Pennino vintage costume jewellery

Pennino vintage costume jewellery (1926-1966)

The creators of Pennino were three brothers, the sons of Italian jeweler Pasquale Pennino. Nicknamed “Neapolitan princes” in their homeland, they had special taste, aristocratic manners and a fraction of the royal blood that flowed in their veins. The head of the family – Pasquale Pennino had his oldest son Oreste Pennino (born in Naples, 1888) in his first marriage. Having married for the second time to Giuseppina Vergati, Pasquale had four more children: Maria, Anselmo (called Frank), Gennaro (or Jack), and Carmela.
And while his children were growing up, Pasquale made his dream come true – he brought his sixteen year old son Oreste to America (1904). Following family traditions, Pasquale Pennino taught his son jewelry art, knowledge and skills which he once got from his own father, a goldsmith.
Having settled in Brooklyn, already in 1908 they sold their first Pennino jewelry decorations. The same year, his wife Giuseppina, their two younger sons and daughters have arrived.
Unfortunately, on 17th May 1908, a few weeks after the arrival of the family, Pasquale died, having had no time to catch the fame and success of the case, which his children continued.
The twenty year-old Oreste had to take care of his younger brothers and sisters.

Six years later, in 1914, Giuseppina returned to Italy with her daughters. However, her sons Frank and Jack preferred to stay with Oreste in New York to develop their skills and work in the jewelry industry.
In 1926 Oreste, American citizen, founded the Oreste Pennino company. The next year, in 1927 the brothers officially registered the company “Pennino Bros., Inc” and opened a workshop. Family business flourished. The boys shared the responsibilities: Oreste worked as a designer, Frank was a jeweler, and Jack was engaged in sales and marketing. Their ornaments were sold in prestigious US stores, such as “Spaulding’s of Chicago” and “Saks Fifth Avenue”.

Pennino vintage costume jewellery

The real hayday of the company was the 1930s and 1940s. Ornaments were in demand, used in Hollywood shoots, and decorated secular lionesses. But after the onset of the great depression, gold and non-ferrous metals became an unacceptable luxury. So, Pennino switched to sterling silver, rhinestones, and glass cabochons of bright colors. The brothers were afraid even to think that their works will look cheap.

By 1960, Frank, the chief jeweler, had begun to lose his sight. In addition, most of the equipment became useless. Six years later, when Frank lost his sight, the brothers realized – there was no one left in the family who could continue their business.

Noteworthy, not all Pennino ornaments were marked. For example, there were rare limited unmarked series, such as “Crownpin” with moonstone and “Golden leaves suite”, which Pennino released in 1939 in honor of the visit of the four British monarchs to the US.

Pennino vintage costume jewellery