Kaleidoscope effect

Cat with rhinestone eyes brooch of textured gold tone alloy. 1990s. Carol Star vintage costume jewelry

Carol Star vintage costume jewelry (1992-2002)
The history of the Carol Star jewelry brand began in 1992 in Providence, Rhode Island, and lasted only one decade. However, its founder and president, Italian-American Antonio Piccirillo (b. 1952), already had a great experience in creating costume jewelry.
Remarkably, he founded his first jewelry company at the age of 17.
Incorporated in 1969, his first company became Star Creation Inc., located at 45 Dike Street, Providence, Rhode Island. In 1982, Antonio already owned two jewelry companies. His second company, A. Corona Jewelry Inc, was based on Argonne Street, Johnston, RI. So, Carol Star Designs Inc, registered at 45 Dike Street, Providence, Rhode Island in 1994, became his third company.
All three companies ceased to exist in 2004.
Antonio was engaged not only in sales, but also in the design and creation of costume jewelry. The costume jewelry of the Italian master is distinguished by attention to detail, beautiful design, and the use of high quality materials. Traditionally, these are textured metal alloys, silvering and gilding, and rarely enamel and rhinestones. The maker’s mark includes “Carol Star” on an oval or rectangular cartouche and “Made in USA” on oval base.
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Yellow and white enamel gold tone door knocker design dangle pierced earrings. 1980s. Chelsea vintage costume jewelry

Chelsea vintage fashion jewelry (1980s)
In the 1980s, Providence, Rhode Island and its suburbs was the largest jewelry manufacturing center in the US, producing 80% of fashion jewelry. Approximately 1,000 jewelry firms employed about 25,000 people. Notably, the “Made in USA” on the original card or paper tag with the decoration attached actually meant “Made in Providence”.
Although the 1980s was a period of boom in fashion jewelry, the biggest beneficiaries, when costume jewelry sold like hot cakes, were foreign companies located in East Asia – China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Korea. As a result, by the 1990s, thousands of jewelry workers lost their jobs, and hundreds of companies and jewelry stores in Providence closed. One of them was the jewelry firm and boutique Chelsea, which ceased to exist in 1991.
Made in the 1980s, Chelsea’s fashion jewelry, and in particular, large pierced enamel earrings, look amazing. No woman will go unnoticed in these earrings, covered with multicolored luminous enamel. A variety of designs and high quality workmanship make them desirable for lovers of vintage jewelry. The earrings are not marked on the back and were sold on the original brand cards.
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Rectangular sterling silver brooch pin. Mid-century modernist jeweler Paul Miller

Mid-century modernist jeweler Paul Miller
The name of the New York based modernist jeweler of the 1950s and 60s, Paul Miller, has been undeservedly forgotten. Moreover, if you start searching for information about Paul Miller, you will certainly be redirected to his contemporary, the more famous Cleveland jeweler John Paul Miller (1918-2013). Unfortunately, the biography of Paul Miller, including education, dates of birth and death are unknown.
Unlike John Paul Miller, who created gold jewelry and marked it with the stylized JPM initials, Paul Miller worked with sterling silver and marked the pieces with his full name “Paul Miller”. Paul Miller handcrafted geometric design jewelry using sterling silver and natural stones – black spinel, carnelian, agate, moonstone, malachite, etc. The design of his pins, earrings, pendants, cufflinks and rings often includes etched patterns or textured surface. Modernist and boho style jewelry made by Paul Miller is rare and highly collectible.
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Comedy and tragedy theatrical masks sterling silver brooch. 1950s. Danish jeweler Kurt Eric Christoffersen

