Kaleidoscope effect

Thermometer brooch. Jewelry alloy, multicolor rhinestones, gold plated. Little Nemo vintage costume jewelry

Little Nemo vintage costume jewelry
You never get tired of being surprised by the fantasies of designers, inspired by completely unexpected things – from bicycles and televisions to books and a set of golf as the design of a future brooch. Just look at this brooch, with a working thermometer, by the way!
American company Little Nemo produced jewelry from 1913 to 1978 in Providence, RI. Its founders – Benjamin Brier and Sam Magid named the company after the Disney character popular in those years. The design of the jewelry Little Nemo has changed over time, yet, the most famous line of jewelry was so-called Czech style. Once, Little Nemo was a very successful company due to the quality stones (imported from around the world) and detailed, “old world” designs. According to sources, Little Nemo was the second largest costume jewelry company in the world, just behind legendary Coro. Noteworthy, the company made custom jewelry for Helena Rubenstein, Revlon and Walt Disney. About Little Nemo labeling. Most of the jewelry was sold only with paper tags, but some decorations included marks “Little Nemo”, L/N, LN, and LN/25.
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Basket on flowers gold tone brooch, multicolor crystal, glass cabochons. Signed Dodds 11 W 30 CT Inc. Dodds vintage costume jewelry

Dodds vintage costume jewelry
The history of the American company Dodds began in 1952. William Dodds was the successful owner of a plastic factory in Newark, New Jersey. Inspired by the jewelry boom in the United States, he, together with his partner, decided to open a subsidiary. They called it “Jewel Creations”. Noteworthy, in the mid-60s, William Dodds became the sole owner of the company and since then only Dodds mark has been used in his jewelery.
Located in close proximity to West 31 Street, Dodds’ production was on 11 W 30 Street. That’s explains such a strange marking “11 W 30 ST INC”.
Creating their jewelry pieces, Dodds masters used colored rhinestones, multi-colored stones and lucite. Traditionally of high quality, some Dodds jewelery has a voluminous design. Appreciated by collectors, Dodds vintage costume jewelry is quite rare.

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Gorgeous sunflower brooch of gold tone textured metal with large pearl insert in the middle. Carol Dauplaise vintage costume jewelry

Carol Dauplaise vintage costume jewelry
Marking Dauplaise – high-quality jewelry and original design first saw the light in 1979. 1980s. Produced in small collections, these decorations are rare and popular among collectors and lovers of vintage costume jewelry. The company founded by Carol Dauplaise in 1978, exists and and continues to produce jewelry to this day. Noteworthy, Carol Dauplaise worked with Mariam Haskell for a long time, from 1959 to 1978.
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Floral design vintage sterling silver brooch signed Symmetalic. 1940s. 14 K gold plated, crystals, faux pearls. 5.5 cm. WRE W.E. Richards vintage costume jewelry

WRE W.E. Richards vintage costume jewelry

Founded in 1902, W.E. Richards Company produced a wide range of high quality products in the Victorian, Art Deco and Modernist styles. In particular, elegant brooches, chains, bracelets, pendants, rings and expensive charms. The company used noble 925 sterling silver, gilding with 10-14-carat gold as materials. Also, cultured pearls, crystals, and semiprecious stones – agate, cat’s eye, jasper, onyx, carnelian and others. All products – labeled “Sterling”, “W.E. Richards”, “WRE” (since 1944), or “Symmetalic”, which also belongs to this company.
Noteworthy, the company that has existed since 1902 is still active, but already as part of a whole conglomerate. In 1907, Richards sold his share to Raymond Horton and C.A. Howard. According to sources, in May 2003, AB group announced the purchase of W.E. Richards Company. Renaming it to W.E. Richards Company AB group, its address has changed to 40 John Williams St. Attleboro, Massachessetts.
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Monet vintage butterfly brooch. 6.5 cm. Butterfly jewelry symbolism and meaning

Butterfly jewelry symbolism and meaning
Undoubtedly, the most popular jewelry design, so beloved by women, is a butterfly along with flowers. And this choice is not casual, but subconscious, therefore women intuitively choose a butterfly design. A symbol of the soul, immortality, rebirth and resurrection, the ability to transform, a butterfly is born, transforming from a usual caterpillar. Also, the butterfly is a symbol of the Great Goddess (Great Mother, Magna Mater). The image of the Great Goddess goes back to the ancient times of human history, to the Paleolithic. This supreme deity personified heaven and earth at the same time, life and death. Hence the belief that witches can turn into butterflies. Also, butterflies contribute to conception and foreshadow war, and butterflies are the souls of the dead.
In addition, in many cultures, the butterfly symbolizes the transient nature of joy. In China, this winged creature denotes immortality, leisure in abundance, joy and summer. The butterfly depicted with plum symbolizes longevity and beauty, with chrysanthemum – beauty in old age, with a feather – longevity.
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Butterfly vintage brooch. Copper alloy, silver plated, rhinestones, blue enamel. 10.5 cm. Pierre Bex vintage costume jewelry

Pierre Bex vintage costume jewelry
French jewelry brand Pierre Bex began producing its decorations in 1969, but closed production in late 1980s. Thus, all the products of the brand are vintage and desired for collectors and lovers of vintage jewelry. The company jewelers masterly reproduced vintage jewelry using antique clichés. Also, the Pierre Bex company manually produced unique decorations and miniature interior items. In particular, photo frames, business card trays, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Baroque perfume bottles. Traditionally, jewelry was made of copper, covered with silver, decorated with crystals and then enameled. Produced in limited editions, the decorations were of the highest quality, and today are very popular among collectors around the world.
Becks jewelery is so perfectly made that it is often difficult even for collectors to distinguish Pierre Bex items from antique ones. Noteworthy, products were rarely marked, sometimes sold with paper labels, but brooches are always recognizable by geometric patterns.
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Red Cardinal bird on a pine branch vintage brooch. Gold tone jewelry alloy, gilding, enamel, rhinestones. 6 cm. Smithsonian Institution vintage costume jewelry

Smithsonian Institution vintage costume jewelry
Rare museum quality brooch made of jewelry alloy, gilding, enamel and rhinestone. The brooch is quite large and voluminous. Like all the decorations of the Smithsonian Institute, created according to the works of art from the museum collections, the brooch is fine, and the bird looks very natural.
Every piece released with the SMITHSONIAN marking is inspired by museum pieces. Noteworthy, the Smithsonian jewelry collection which appeared before the 1970s, boasts a wide variety of stylistic solutions inspired by priceless exhibits.
Processed manually, each product is accompanied by a description of the design features, a story, and which exhibit served as the prototype of the decoration.
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