Archive for History
Vintage costume jewellery history part 6 1950s and diamante
As life returned to normal after the second world war design changed and the 1950s again brought new styles and materials and space age jewellery. Much of the style and fashion of the 1950s was influenced by the Festival of Britain which took place in1951 and was intended to be ” a tonic for the nation” following the second world war. Over 10,000,000 tickets were purchased during the six months of the exhibition which shows how popular it was. Many of the exhibits showed radical new design and space age influence, this spread into all areas of design including costume jewellery. War time rationing and restrictions were lifted and once again crystal diamante from Europe ( Austria) became available to Costume Jewellers as did the base metals for setting these into.
Who were the famous Costume Jewellery designers of the 1950s?
Christian Dior, Miriam Haskell, Henry Schriner. Stangley Hagley and of course Coco Chanel. These designers were producing high quality jewellery which did not necessarily try and imitate the real thing – they were made to follow the clothing fashions of the day. Most of the designer and big names in costume jewellery in the 1950s were from the USA and most of the production was done there too. This is probably why many of the best pieces of 1950s vintage costume jewellery are to be found int hte USA today rather than in the UK. Costume Jewellery by Trifari was worn by Americas first lady Mamie Eisenhower
What style of costume jewellery was popular in the 1950s?
Figural novelty brooches set with diamante and enameled. The ballet dancer remained a popular image and animals such as dogs and cats were given large eye and a cute whimsy appearance. The 1950s saw Cats, Poodles and Cowboys, Birds in flight , artists palates and items from teh cocktail bar decorating brooches, earrings , belts, necklaces, bracelets and all other types of jewellery.
dog brooches
Costume Jewellery innovations of the 1950s.
As with every era in the History of costume Jewellery, the 1950s saw the introduction of techniques and materials which were not available in previous times. Perhaps the most notable 1950s introduction was the Aurora Borelis stone which was produced by Swarovski with design aid from Christian Dior. The Aurora Borealis stone ( often shortened to AB) has an iridescent finish which changes colour tone due to a metallic coating on the glass. These come in all colours, blue/ green, red/orange and clear/pear perhaps being the most common.
1950s costume Jewellery to buy now for the future:
1950s diamante necklace
I believe that 1950s prom style necklaces, earrings, brooches and bracelets are very undervalued at the moment. These aer made of silver toned metal and normally set with clear diamante. If you are lucky enough to discover a 1950s diamante piece with coloured stones these are probably even better. These pieces of jewellery can currently be purchased from just a few pounds and are becoming very popular as bridal and party wear nowadays.. Look for the following features:
- are all the stones prong set rather than glued in?
- are all the stones present and bright and clear?
- look at the design of the pieces, the more intricate the design the better and single strand of diamante may be quite pretty but is not as desirable as a more complex piece.
Do you have any pictures of real 1950s costume jewellery, do send them to me and I will add them here.
Vintage Costume Jewellery History , part 5 of AntiquesAvenues guide: The 1940s.
The early part of the 1940s was dominated by the second World War ( 1939-1945). This meant that the materials available to produce Costume Jewellery were limited during this time . Metals were reserved for the war effort and crystal diamante or rhinestones could not be imported from Austria . Just as the raw materials available were limited due to the war so was the effort which could be put into the manufacture of jewellery. Making of new jewellery is a luxury which largely has to be done without at such times. This meant that there was largely a suspension of the production of all kinds of jewellery until 1945 in the UK and Europe.
The USA however was quite different during the early 1940s as they did not enter the war until later. In the USA they still could not obtain high quality crystal stones and some metals were limited but costume jewellery production continued with the use of different materials. Some non-precious materials (including those of natural origin) were cheap and abundant and innovative designers started to use wood, leather, shells, plastics, fur and pottery to create fresh designs.
vintage brooch 1940s
The range of materials available to the makers of costume jewellery during the 1940s may have been limited but that did not stop changes in style. The art deco style of the 1920s and 1930s still had an influence on the style of the 1940s but in the 1940s bold costume jewellery was the in thing for evening wear . The cocktail party was THE way to entertain at this time and hence the jewellery made to be worn at these parties became know as cocktail jewellery. Cocktail jewellery is big and showy, designed to be noticed. The lines are softer than the strict geometrical ones of art deco, move feminine and curvy . Figural shapes such as animals, clowns, scarecrows and ballerinas were popular as were bows and knots. Fabric folded to give an illusion of movement as well as scrolls and pleats. 1940s jewellery is also know as “Retro” or “Retro Modern” Style.
1940s ballet brooch
What types of costume jewellery were worn during the 1940s? Bracelets of all types and especially those with watches on. Matching sets of jewellery ( known as Parures, from the French word for adornment) were popular as they add high glamour with earrings, necklaces, brooches, rings and bracelets all matching.
