Kaleidoscope effect

Broccoli brooch. 4 cm. Sterling silver. 1980s. Signed Breakell vintage costume jewelry

Signed Breakell vintage costume jewelry
The history of jewelry company J. H. Breakell & Co began in Newport, Rhode Island in 1972. It is a family business of silversmith James and his wife Joan Breakell. Joan had to take on the role of jewelry designer, since James got vision problems. Her work, in particular, includes all stages from the idea and the original drawing to the creation of a a 3D wax model of the future jewelry piece. Traditionally, the craftsmen of this company use sterling silver and 14K gold. According to Joan, nature and environment where they live is the main inspiration for them.
Forged, hammered and polished by hand, each piece is marked “Breakell”, “Breakell sterling” or Aries astrological sign (used by James in his early works). Based on centuries old technique of the silversmith, their jewelry decorations, especially those created in 1970-90s are highly collectible. Noteworthy, the company, which has been successfully operating for almost five decades, is still active today.

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Charleston dancer brooch. Gold tone jewelry alloy, enamel. 7.5 cm, 1989. Art Deco 89 vintage costume jewelry

Art Deco 89 vintage costume jewelry
The prototype of this brooch is the figurines of one of the most famous ivory carvers of the early 20th century, Ferdinand Preiss. It was he who first began to combine ivory with bronze casting. His female figurines were very popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and their popularity only grew over time.
There are jewelry companies that have been in business for decades and are destined to remain unknown. However, others, like stars in the sky, flash brightly and burn out, leaving a trail. Such a bright star was Rhode Island based Art Deco 89 company, which produced costume jewelry for only one year, but their jewelry has become highly collectible. According to the company name, they were active in 1989. Its founder, Larry Joseph received permission to replicate famous designs from the Art Deco period. Noteworthy, in 1960-70s Larry Joseph owned the famous Hattie Carnegie jewelry company.
Traditionally, the designer used gold plating, enamel, lucite and rhinestones, and labeled the pieces “Art Deco 89” and number. The stunning design and high quality of these decorations allowed the company to sell jewelry in the most famous boutiques and shops, for example in Neiman Marcus. In addition, the products of this company were in the collection of jewelry lover Elizabeth Taylor.
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Green lucite laughing Buddha brooch. 1980s. David Grau vintage costume jewelry

David Grau vintage costume jewelry
Joyful, optimistic brooch in the shape of the Chinese god of fun and well-being, created by the Spanish jewelry designer David Grau. Made of gold tone jewelry alloy and lucite. The brooch is large, with volume and quite heavy, marked “dag Spain”.
Barcelona based designer David Grau produced costume jewelry from the late 1980s to 2004.
Traditionally, when creating his jewelry, the designer used gold plating, enamel, bronze, lucite, poured glass, semi-precious stones and rhinestones. Also, the designed worked in Damascene technique. Noteworthy, he marked all decorations with stylized “dag” and “Spain”, or with his full name “David Grau” on the back side. Some pieces sold on branded “David Grau” cards have “grau Spain” stamps. Perfectly preserved due to high quality of materials and workmanship, vintage jewelry of this brand made in the 1980s-1990s is highly collectible.
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White Rabbit silver brooch from Alice in Wonderland collection. 5.5 cm. 1990. Kit Carson vintage costume jewelry

Kit Carson vintage costume jewelry
The collection repeats the fairy tale characters created by Alice’s first illustrator, John Tenniel. The famous artist, silversmith Kit Carson began to create jewelry under his own name in 1970 when he was 20 years old.
He grew up on a ranch in Arizona and later attended the University of Oregon, where he studied engraving, drawing and sculpture.
Arizona based artist, he painted, made large sculptures out of rusty metal, and made jewelry by hand. Traditionally, he used sterling silver, gold, precious and semi-precious stones. Now the designer is 72 years old, and his products made in the 1970s and 90s are highly collectible.
Carson lives and works at Cactus Camp in New River, Arizona with his wife, artist Aryana B. Londir.
Noteworthy, the status of his trademark changed to “cancelled” in 2013. However, in 2013 he won the prestigious Sonny Tuttle Spirit Award at the Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole, WY.
Also, his website kitcarsonjewelry.com is not available at the moment.
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Cherry brooch. Art Plastic. 9 cm. 1990s. Marion Godart vintage costume jewelry

Marion Godart vintage costume jewelry
The brand’s history began with a strong bond between two sisters, Marion Godart and Martine Manardo. Martina Manardo has always loved antiques and handicrafts. In the late 1960s, she even launched her own jewelry line under the name Rohanne. Her sister Marion was studying in Italy at this time. However, in 1988, the sisters teamed up, and a story of real family success began. Eighteen years later, Marion Godart was sold in 850 boutiques around the world. According to statistics, the first fans were Italians, then Greeks, British, Japanese and Spaniards.
According to Marion, she draws inspiration from the Art Nouveau and Art Deco fashion trends. But the specificity of the brand lies in its richness of natural materials – wood, horn, shell, stones, mother of pearl, resin. Behind the two sisters are two cultures (Tunisian mother, Italian father) that embody an ethnic trend based on color.
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Flower brooch. Green faux pearls orange rhinestones silver tone metal. Laila Rowe vintage costume jewelry

Laila Rowe vintage costume jewelry
The history of the Laila Rowe jewelry brand began in 1992. Its founders, Judith Schwartz, a native of the Bronx, and her partner Alexia Crawford, who came to New York from Sydney, Australia, began creating costume jewelry for the company in the early 1990s. In fact, Judith Schwartz had been involved in jewelry design long before founding Laila Rowe. She even had three of her own stores in Manhattan called Nemesis Jewelry. Alexia Crawford ran a wholesale company supplying women’s accessories to department stores, and also had a small retail store in New Haven.
The collaboration between the two friends was successful and the business grew rapidly. They traveled to Europe and Asia and spent a lot of time researching market trends. As a result, on June 28, 2003, the first Laila Rowe store appeared in Columbus, and within a year they opened eight more!. (Based on the article in The New York Times, Sept. 19, 2004)
Traditionally, all pieces are marked on the back side with five-pointed star, or “Laila Rowe”.
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Jeweled top brooch. Gold tone textured metal, faux pearls, crystals. 6.8 cm, 1990s. Signed Natori vintage costume jewelry

Signed Natori vintage costume jewelry

Born Josefina Almeda Cruz, she grew up in the Philippines. The girl was talented in playing the piano, and at the age of 9 she performed as a soloist with the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra. However, Josie didn’t continue her career as a musician. Aged 17, she moved to New York and entered Manhattanville College to study economics and finance. In 1976, Josie married Ken Natori, and in 1977 she started family business. Natori brand, in particular, included home and sleepwear, urban clothing, glasses, perfume, textiles, home and costume jewelry.
Traditionally botanical, floral, along with bold, minimal and geometric designs, these decorations are made with the use of gold or silver plated brass, fresh water pearl and rhinestones.
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