Catalog: Estate Jewelry: Costume: Designer (7)

Composed of wood beads that are dyed red, wire-mounted on a pewter bar and from chain swags. The photos show the red as a fire-engine red; the beads actually are darker, more of a maroon. Photo 3 is the closest to the actual color. It is a sizable brooch, but lightweight, and secured on the back by a modified C-clasp. It is signed Aarikka Finland on the back of the pewter bar, which has been highly oxidized. The chains appear to be made of darkened brass. The pin measures 4 ¼ inches at its widest part by 4 ½ inches at the longest point. It is one of Aarikka’s more creative and dramatic designs.

This graceful necklace was made by the California firm of Renoir, which specialized in copper jewelry. It has a secure hook clasp, with the Renoir signature on the hook. It measures 18 3/4 inches long, including the chain.

This necklace is a nice example of Renoir’s early enameled copper line known as Matisse. The mottled red and white enamel is opaque, as opposed to the translucent, glassy work that characterized the firm’s later enameled jewelry. The overall design is reminiscent of the abstract expressionist art of the 1950s. There is some wear to the rounded copper elements alternating with the curved enameled panels, and a bit of loss to small areas of the panels where the copper comes through (the tiny black spots are embedded in the enamel, and are not damage). The back of the necklace shows serious wear to the copper. The necklace is unsigned and measures 15 inches long, including the unusual scored-link chain.

Here is a stunning example of California maker Francisco Rebajes’ jewelry designs. The necklace is constructed of stylized leaves linked by folding the top of one over the next, to produce a sinuous movement. The silver-plated finish is brushed to soften the patina, and shows some tarnish. The tongue-and-groove clasp is in good working order, and bears the Rebajes mark. The necklace measures just under 16 inches long by 3/4 inch wide.

This necklace has a classic form and, in certain light, looks to be plated in two colors of gold. The beautiful surface condition is a result of a rolled gold-plating process used by the Newark, NJ, firm of Krementz & Company. The exotic design is reminiscent of ethnic jewelry, composed of graduated pointed vertical drops alternating with ovular beads. A braided chain with spike and drum closure completes the retro design. The Krementz signature in block letters is on the back of one drop. The longest drop measures 1 1/2 inches; the necklace is 15 inches long, including the clasp.

Composed of delicate vertical leaf fronds, this necklace looks to be of fine gold, but is really made of gold-plated metal. The bright surface shows very little wear, due to Krementz & Company’s rolled gold-plating process used on the Newark, NJ, firm’s best lines of costume jewelry. The leaves are textured with detailed lines produced by careful engine-turned engraving. The chain is composed of tiny cylindrical pieces secured to a fine wire so that they are stabilized. There is a spike and drum closure, and the script Krementz signature appears on the back of one leaf. It dates from the 1950s. Each leaf measures a little over 1 1/4 inches long; the necklace measures 15 1/4 inches long.

This copper pin is hand-constructed with architectural elements and securely set with a copper disc enameled in turquoise. It features a cone at each corner set on intersecting bands that are curled at each end. The square panel supporting all the pieces has a hammered look with slightly curved corners. There is a deep reddish patina to the copper, and some white areas of oxidation. The back bears the impressed name of Jean Augis, a Lyons, France, jewelry designer and master metalsmith most active during the 1930s. The curled C-clasp on the back is a bit distended, and the pin stem is a bit loose, but it still holds securely. The pin measures slightly over 1 3/8 inches square.