Colours were bright to match the boldness of the shapes of 1940s costume jewellery . Gold tone and Gemstone colours – Emerald green, Ruby red , Diamond white and Sapphire blue.
The Style icons of the 1940s were movie stars think Greta Garbo. Many of the Duchess of Windsors famous jewels were made during the 1940s with the big cat and flamingo brooches being of special note. The most notable designers of the 1940s are Christian Dior, Boucher, Coro, Mazer and Eisenberg all for costume Jewellery.
The next part of this mini History of Vintage costume jewellery takes a look at the 1950s and the space age era. Do you have any nice example of vintage jewellery from the 1940s or 1950s? If so do send me a pici in ,jpg format and I will add it here.
Art Deco Costume Jewellery, part 4 of AntiquesAvenue’s guide to Costume Jewellery History.
In the 1920s and 193os Costume Jewellery was epitomised by the bold colours design and new materials which followed from the difficult times of the first world war.
The 1920’s saw a revolution in design, fashions changed dramatically after the first world war. Women had become far more independent, they had worked during the war and wanted clothing and fashion which supported their new lifestyle rather than keeping them in the past. As fashions in clothing changed so did fashions in costume jewellery, the style of the jewellery needed to match the style of the clothes. Shorter hair ( the bob) needed longer earrings. Short sleeves allowed bangles and bracelets to be seen. The flapper necklace which is very long went well with the straight dresses and dropped hemlines.
1920s shapes were angular, cubic, geometric and colours were bold shades of red, black, white, green and blue. Mixed in with this were style trends such as the Egyptian revival which followed the finding of King Tutankamens tomb in 1922 -scarabs, pyramids, palm trees were all popular – look at this original 1920s charm to see how the colours and angles of art deco mixed with Egyptian style.
art deco pyramid charm
Coco Chanel was possible The main designer of the 1920s – she added faux pearl necklaces by the yard to her designer outfits. Other costume jewellery designers started up in business during the 1920s include Miriam Haskell ( New York) and Monet
Materials from 1920s costume jewellery include glass, brass, plastics and faux pearls,
The 1930s.
Massive technological and economic change during the 1920s led to an explosion of costume jewellery in the 1930s both in terms of the quantities available to be purchased, the design, manufacturing methods and materials used. As usual the costume jewellery introduced also followed the dress fashions of the day – the dress clip is a 1930s invention. These can be worn as a brooch or unclipped and worn either side of a square necklace ( more pictures of how this works at end of this blog entry):
dress clip
Brooches and bracelets were worn more widely in the 1930s . Brooches were often figural in shape ( flowers or animals) and studded with diamante ( also known as Rhinestones in the USA). Fashion as in previous eras was still influenced by Royalty with Wallis Simpson ( the Duchess of Windsor) being one of the fashion icons of the day. The 1930s saw movie stars influencing fashion more and more – Think Joan Crawford.
Materials used in 1930s costume jewellery include bakelite ( still in the art deco geometric shapes and colours), marcasites, enamel and various non precious metals. “Pot Metal” is a silver tone metal which was widely used for setting with clear diamante.
Famous costume Jewellery designers starting in the 1930s include : Eisenberg, Joseff of Hollywood, Rebajes and De Rosa.
parts of dress clipback of dress clip
Next in this series on costume jewellery history is the 1940s and 1950s.
Part 2b of AntiquesAvenue’s guide to the history of costume jewellery covers The Victorian Era.
The Victorians loved jewellery of all kinds and when they couldnt afford precious stones and metals they wore jewellery made from non precious materials which we now know as Costume Jewellery.
Victorian Costume Jewellery Influences:
There were two main influences on the jewellery during the Victorian era :i) Queen Victoria herself and ii) new discoveries and innovations
i) Queen Victoria’s influence on Jewellery style can be seen with mass market copies of the Jewellery which the queen wore herself. When she had a interest in all things Scottish then celtic and pebble jewellery became fashionable. This influence was seen in both the materials used in jewellery and also in the shapes with Penannular shields, Kilt pins, Dirks, Scottish Crosses and buckles all being popular. When she went into mourning following the death of Prince Albert then the whole country took to deep mourning following the death of loved ones and the fashion for black jewellery was created. Victorian Jewellery of this kind is highly sought after these days.
ii) New discoveries and innovations. New materials became available ( see below) and these were quickly used in costume jewellery also with technological progress new manufacturing techniques were invented. These manufacturing techniques meant that costume jewellery could be mass produced making it cheaper and more widely available. The new techniques included: the machine stamping of parts so that not everything had to be handmade as it was in previous eras. It was possible to inlay silver and gold into tortoishell . Aluminium was commercially produced from the 1860s and new discoveries of semi precious gems and new ways of cutting them brought their prices way down.
