Rare Modernist Peridot Earrings by Dodds c 1950
Catalogue:
Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Designer:
Pre 1960 item# 1113738
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GlitzQueen History and Art to Wear
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Dodds jewelry is collectible for scarcity, as well as quality. It's in short supply, because the company operated for little more than a decade, mainly during the 1950s. The brand was known for fashion-forward design, fine craftsmanship and superior materials, sometimes including semi-precious stones.
These wonderfully dimensional earrings capture the Dodds look to perfection, with stylized leaf shapes so graceful that they suggest a breeze is blowing through their cutouts -- and, yes, those are chunks of real peridot sprinkled all over them! Mid-century discoveries in Brazil made peridots more affordable and their fresh apple green color tempted people eager to pamper themselves after the privations of the Depression and World War II. Adding still more texture and opulence, rows of faux pearls stud the leaves' stems like dewdrops.
The shimmering white metal mounts and clips are most likely of rhodium or chromium, both members of the hard-wearing platinum family.
As you see, these beauties are in superb condition; it takes high magnification to notice the very slight age-appropriate wear. They measure about an inch wide and a bit more than an inch long. Making them extra-special, the Dodds signature is quite clear. Dodds pieces weren't always signed and the mark, when present, isn't always legible.
Around 60 years old now, these will be antique before much longer, by American 75-year standards. So this is the time to get serious about collecting treasures from the 1950s, if you haven't already.
There's no charge for insured U.S. shipping and gift-wrap is always free when desired. Please e-mail to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking!
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Splendid Signed Victorian Coral Choker Necklace c1890
Catalogue:
Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Designer:
Pre 1900 item# 1113281
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$195 SALE. Was $255.
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As you know if you follow fashion, chokers are the trendiest necklaces around today. In fact, the last time they were so coveted, Alexandra was Queen of England! This example was crafted even earlier, when she was still Princess of Wales. The Princess Di or Countess Kate of her day, beautiful Alex popularized chokers (and high collars with bar pins), because she liked to hide a small scar on her neck. Her adoring subjects and fans across the sea needed no such excuse.
This choker, a paricularly wide and wonderful one, couldn't possibly be more Belle Epoque. Everything about it screams Gay Nineties: the curvy Art Nouveau forms, richly gilded metalwork and spectacular, unusual stones. Signed "Greene Bros., New York City, NY", it's set with 10 gorgeous speckled coral cabochons. These look like real coral, but could be excellent art glass or early plastic, which was equally prized at the time. The choker's central oval medallion measures a stately 2 1/2 inches tall by 1 3/4 inches wide and is riveted onto a mesh band measuring 4 1/2 inches by 1 inch, which has brackets to hold ribbon or lace. Jewels of this sort were tied on, giving the wearer a chance to match her necklace ribbons to her dress. Hair was customarily pinned up, so the pretty bow at the back was easily visible. Depending on what you tie it to, this versatile jewel could also be worn as a sash ornament and a headband.
No polishing of the gilded brass has been done, since the decision on how far to go with cleaning should be left to its next owner. Obviously, the metal could be made quite bright by a good jeweler, since the inner surface still shimmers. Overall condition is extremely good, with only minor age-appropriate wear, and provenance is an East Coast estate.
There's no charge for insured U.S. shipping, with an equivalent discount on international delivery, and gift-wrap is free on request. Please e-mail to confirm availability, order or request more photos. I'm always happy to send larger images that will give you a clearer view. Thanks for looking!
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Vintage 8 Inch Iguana Brooch - Soft Sculpture to Wear
Catalogue:
Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Designer:
Pre 1980 item# 1008276
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He's huge, he's fabulous, he's a pet who's no trouble! Soft sculpture to wear, our adorable hand-made silk and glitz lizard or iguana attracts Major Attention when pinned atop a shoulder. He also makes a stunning display piece for your home.
This hand-made, one-of-a-kind creation was acquired in the late 1970s from the leading crafts spot in the Santa Fe/Albuquerque area, Mariposa Gallery. A massive 8 inches long and 4 inches wide, he (or she) was seldom worn and is still like new - featuring a riot of shimmering fabrics, beads and trims, and even a mouthful of amethyst crystal. Yummy. And our price today is the same as it cost more than 30 ago. I should know, since this beauty has spent all that time in my personal collection. Now I think he deserves to get out on the town more.
I wish I could recall the artist's name, but unfortunately it escapes me and the tag was lost in some move or other. She was one of the gallery's stars, back in the day.
There's no charge for insured U.S. shipping and gift-wrap is always free when desired. Please e-mail to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking!
