Necklaces coming soon . . .

These (and more!) necklaces are coming to the shop very soon. Holiday prep is almost done here at Jean Jean Vintage! There will be lots of new listings in the next few weeks and a big sale (shh!) for Black Friday and the weekend to follow. What is on your Jean Jean wishlist?

1930s glass necklaces, "Made in France"

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I didn't really know about these chunky, French glass bead necklaces until I found one in a pile of things I won at an auction earlier this year. They are serious pieces of jewelry. The one I listed in the shop weighs over 5 ounces and you can feel it sinking around your neck with the weight of all that beautiful glass. The necklaces are strung on sturdy herringbone silver chain to support the heavy beads and the clasps are often barrel style and always marked, "Made in France." So if you are out antiquing or at a flea market and you see a necklace like this, peek at the clasp. They aren't flashy in the way that some Art Deco necklaces are but they are fabulous in their own way.

Bright little things

These little 1930s filigree pins are bright like candies and beautiful worn as pins or as pendants. If you have thick hair, you can probably wear them as hair ornaments, too (mine is too thin to make it work). What is not to love here? All four are currently stocked in the shop.

"most attractive ever created"

The Art Deco rhinestone necklace and earrings I just listed in the shop are part of a trend of "brilliant set," American costume jewels from the early 1930s. Women of that era lusted after the platinum and diamond creations of the great jewelry houses like Cartier (don't we still!?) which were inaccessible to most of the population. It didn't take long for jewelry manufacturers to draft costume versions of these highly desired styles to meet the demand of fashionable ladies.

For the price of $7.50 in 1932 (about $130 today) you could purchase an "exact copy of an expensive French creation" from stores like Montgomery Ward. The jewelry was always done in silver, either sterling or plated with rhodium, and always pavé set with clear rhinestones - usually chatons or baguettes. The necklaces always featured a drop portion and the earrings were usually chandelier style.

The craftsmanship on these pieces is always excellent and they are right on the line of Edwardian and Art Deco styling . . . dripping with jewels and delicate with lacy piercings but also non-figural and often geometric in design. Hands down, one of my favorite styles from the era. As the copy in one of my catalogs says about this jewelry, "As a gift for any occasion, nothing could be more acceptable."Agreed! Although I think these things would be especially lovely for a bride.

Images scanned from my copies of the 1932 Fort Dearborn Gift Book & Catalog, Answers to Questions About Old Jewelry, 1840-1950, 7th Edition (C. Jeanenne Bell, G.G.), and Warman's Vintage Jewelry, Identification and Price Guide (Leigh Leshner)

Falling in love with Miriam

It is happening. I'm falling in love with Miriam Haskell jewelry. I suppose it was only a matter of time.

I am fascinated by her designs and her craftsmanship. Beginning in the late 1920s, she created big, colorful, 3-D pieces that were desirable not for the materials used but for their elaborate, handmade quality. Women lusted after them. Many of the same women who wore Cartier and Tiffany also wore Haskell (Joan Crawford, the Duchess of Windsor, etc.). She had a completely different way of constructing her jewelry than other costumer jewelers of the time. Mainly, she never used glue. As described in the "history" section of the modern Haskell company website, "the [jewelry] element, no matter how diminutive, was threaded, encrusted, or wrapped by hand onto a wire, a chain, or handset into a channel or finding. It’s the tight embroidery of the elements-that bares no sign of the base underneath - that is one of the most distinctive features of Miriam Haskell jewelry."

This is a wonderful appraisal (video and transcript) of a collection of Haskell jewelry from the archives of Antiques Roadshow. The appraiser, Jeanenne Bell, does a great job of pointing out the things that make Haskell jewelry unique. Put on your diapers before you watch it.

Because her pieces weren't signed before 1940, collectors use different ways of authenticating early Haskell pieces. The use of Miriam Haskell advertisements, like the ones here, is one way to identify her earliest work. How cool is it to see the actual jewelry along with the ads?! You can see many more 1930s-1940s ads on this excellent resource page over at Morning Glory Antiques and Jewelry.

Bubble necklaces

"Bubble" necklaces were a thing in the late 1930s. You've probably spotted them before. They were made of impossibly thin, blown glass balls, usually suspended from celluloid with brass findings. Sometimes they had craft-store-esque things inside, like this green necklace from my shop a while back. In most cases, though, the glass bubbles are clear and it is up to the celluloid links to add color. They are fun and big and I love them. This modern version from the MOMA store is pretty great, too.

My new baby

Remember back in January when I predicted that there was an orange version of this antique pin floating around out in the world somewhere? Well, I was right! And so the collection grows, roughly at the rate of 1.5 pins a year :) You can bet I'm all puffed up with pride over here at this new addition to my brood. I'm still looking for a red and a yellow . . .

P.S. If anyone sees any other colors of these out in the world, please put up the Bat Signal!

Miriam and Fred, 1937

My Aunt gave me this original photograph of my grandparents earlier this spring after my grandma's memorial service. I was nearly speechless. It was snapped around 1937, possibly in Chicago. It looks like summertime which means my grandparents - Miriam and Fred - had only been married for about six months. My grandma is twenty-two in this photo, the same age as Edith Piaf across the ocean (who had just been "discovered" and was starting to record music). It is difficult to imagine the world that they were walking around in at that time. The country was segregated. Women had been voting for less than twenty-years. The Great Depression was just coming to an end and World War II was looming, although they didn't know that. The Golden Gate Bridge had just opened for traffic in May. Amelia Earhart was about to disappear. And they were just out for a walk, a young couple with no kids (yet!) stopping for a photo. What did they imagine their life would be like together? What were they worried about? What were they looking forward to?

Sextuplets

As you might recall, I have a little *thing* for the combination of brass + colored glass + enamel in antique jewelry. I also get a huge kick out of finding long-lost jewelry mates. These six pins are my pride and joy. I first told you about them two years ago and I've managed to add to the collection since then. Have you seen any other colors? I'm betting there is a red, orange and yellow out there in the world. Here's to hoping I can find them!

P.S. If you like these pins there is one available on Etsy right now.

Seriously beautiful

     

There's just something about antique, black glass necklaces, non? They demand to be taken seriously. These four, which are all marked for or attributed to Czechoslovakia (ahh how I love that style), are newly stocked in the shop.

P.S. Do you recognize the necklace third from the left? It is the twin to the PAMPLEMOUSSE necklace that was in the shop almost two years ago.

1930s update

There are six new 1920s-1930s pieces in the shop this morning. How cool is that squiggly bar pin? Each photo is linked. Happy Monday!

Batter up!

I just listed a great 1930s baseball charm in the shop. I found this page in one of my old (1928) jewelry catalogs, which shows all the different kinds of sport charms that were available for purchase and engraving back in the day, including a few options for baseballs. I would love to find a bowling charm someday!

Loveday Antiques

If you happen to live in London, and you have £14,000 to put to good use, I suggest you go out and buy these three items immediately (images linked)! I wish I could visit the Loveday Antiques showroom in person and whisper sweet nothings to this Art Deco dining table. Mama Mia. I'm also quite smitten with this reclining black leather chair from the 1830s and this Victorian Partner's writing table.