Costume Jewellery materials of the Victorian Era:
Jet Brooch
1. Jet, Gutta Percha, Bog Oak: The best Jet was from Whitby. A highly polished form of black glass known as French Jet was a cheap substitute. Gutta Percha is a natural material derived from rubber . Bog oak from Ireland is fossilised wood and often carved with shamrock shapes. All these have a dark black colour and were used in mourning jewellery
2. Rolled Gold , Gold Plate , Gold coloured metal, Iron. Used as substitutes for Gold and silver. Pinchbeck was still available but gradually faded from popularity.
3. Glass and Glass mosaics. Glass was used widely – as covers for locket panel, as beads in black and deep red, as paste stones . It was also formed into artificial cameos. Tiny glass tiles in different colours were put together to form micromosaic pictures mainly made in Italy.
4. Coral, Shell, Fish bone, pearls, tortoiseshell, mother of pearl. Materials from the sea once rare become more widely available as transport links improved. Shells were popular for carving into cameo jewellery
5. Early Plastics : celluloid, imitation coral, Parkasine. The Victorians invented plastics however the early plastics have not survived the years well , it has faded, cracked and generally disintegrated. Little Victorian plastic jewellery remains of any worth today.
6. Agate , semi precious gemstones and other hardstones: Popular for celtic type jewellery. new innovations and discoveries made it possible for these to be offered on the mass market. There is quite a wide range of Genuine Victorian hardstone and semi precious set costume jewellery available for us to buy today.
agate brooch
7. Hair, Teeth, claws, Horn, Bone, Ivory: Animal parts. The Victorians loved natural parts materials and wore them without the squeamishness that some of us (me included) would have today about such items. Hair jewellery was often made from the hair of a departed loved one – worn as bracelets, watch chains or in a locket. Tiger tooth brooches, animal claws and and teeth all mounted as brooches. There was no concern over conservation of elephants and ivory was widely .
8. Porcelain and pottery. Ceramic cabochons could be painted at home and decorated with flowers before being set into jewellery but most often porcelain plaques were printed with a scene from a classical European painting. These were popular holiday souvenirs.
The Jewellery Style of the Victorian Era
When Queen Victoria first reigned there was a naturalistic, romantic feel to jewellery. The Language of Flowers became popular with different flowers having different meanings for example Forget-me-nots were for true love. Once Prince Albert died the fashion became black and somber. This lasted until the later Victorian era (1880’s onwards) when colour once again appeared in all things.
There was also the influence of Gothic and medieval in early Victorian times . By the time of the Great Exhibition in Crystal palace (1851) design had become very ornate and heavy with almost everything being over ornamented. The Victorian aesthetic of the 1870s with its Japonaise feel was more simplistic.
At the very end of the Victorian era even simpler more naturalistic shapes and forms were revived with medieval and Scottish and Celtic themes being popular once more. This was part of the stylistic rebellion led by Ruskin pushed away from this heavy Victorian ornamentation and led to the arts and Crafts movement with its return to artistic values.
porcelain brooch
The term Costume Jewellery was not used by the Victorians and the Georgians before them but they did make lots of use of non precious materials in their jewels. These are the earliest examples of costume jewellery which have survived in any quantity and are available to purchase today. Part 2a discusses innovations in costume Jewellery which were made during the Georgian era and 2b takes a long look at Victorian Costume Jewellery
Georgian Costume Jewellery Materials:
Paste Jewellery was introduced in the Georgian era , a high quality imitation of real gemstone jewellery. The “Gemstones” were made of glass which was often foil backed and could be cut and polished just like the real thing but at a much more affordable price. These paste gems were set into all types of jewellery and they can still be found today, I think a particularly interesting collecting field is paste set buckles which can be found from around £20 upwards.
Pinchbeck was a high quality alternative to gold, it looked like the real thing. Genuine pinchbeck items are quite rare today, many of the items described as pinchbeck are in fact gold plated. Pinchbeck is not plated but a metal where the gold colour continues all the way though – check at points of wear such as edges and hinges. If the metal colour shows signs of plating it is not pinchbeck. Pinchbeck is quite light in weight in comparison to gold, it is made from an alloy of Zinc and Copper.
