A small sub-group of the Art Deco era enamel mesh necklaces seen in Part One all have a fascinating attribute in common: each has one of three unique front hidden clasps. They also provide new clues to the identity of my 1930s Mystery Jewelry Maker. Here are the three front closure designs discovered thus far,…
For some time now I’ve been wondering if a particular range of 1930s patterned mesh necklaces were made by my mysterious Art Deco designer. However, when trying to positively identify unsigned vintage costume jewelry, hunches aren’t enough; multiple pieces of evidence are required. One thing that jewelry researchers always look at is the clasp. Without…
This is a descriptive index of the various “Mystery Maker” jewelry designs shown on this site. I have grouped them according to their main design element – e.g., bow, chevron (half-bow), geometric shapes (circle, hexagon, etc.) Each item is a link to the post in which it appears. A gallery of their regularly-used chains appears…
During the several years of research into my mysterious 1930s jewelry maker’s wares, I’ve puzzled over the apparent lack of one popular Art Deco style: flat mesh chokers and bracelets decorated in a geometric pattern (typically of triangles, zigzags or diagonal lines.) In fact, I have a file containing numerous such images but thus far…
The old saying ‘you win some, you lose some’ certainly applies to this update of my 1930s mystery jewelry maker series. It includes four new colorways, two new design elements, and one huge source of frustration for yours truly. They are all necklaces, which I’ve grouped by length. Longer (16”+) Necklaces We’ll begin with…
As described in Exploring Vauxhall Glass Jewelry, most of the examples seen nowadays date from the Art Deco era (1930s) and the majority of them were made in Czechoslovakia. Sometimes a necklace will be signed “Czech” or “Czecho” on the clasp but many were not. Whether signed or not, the excellent quality of vintage Czech…
Researching vintage jewelry can sometimes resemble a film noir plot complete with twists, turns, and red herrings which result in a mystery within a mystery! And wouldn’t you just know…. It was a dark and stormy night…. Well, no, actually it was a sunny and breezy afternoon the other day when Alicia of BoyleRPF emailed…
This is a major update to my research series on this 1930s jewelry manufacturer, containing a number of newly discovered examples and design elements. This 16” long necklace is completely painted in their rich medium blue, with white accents. The middle of the central station includes the same rectangular octagon design that was seen in…
The Chatsworth Lady 