Upscale French and American Designer Costume JewelryA round of applause to Designer Costume Jewelry - upscale fine BLING Jewelry is the preference of Queens, princesses and fashion icons! Designer Costume can be found among the finest and most famous jewelry collections in the world. Documented for us in the fabulous History of Jewelry and recorded in the world of fashion and beauty, it is found in the most exclusive high-end jewelry stores around the world too. So What Exactly IS Designer Costume Jewelry?Basically, Designer costume, is a piece of jewelry made on special order under a renowned Jewelry brand. You can classify a piece of Jewelry as "designer" simply from the designers logo inscribed on it or you can identify costume jewelry by the designer's signature trademarks and preferences. It can be described as "fine bling". Antique Costume Jewelry on the other hand, will not usually be stamped with a designer logo. It will usually be comprised of materials that are not considered "precious". It might be described as "faux bling". Principal Costume JewelersFrench designers and couturiers, in-particular, understood the allure women find in discovering a designer brand or personal style that to them feels stylish yet affordable and economically accessible.And although the French opened the door to Designer Costume Jewelry on the continent, the Americans produced and wore more of it than anyone else.
Leading vintage costume jeweler designers in the field were: Designer Costume Jewelry & RoyaltyTo celebrate The Queen’s 80th birthday, the largest ever exhibition of Her Majesty’s personal jewellery was on display at the Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace (26 July – 26 September 2006) Among the breathtaking jewels in the exhibition was a pair of Boucheron aquamarine and diamond clip-brooches given to Princess Elizabeth by her father, King George VI, for her 18th birthday. Other personal gifts include a gold, sapphire, diamond and ruby bracelet made by Boucheron to Prince Philip’s design. It was given to The Queen on their fifth wedding anniversary and incorporates the interlaced initials ‘E’ and ‘P’. A dazzling flower brooch by Cartier was also on display. Set with the 23.6-carats of pink diamonds and baguette diamonds, it was given to The Queen by Dr Williamson. Other principal designer costume jewelers include: The American forms like Traebert and Hoeffer, Marcus and co, John Rubel as well as individual jewelry designers like Paul Flato, and the New York branches of Paris jewel houses all turned out very glamorous creations. Mauboussin, founded in 1827 was known for his lavish and adventurous use of precious stones. In the 1930s, Mauboussin joined up with Traebert and Hoeffer and together produced some of the most dramatic jewels of the period. You will find these pieces stamped with the trade name 'Reflection'. The Parisian firm of Rene Boivin, flourished in the 1930s, making a transition to softer curving draped designs with good use of sweeping gold work. Tiger jewels, was one of Boivin's specialties, particular bracelets in the form of stretching tigers.
Van Clef & Arpels, founded in 1906, and the descendants of generations of jewelers were notable in the 1940s for their avant-garde designs. Van Clef & Arpels were particularly famous for their invisibly set jewels and the use of star setting for small stones. later in the same decade for their famous 'tulle' jewels. Fashion Icons, and Celebrities Love Designer Costume JewelryFashion icons can't seem to get enough of Designer Costume Jewelry, and costume designer jewels are often parading down the red carpet adorning famous celebrities.At the Guild Hall’s Summer Gala Celebrating Larry Rivers’ Early Works at Mulford Farms East Hampton, NY on Friday August 8, 2008, high society gals, Kelly Briter and Allison Mcatte were wearing, Designer Costume Jewelry by Van Cleef & Arpels. With boutiques on Madison Avenue and in the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Fred Leighton offers one of the broadest selections of stylish designer vintage jewelry in the U.S. Among his stock are rarified signed Cartier Art Deco pieces and more approachable 1950’s Bulgari. Bulgari, jewelry designer of Italy led a band of jewelers working in this glamorous cocktail style.