Danish jeweler Kurt Eric Christoffersen
Born in Denmark, Kurt Eric Christoffersen (1926-1981) began his apprenticeship in goldsmithing at the famous Copenhagen firm of Anton Michelsen, a jeweler at the Danish royal court. He later graduated from the Danish Academy of Arts and Crafts, receiving a silver medal for distinction from the Danish Guild of Goldsmiths and Silversmiths. He emigrated to the United States in 1949, where he began designing silver jewelry and tableware.
In 1952, the International Silver Company opened a craft shop that became known as International Sterling Craft Associates. It was in the International Sterling in Meriden, Connecticut division of this company that he began his career in 1955 as director of design.
Soon, a unique collection of sterling silver jewelry marked “Christoffersen Designed” appeared in the International Sterling Craft catalog. Among the designer’s most famous collections are “Billiards”, “Comedy and Tragedy”, which are highly collectible today. Christoffersen created beautiful limited edition jewelry sets for women and men – bracelets, brooches, cufflinks, tie clips, earrings, pendants, all made from sterling silver or 14 carat gold.
It is not known how many more masterpieces of jewelry art the designer would have created if he had not passed away so early.
Kurt Eric Christoffersen died in 1981 at the age of 55.
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Copper and sterling abstract design brooch. 1950s. Modernist jeweler Nita Lustig Platosh

Modernist jeweler Nita Lustig Platosh (1914 – 1997)
Born in Canada, Nita Mae Overbaugh grew up in Chicago, Illinois and became known as mid-century modernist jewelry designer Nita Lustig Platosh (May 1, 1914 – July 27, 1997). The award-winning designer Lustig was part of the wearable art movement that was popular in the middle of the last century.
According to available archival data, she was married twice – first to Benjamin Platosh (1909-1995), and in 1943 to Erwin Lustig.
Nita opened her workshop in Chicago in the early 1950s and made modernist sterling silver pieces until the 1970s. Several magazine publications and newspapers featured her unique works and achievements. Among them, in particular, the newspaper Park Forest Star (August 22, 1968) and Craft Horizons (January/February 1968).
Lustig traditionally used sterling silver over two layers of copper and labeled her modernist creations “Lustig” and “Sterling”.
Her last residence was Naples, Florida, where she died at the age of 83.
Today, her unique pieces are rare on the market and highly collectible.
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Moonstone sterling silver ring. 1950. James Arnold Frew modernist jewelry

James Arnold Frew modernist jewelry (1940s-60s)
Known as an important modernist jeweler and stone cutter, J. Arnold Frew created jewelry for Hollywood stars and celebrities. Since 1954, his work has appeared in museum exhibitions and auction catalogues, in books and art publications.
The designer created jewelry since late 1940s, lived a long life and died in 2008 at the age of 95. All the more surprising is the fact that there is very little information about the jeweler. Moreover, the available biographical data vary in different sources. So, according to some sources, the date of his birth is 1912, while other, no less authoritative sources indicate the year of his birth 1921.
American modernist jeweler J. Arnold Frew (1912–2008) graduated from Pasadena City College in California and began working in his garage workshop in Arcadia. Later he worked in other Californian cities – Monrovia and Los Angeles.
Drawing inspiration from natural elements, he created unique modernist pieces using 10-14 K yellow gold and sterling silver, as well as diamonds and baroque textured pearls. Noteworthy, the designer most often used smoky and rutilated quartz, which he subjected to additional processing for a special effect. Among other gems were topaz, tourmaline, turquoise, moonstone and amethyst.
Marked “Frew”, the designer’s works are rare and highly collectible.
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Human figure mid-century sterling silver dangle earrings. Modernist jeweler Jules Brenner (1917-1991)

Modernist jeweler Jules Brenner (1917-1991)
Born in 1917, Jules Brenner was an artist by training and began his career as a painter and sculptor in his native New York. However, in the late 1940s he moved to Provincetown, Rhode Island, where he became interested in working with metal, creating functional objects in copper and brass.
During this period he worked with the renowned modernist jeweler Ed Wiener (1918-1991), who, with his wife Doris, ran a workshop and shop selling Mexican jewelry and his own creations.
While honing his skills of working with metal, Jules Brenner became interested in creating jewelry. Three years later, in 1951, Jules Brenner moved to Woodstock, New York, where he and his wife opened a shop on MacDougal Street, where he sold his own modernist silver jewelry.
In 1953 he returned to Greenwich Village, where he opened a workshop and began creating modernist pieces in sterling silver, with gold wire and sometimes semi-precious stones. He marked his pieces with “sterling” and his full name.
Ten years later, he moved his studio to Lexington Avenue and began to work in the style of constructivism and surrealism, using mainly gold. Handcrafted in limited editions or one of a kind, these pieces of jewelry are highly collectible.
In 1974, Jules Brenner moved to Provincetown, where he had worked for seventeen years, until his death in 1991.
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