Cut steel jewellery consisted of lot of tiny faceted metal studs which were set onto back plates, this sparkled almost like diamonds under the artificial lighting of the day. Something which looked similar to cut steel jewellery was marcasite set jewellery – again faceted and black but this time the studs are a natural crystal of Iron Pyrites. Most marcasite jewellery you see today is 20th century in origin so please check very carefully if you think you have a piece of Georgian marcasite jewellery.
cut steel brooch
Wedgwood first introduced their jasper cameo jewellery in the Georgian era and these are still being made to this day
Vauxhall glass is a type of mirrored glass often in black or ruby red colour. This had been invented before the Georgian era but most of the pieces available today in Vauxhall glass are Georgian or sometimes Victorian. The glass is beveled / faceted at the edges and tiny pieces make up the piece of jewellery.
vauxhall glass buckle
Georgian Costume Jewellery Forms:
So what forms were these costume jewellery materials set into? In the early part of the Georgian era the French Rococo style was in fashion. This is scrolling and asymmetrical perhaps a complex forerunner of art nouveau style. In the 1750s large flower brooches were high fashion and rings could be worn on any finger. Sentimental and mourning jewellery was widely worn – look out for date and dedicated Georgian mourning brooches which can still be acquired for under £50.
From the mid 1700s the “Grand Tour” was popular with those who could afford the trips to see the ancient world this led later on in the 1790s to the Georgian style became much simpler with the Neo-classical taste taking over. This had very simple uncluttered lined when compared with the earlier rococo pieces. Here we see Greek key patterns and Etruscan influences and, of course, a rise in popularity of the cameo.
georgian classical cameo brooch
In the early 1800s wearing lots of jewellery at the same time was popular: several rings, several rows of pinchbeck chains, long pendant earrings and several bracelets all at the same time. With this quantity of jewellery only the rich could afford real and those aspiring to look the part turned to costume jewellery
Between about 1820 and the early Victorian era a more naturalistic style was apparent – flower brooches of all types. Cut Steel jewellery was still popular and coral was re-introduced as a must have fashion. In the 1820s wearing hair jewellerywas all the rage with necklaces and bracelets at the same time.
This leads us up to the Costume Jewellery of the Victorian era which is the subject of my next blog entry
Vintage Costume Jewellery History part 1 , ancient and medieval
Part one of AntiquesAvenue’s guide to the history of vintage costume jewellery looks at what was worn in the ancient world right up through the middle ages until the beginnings of the industrial revolution when more sophisticated jewellery gradually became available due to improving production capabilities. Very little of this jewellery remains to be bought today which is still wearable, any which can be found is best kept as a collectable and if we wish find quality reproduction pieces to wear.
Before the 1920s there was no such term as “Costume Jewellery” but there was plenty of jewellery made from materials which nowadays we would call costume , that is non precious materials.
Truly prehistoric cultures are thought to have worn Jewellery and amulets made of natural materials such as leather, shell and feathers. Think of the reproduction items made by American Indians and the African and South Sea Tribal cultures today.
The ancient Egyptians before them the Sumerians and later on the Phoenicians developed a style of costume jewellery which has been imitated and reproduced many times through thee ages. We see some lovely ceramic beads in shades of turquoise and blue which have survived in the ancient Egyptian tombs . The Egyptians made glass beads and they used pearls which were found in the river Nile. These were used in designs including hieroglyphics and scarabs. The brooch shown below is a 1920s copy which looks something like a piece of costume Jewellery from ancient Egypt
Egyptian style brooch
The classical cultures of ancient Greece and Rome loved precious jewellery made of gold but they also made costume jewellery from glass mosaics. There is an abundance of ancient Greek and Roman Jewellery to see in our museums today – you can certainly see early cameos and intaglios carved with classical gods much like the shell cameos of today but of course shell has long disintegrated and we just see genuine ancient examples in glass . The ancient Romans and Greeks both used semi precious gemstones with the amethyst being popular as it was believed to ward off drunkenness.
The medieval era and the Renaissance also wore Jewellery of non precious materials – bronze was used and semi precious stones were worn most often in cabochon shape which was easy to polish. Motifs changed with Christian and celtic religious emblems replacing the ancient gods. Jewellery not often seen today such as Girdles, Cloak clasps and circlets went with the clothing of the day and were worn by both men and women. Pearls especially large baroque ones were highly regarded. There is very little original medieval jewellery surviving you will have to visit a museum to see any nowadays .
In the next part of my look at the history of costume jewellery I take a look at Vintage Jewellery which can still be found today from the Georgian and Victorian times.
When talking about antiques, we often refer to something by the era defined by the reigning monarch. For Example – Georgian or Victorian. But when does that mean exactly? Lets take a look at when each monarch reigned to help place our antiques in time.
This starts with the Georgians as we see virtually no pre-Georgian antiques today.
Georgian:
1714-1727 George I
1727-1760 George II
1760-1820 George III
1820-1830 George IV
1830-1837 William IV
Victorian:
1837-1901 Queen Victoria
Edwardian:
1901-1910 Edward VII
20th Century:
1910- 1936 George V
1936 Edward VIII ( Jan to December)
1936 – 1952 George IV
1952- present Elizabeth II