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Vintage Whiting and Davis Silvertone Chain Necklace
Catalogue:
Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Designer:
Pre 1950 item# 1008262
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Striking and versatile, this long, graceful chain can be enjoyed as a necklace in its own right or used to show off your favorite pendants.
Created by Whiting & Davis, a firm legendary for top-quality jewelry and handbags through more than a century, the chain is signed on an oval plaque that doubles as the clasp catch. You won't need to bother unlatching the clasp, though, since the chain is slip-over length, a convenient 28 inches. It's a substantial 3/4 of an inch wide, yet as supple as snakes. Provenance is a New England estate, condition is lovely and the most likely dating would be 1940s, when the company produced an extensive line of fancy neck chains.
There's no charge for insured U.S. shipping (with an equivalent discount on international delivery) and gift-wrap is always free on request. Please e-mail to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking!
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Huge Jeweled DODDS Pendant Necklace Retro 1950s
Catalogue:
Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Designer:
Pre 1960 item# 1007214
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DODDS jewelry is scare, especially if signed, as their mark isn't always legible. This enormous pendant (3 1/4" x 2 1/4") clearly bears the name of the famous firm known for using high-quality stones in gold-plated metal.
Yes, that means this monster blue-white moonstone cabochon (1" x 3/4") could possibly be real. No promises and we've priced the piece as faux, but the stone feels colder to the touch than glass and isn't scratched as glass normally would be after decades. Being foil-backed, it's hard to examine, but it also seems to show inclusions not characteristic of glass, when viewed under high magnification.
Regardless of materials, we know for sure that the company closed circa 1960, so this pendant has considerable age. Most likely it dates from the 1950s, but it could be a little earlier. Overall condition is lovely, with loss of finish on just a few faux pearls, one visible to the naked eye (an easy fix).
While the pendant reached us from a Pennsylvania estate, the vintage necklace that matches it so well in color, style and scale was discovered more recently in a Texas collection. It dates from around the same period and is of very high quality, although not signed. Faux pearls alternate with pretty golden metal balls that have a granular, cannetille-like finish. It drapes beautifully and has a nice old barrel clasp -- which you won't even need to bother opening, because the necklace is 30 inches long.
You couldn't pick anything more stylish now, since fashion favors piling on statement-making pendant necklaces.
Please e-mail to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking!
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Superb Large Vintage Circus Horse Pin by Bijoux Cascio
Catalogue:
Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Designer:
Pre 1980 item# 706930
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In mint condition from old store stock, never worn, this fabulous vintage Bijoux Cascio brooch is a whopper, measuring just under 3 x 2 inches. The size would be more precise in centimeters, given that it comes from Europe. The company was established in Italy during 1948 and lasted about 40 years, accessorizing famous designer lines including Pucci and Capucci.
This jewel most likely dates from the 1960s or 1970s, when people began collecting old carousel horses and fancy equine motifs were all the rage. As you see, shimmering black and green enamelwork sets a most dramatic mood here, accentuated by exceptionally brilliant gold plating and sparkling Swarovski crystals of tourmaline pink, topaz blue and peridot green, plus a clear diamante eye. With this mix of colors, it will go beautifully with almost anything. Highly sculptural, the piece rises more than half an inch above the back. There's an abundance of textural interest, too, and obviously its like-new condition makes this beauty highly giftable. The Bijoux Cascio mark appears on its richly gilded reverse, in an oval cartouche.
There's no charge for insured U.S. shipping and gift-wrap is also free whenever desired. Please e-mail erinharris@comcast.net to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking!
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Retro Vintage Czech 3 Inch Blue Dangle Earrings Signed
Catalogue:
Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Designer:
Pre 1950 item# 696477
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If you have a blue party outfit, here are the perfect earrings to go with it. If you don't, these may persuade you to get one! Each opulent earring is dominated by two emerald-cut sapphire crystals and four teardrops, with accents of sparkling diamond white -- and, besides the intense color story, there's lots of action. The drops will sway on their diamante chains with your every motion.
In all respects including size, these earrings are outrageously glamorous. When they were made in the 1930s or 1940s, film stars had first begun to set popular taste and their luxurious jewels were duplicated best of all by the Czechs. The nation was Bohemia prior to World War I, remember, and they had centuries of expertise in creating and setting the finest glass gems. These all appear to be original and the earrings are in good-as-new condition, thanks to some recent work to shore up vulnerable points. The dots of solder on the reverses aren't actually repairs, but preventive strengthening measures undertaken to prevent potential damage. If the little areas showing a color difference bother you, it would be easy to dab on a bit of liquid leaf or gilding paste. I'd have done that, but didn't want to conceal anything. The prior owner also had the old clip fasteners replaced by posts, which most of us would consider an improvement.