And talking about frothy 'tuille jewels and gowns' look at Eva Longoria Parker, (May 2008- Cannes Red Carpet) wearing a white gown and train and Van Clef & Arpels jewels. She is old-Hollywood glamorous, 20th century cocktail at its best, in a frothy tulle white Versace Atelier gown. Cartier's Designer Costume Jewelry in the 1940s, was strong on style and immaculately made while more unusual whimsical ideas came from Jeanne Toussaint. (Becker, V,. Antique and Twentieth century Jewellery, N.A.G. Press, London, 1987.) Sterle, a Paris Jeweler worked with the couturier Jacques Fath in the 1950s and made costume designer jewelry in the form of diamond rose petals, arrows and feathers, wings and bows with a huge display of gemstones either all diamonds or colored semi-precious stones in fantasy themes. Sterle's work had the fashion design flair and the use of color and form and he created jewels in the spirit of the cocktail age. In Switzerland, major watch companies produced elegant and stylish cocktail wristwatches. More designer inspired costume jewelry designers included the American firm Trifari, the American designer Marcel Boucher and in France, Sciaparelli and Christian Dior, and of course, Chanel costume jewelry. Coco Chanel successfully was able to write Costume Jewelry into her own fashion philosophy. I am currently working on a page devoted to Chanel costume jewelry. The Ultimate Cocktail Watch - Montres Bracelets!For the ultimate in luxury watches have a look at the cocktail wristwatches or 'montres bracelets' that were then popular.Often they have a flexible gold band and were set with a huge central gem set surrounding the watch face. Square cut rubies and sapphires were used or the little gems set in star settings. These innovative luxury watches were made in Switzerland, by leading watch manufacturers, Rolex, Baume-Mercier, Piaget, Patek Philippe, and Gubelin of Lucerne. Fashion, Fantasy and VenduraFulco Santostefano della Cerda, Duke of Verdura, of Sicily worked with Chanel in the 1930s. In the 40s and 50s his jewels of gold and semi-precious stones were famous.Even off screen, Hollywood's stars, and jewelry aficionados, have long revered Verdura as a figure holding a special place in the rarefied world of bespoke jewelry, a reference for both opulence and creative individuality. Joan Crawford and Marlene Dietrich were both Verdura devotees, and a curb-link bracelet watch that he made for Greta Garbo was one of her lifelong treasures. The firm still continues today (E J. Landrigan/Vendura) and attracts exclusive clientele looking for something very different and combined with fine workmanship. Tara Mulholland writes an interesting article on Fulco Santostefano della Cerda, Duke of Verdura: The elegant beguiler of stars. Read it here. Vendura's use of gold and colored stones had a huge influence on modern jewelry designs today. Jewelry designer, Vendura had a strong sense of romance, fashion and fantasy and instinctively seemed to know what made women look good. Elegant yet luxurious the jewels he created glowed with light. The famous wide bangles that Chanel wore on each wrist, of black and white enamel and set with a Maltese crosses were designed by Vendura himself. Designer Costume Jewelry, like the jewels produced by Verdura, still live on and now the families of Verdura's original devoted clients still continue to buy Verdura's originals or those made in his style and spirit. Designer Costume Jewelry and Antique Jewelry are investment worthy assets that you can wear and enjoy. They are anything but "costume" and anything but "antique". Cartiers BIG Cats!Cartier's "great cats" first commissioned by the Duke of Windsor for Wallis Simpson, which since the late 19th century had been a symbol for the femme fatale.It was the Dukes idea to create the first of the six spectacular Big Cat jewels from Cartier. The first Panther jewel, was a three dimensional golden panther flecked with black enamel over a cabochon emerald of 11.74 carats. (Becker, V., Antique and Twentieth Century Jewellery, N.A.G. Press, 1987) The boldness of the 1940s Designer Costume Jewelry originated from the major New York and Paris luxury houses, who were the undisputed leaders in the field. Return to the top of Designer Costume Jewelry Return to Antique Costume Jewelry Return to Antique Jewelry Investor Homepage
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In the 1940s, jewelry designers and principal costume designer jewelry belonged to the major glamorous New York and Paris Jewel houses. 
