Henry Schreiner 1930s ProngSetCrystal Flora Spray Paisley Shadow Box Gilt Brooch

Beginning in 1939, Miriam Haskell asked her first costume-jewelry designer Frank Hess to spare the use of metal during WWII while war materials were needed in the United States. So t...

In Spring 1941 after French fashion couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel had stopped production of her clothing designs while she remained in Europe during the WWII era, the decades-old American costume-jewelry company Reinad began imprinting pieces in its new retail line, Chanel Novelty Co, with the script signature "Chanel". As this was prior to the use of the sans-serif capital-letter signature "CHANEL" on French-made jewelry that was commissioned by the Parisian designer, as well as before U.S.-copyright protection began in 1955, the House of Chanel that was mostly owned by the Jewish Wertheimer family of venture capitalists (who remarkably still produced Parfums CHANEL and French-vineyard wine via legal proxy while they lived in asylum in The States during the war) filed a U.S. lawsuit to demand that Reinad halt the use of its founder's famous last name. As the Werthheimers' quickly won, Reinad only produced the single seasonal collection stamped with the French brand name, and subsequently only imprinted its company name as the sans-serif capital-letter signature "REINAD" without a copyright symbol, which was different that its prior signatures dating back to its founding in 1922. When Chanel herself resumed French-made fashion production in Paris in 1953 (with Werthheimer support leading to their acquisition of all rights to her name despite her post-war eight-year exile in Switzerland due to close association with Nazis), for the first time all of her creations were signed "CHANEL" like the original packaging of the exceedingly profitable "No.5" perfume. While Reinad continued to produced costume jewelry until 1954, in the last decade of this business, the U.S. company continued to try to appeal to potential Chanel buyers by at least making Chanel-style designs. As such, owning an attractive and well-made Reinad piece can be considered a useful investment in fashion history as evidence of a little-known turning-point involving the most famous ongoing luxury-fashion business Chanel, as well as of the impact of that legal judgement had on advancing U.S. design protection for brands that later used the copyright symbol. Like early ArtDeco-style oversized heavy metallic costume jewelry by Chanel, this three-dimensional monochrome silver-alloy polkadot bow brooch imitates a pale polkadot-textured ribbon. Notably, while high-quality ribbon for styling hair or decorating clothing in a non-functional way was still an expensive accessory...

Demonstrating the epitome of miniature decorative art by Renaissance European goldsmiths who fashioned quatrefoil and/or cruciform jewelry with heraldry or religious symbols, this ce...

In the late 1940s, Trifari French-born artistic director Alfred Philippe, who had earlier created fine jewelry for Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, designed this flora-motif crystal-s...

A fine and impressive 1.25 carat sapphire and 2.34 carat diamond, platinum brooch; part of our diverse antique sapphire jewelry collections. This fine and impressive antique brooch ...

A stunning, fine and impressive vintage pearl and 1.18ct diamond, 15 karat white gold wreath brooch; part of our diverse antique pearl brooch collections. This stunning, fine and im...

A fine and impressive vintage 3.30 carat diamond and 18 karat white gold brooch; part of our diverse vintage diamond brooch collection. This fine and impressive vintage diamond broo...

An exceptional, fine and impressive antique Victorian natural pearl and 9 karat yellow gold, 18 karat yellow gold and platinum set pin brooch; part of our diverse antique Victorian brooch collections. This exceptional, fine and impressive antique stick pin has been crafted in 18k yellow gold and platinum, with a 9k gold pin. The brooch has been modelled in the form of a late 16th century male's profile. The 18k yellow gold figure's face incorporates details replicating the anatomical features, in addition to long curling hair, a moustache and a beard. The male profile incorporates a brimmed hat, accented with a paralleling platinum plume and the crown-shape represented by an impressive natural pearl. The 9k yellow gold pin features subtle turned decoration to hold the brooch more securely. This antique Victorian stick pin...