Collecting Lea Stein Brooches
Brooches, after being neglected by the fashionistas for a while, are definitely making a come-back. Not many of us can afford a high end diamond or Tiffany brooch, but there is some amazing costume jewellery around that is much more affordable. If you are a brooch person you should definitely check out Lea Stein brooches. They are colourful, fun and the designs are stunning.
Lea Stein was born in Paris in 1931 and not much is known about her early life, other than that she initially worked for Coco Chanel before establishing her own textile design company in 1957. The company started making buttons for the fashion industry and Lea’s husband developed a laminated coloured rhodoid, consisting of multiple, paper-thin sheets of cellulose acetate that could be inter-layered with materials like glitter to produce a stunning effect. The layered sheets were then baked to harden and various shapes would be hand-carved. Continue reading »
Filed under Jewellery and Watches | Tags: Art Deco, Christmas tree pin, Coco Chanel, collecting Lea Stein brooches, Fox pin, Gomina, Lea Stein, Lea Stein brooches, Lea Stein Fox pin, Ric the Dog | Comment (0)Collecting Trifari Jewellery
While Marilyn Monroe tried to persuade us in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes that Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, there are very few of us who can afford genuine large diamonds – this is where costume jewellery comes in and Trifari made some of the best. Trifari jewellery has been worn by the great and the famous, including Coco Chanel. Trifari jewellery is very sought after and collectors tend to go for the earlier pieces.
Gustavo Trifari was born into a family of goldsmiths from Naples, came to America in 1904 and in 1910 he started the firm of Trifari & Trifari with his uncle. They concentrated on high quality, realistic costume jewellery that soon became serious competiton to the paste ‘French jewels’, which was the common description for faux jewellery. Together with Leo Krussman and Carl Fishel the formed Trifari, Krussman & Fishel Inc. Trifari concentrated on the early designs while the other two looked after organisation and sales. Fishel was a brilliant salesman and he managed to get Trifari jewellery shown at the 1939 World Fair in New York and after extensive fundraising for President Eisenhower, Mamie Eisenhower wore Trifari Jewellery for the Inauguration Balls in 1952 and 1957.
What sets Trifari jewellery apart from other costume jewellery is the innovative design and superb craftsmanship. The jewellery was loved by the rich and famous as well as the suburban housewives. Collectors generally agree that Trifari’s finest pieces were made in the 1930s and 1940s, when French creative genius Alfred Philippe was the main designer. The jewellery was perfect for a country that was just coming out of the Depression. Philippe’s designs stood out for the quality of the settings and the use of finest gem-cut crystals from the Swarowsky company. Philippe was an innovator and in order to keep ahead of the competition he would experiment with cutting-edge materials like ruthenium and its own lustrous gold Trifanium for plating. Continue reading »
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