The earrings reached us from a Palm Springs estate -- no surprise, in light of their quality. The maker, Husar D, was obviously a high-end firm.
There's no charge for insured U.S. shipping and gift-wrap is always free when desired. Please e-mail to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking.
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Vintage Coro Diamond Rhinestone Earrings c 1950
Catalogue:
Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Designer:
Pre 1960 item# 691154
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As the holiday season approaches, it's time to think rhinestones. Keep a pair of dazzling earrings in your purse and you'll always be party-ready.
This classic pair by Coro will add a properly festive note to anything from jeans up. At an inch round, they aren't overwhelming, but the domed shape allows for quite a load of rhinestones -- certainly more than 100, all told. Sizes vary somewhat, for the pave effect; however, most are quite large. A few are probably later replacements, as is almost inevitable with vintage earrings of this form. What little metalwork is visible is bright silvery-white, probably rhodium or chromium, one of those hard-wearing cousins of platinum. The metal remains brilliant on the reverses, as well, requiring high magnification to note slight wear. These must have been kept for special occasions and stored carefully. The fasteners are clips, as is right for the period, and each has the Coro signature in script. Provenance is a West Coast estate.
There's no charge for insured U.S. shipping and gift-wrap is always free when desired. Please e-mail to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking!
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1930s Vintage Necklace Earrings Set by Bugby and Nile
Catalogue:
Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Designer:
Pre 1940 item# 529377
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The graceful shape of scallop shells has been associated with feminine beauty at least since Botticelli painted the irresistible Aphrodite floating to shore on one. She's associated also with roses, gold and laughter -- celebrating the sweetness, richness and gaiety of romance -- and every one of those elements is beautifully captured here in a set of jewels perfect for today's love goddesses. Sweet pink, blue and dewdrop crystals nestle in shells richly surfaced with soft rosy gold and rise on stalks within the centerpiece rose playfully formed of three scallops. The earrings, still more whimsical, have swirling antennae that turn shells into butterflies. Could anything be girlier? I don't see how.
This is a gorgeously crafted demi-parure, in which each rhinestone is prong-set and those on the necklace are also open-backed for extra sparkle. Even the reverses are lovingly detailed with bright-shining dimensional frames that overlay the ruffly shells that show a brushed finish in front. This level of intricacy suggests the jewels date no later than the 1930s, as do the earrings' screw backs and time's clouding of some rhinestones. Despite their age, which makes them almost antique by American 75-year standards, these show only minor surface wear. The necklace, 16 inches long, has quite a large central element (4 1/2 inches by 2 inches) and the earrings measure about 1 1/4 inches by 3/4 inch. Provenance of these charmers is -- wouldn't you know it? -- a Deep South estate, specifically that of a Georgia belle.
The maker, whose mark appears on the earring backs, was the Bugbee & Nile Company, in business from 1896 to 1943.
There's no charge for insured U.S. shipping and gift-wrap is always free when desired. Please e-mail to confirm availability, order or request more photos. Thanks for looking!
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Bold MARVELLA Pearls Necklace Earring Set 1940-50
Catalogue:
Estate Jewelry:
Costume:
Designer:
Pre 1950 item# 400579
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$55 SALE
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Perfect with the new ladylike fashions, this dazzling vintage demi-parure from Marvella features whopping faux-pearl beads on a strand about 17 inches long, plus gorgeous dangle earclips 1 1/2 inches long. The company, established in 1911, focused on simulated pearls after 1940 and became quite famous for them. Most are classic, smaller glass pearls, but the dramatic scale of this particular set shows a strong Modernist influence. I'm certain it dates from the 1940s or very early 1950s, since it's actually been in my own family since then.
Each piece is signed Marvella on the attractive rhodium-plated necklace hook and earring clips characteristic of the firm. Provenance is a Texas estate and condition is very nice, though not perfect. Under high magnification, surface flaking can be seen on a few beads and their metal connectors. Since the thread has stretched a bit, restringing the beads soon would be a good idea, although they're perfectly wearable as they are. Length of the necklace can be adjusted by about 2 1/4 inches, depending on where the hook is placed along a "tail" of smaller beads at the back.
No other Marvella jewelry I've found online is comprised of enormous faux-pearls like these, so this set must be rather rare. Certainly, it's highly collectible, as the company has been out of business for decades. Signed Marvella jewels are sure to continue increasing in value.
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