea shell gold tone buckle made for Calderon. 8 cm. 1982. Clara Studio vintage costume jewelry

Clara Studio vintage costume jewelry
The family business of Russian émigré Clara Kasavina and her husband, the famous US artist and sculptor Misha Berger, began exactly forty years ago.
Born in St. Petersburg, 27-year-old Clara and her little daughter Anya (now acclaimed artist Anya Rubin) left Russia in the 1970s. Arriving in the United States, she first found herself in Manhattan, which made a great impression on her. Even then, according to Clara, she knew that “one of these windows will be my office one day.”
Clara works in a creative union with her husband Misha Berger, whom she met in 1979. They registered their jewelry company Clara Studio, Inc. in April 1981. The company’s address is Long Island City, New York, 11101. Working in their studio factory in New York, they created costume jewelry mainly in the 1980s and 90s. However, most of all they succeeded in creating women’s handbags. According to critics, every CLARA KASAVINA handbag is a work of art, made to the highest standards of current global design.
The handbags are presented in the best stores around the world, museums and private collections of Hollywood celebrities and famous people.
Klara and Mikhail also registered the second “Asymmetry” trademark in 1992, which ceased to exist in 2003. Noteworthy, there are two more companies with similar names in the USA, but they are not related to Klara Kasavina’s company. In particular, Clara Studio, Inc. (Arkansas, since 29 Aug 1989), and Clara Campos Studio, Inc. (Florida, since 3 Sep 2013).
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Basket of flowers brooch. Gold tone metal, rhinestones, faux pearls. 1960s. Signed Francois vintage costume jewelry

Francois vintage costume jewelry
The history of Francois costume jewelry brand is inextricably linked with the history of perhaps the world’s most famous costume jewelry company, Coro. Since its establishment in 1901, many talented designers worked for the company. Among them Gene Verrecchio, Massa Raimond, Oscar Placco, Robert Geissman, and many of them ended up starting their own jewelry lines. One such designer was François, who joined Coro in 1937. And already in 1938 he created a series of floral designs under his own name. Traditionally, his designs included the use of pressed glass, lucite, enamel, faux pearls, rhinestones, and silver and gold tone metal alloys. In the 1960s the designs included natural stones, gold plating, and cultured pearl. Handcrafted with high craftsmanship and quality, François branded items were sold in the finest boutiques and department stores. The brand ceased to exist in the late 1960s, when the Coro company itself was on the decline.
Noteworthy, the Francois trademark was registered by Ontario based company CORO Canada INC. in 1977. Even without being an expert in costume jewelry, one can see the difference not only in design, but also in marking. The Coro’s François marking includes the word in script, and the Canadian equivalent – in capital block letters.

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Terrier dog brooch. Gold tone metal, rhinestones. 1990s. Signed CT vintage costume jewelry

Signed CT vintage costume jewelry
These fine quality handcrafted figurative brooches marked “CT” are worthy of knowing their author. Unfortunately, I still do not have firm confidence in the origin of the CT jewelry brand.
Among the few companies that labeled their jewelry with CT, two brands attract my attention most of all. Interestingly, both owners of this brand are well-known personalities in the USA. In particular, registered in 1993 trademark owned by the famous supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. Noteworthy, Cheryl was the owner of six “Cheryl Tiegs” brands for the production of sportswear and women’s clothing, watches, wigs, and jewelry. And only two of them were registered under the initials “CT”. “Cheryl Tiegs” jewelry brand was active from 1993 to 2001, and “CT” marked jewelry produced for no more than five years, from 1993 to 1998. According to the press, the supermodel first unveiled her jewelry line on September 22, 1993.
The second most likely owner of the CT brand was Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), known by the stage name Conway Twitty. Few people know that he, like Cheryl Tiegs, was the owner of 6 brands for the production of fabrics, furniture, souvenirs, and jewelry. His “CT” marked jewelry brand existed from 1969 to 1983.
Another company that produced CT-marked jewelry was New England Sterling, Inc., located in Cranston, Rhode Island. The company, which operated since 1934, registered the CT brand, which was active from 1997 to 1999. However, its marking is different, since the letters CT are used with dots – С.Т.
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Hallmarked gold tone round brooch. 4.8 cm. 1990s. Claude Montana vintage costume jewelry

Claude Montana vintage costume jewelry
Born Claude Montamat on 29th June 1947 in Paris, he became known as a famous French fashion designer Claude Montana, founder of fashion and cosmetics company of his name.
In 1967, 17-year-old Montana moved to London, taking on the creation of jewelry from papier-mâché and rhinestones. They soon came to the attention of Olivier Echaudemaison, who at that time worked in British Vogue. He put Montana’s creations on the cover of a prestigious publication and found a distributor for him.
However, the golden era of Claude Montana came in the second half of the 1970s, when he was working in Paris. In 1976, Montana put on his first show, proving himself to be an ardent colorist and innovative designer.
Noteworthy, in 1979, the designer founded his own fashion house of the same name – Montana. Called “the leader of Parisian fashion” in the 1980s, each his collection became the main event of the season. Traditionally, the designer’s accessories and jewelry complemented his angular silhouettes, inspired by both Russian constructivism and futuristic and cosmic style.
The designer was at his best, owning several boutiques in Paris, appearing at CFDA awards accompanied by Cher, and designing couture collections for Lanvin.
However, by the mid-1990s, Montana seemed to have lost his foothold, failing both in work and in his personal life.
In 1997, the Montana company filed for bankruptcy, and in December of the same year, the designer had to sell his business to a French concern owned by businessman Jean-Jacques Layani.
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Clown head gold tone pin. 1990s. Casual Corner vintage costume jewelry

Casual Corner vintage costume jewelry
An American chain of clothing and accessories stores, Casual Corner was founded in West Hartford, Connecticut in 1950. Noteworthy, the first products of this brand appeared in 1945. Twenty years later, when the company owned 20 stores, its founders Charles E. Carples and Stanley W. Vogel sold the company. The new owners, United States Shoe Corporation, have successfully continued and expanded the business. At its peak, the company owned over 525 stores under the Casual Corner, Petite Sophisticate and August Max Woman brands, among others.
The next owner of Casual Corner, Luxottica company (since April 1995) renamed it to “Casual Corner Group”. However, already in 2000, due to increased competition, Casual Corner ceased to exist, having sold the remaining stores by 2005.
As mentioned above, along with clothing and accessories, the company produced costume jewelry with the Casual Corner marking. Made of gold and silver tone metal and rhinestones, these jewelry pieces are mostly figurative pins, brooches, earrings, charms, and pendants.
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