Jewelry Gallery

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The Vintage Woman: A Century of Costume Jewelry in America 1910-2010

floralina doll purse

THE VINTAGE WOMAN is a celebration of women of age and accomplishment who have broken the shackles and myths attached to aging gracefully—women who have lived their lives guided by their dreams and on their own terms. Compelling and captivating, this exhibition—and the upcoming book of the same name by author Laurie Bogart Morrow and photographer Rob Van Petten—profiles many such remarkable women who have passed the torch to the next generation: young women like supermodel Devon, who is featured here.

Costume jewelry in America (1910-2010) is a fascinating story that came to life in a turbulent century darkened by two world wars and the Great Depression—indeed, times remarkably relevant to today. Master jewelers fled from Europe with little more than their tools and talent. With glass in lieu of gemstones, and pot metal substituting for gold, they created magnificently crafted jewelry so matchless in design that fine jewelry pales in comparison. At one time, costume jewelry was the fifth-largest industry in America and single-handedly made Providence, Rhode Island the costume jewelry manufacturing capital of the world.

Featured in the exhibition are masterpieces by legendary designers Elsa Schiaparelli, Coco Chanel, Hattie Carnegie and Henry à la Pensée—Europeans who sought refuge, as well as fame and fortune, in America. Joseff of Hollywood, “the designer of the stars,” whose faux jewels adorned the Garbo in Camille, Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind and numerous other stars in other motion pictures, is another great name; Marcel Boucher and his wife, Sandra, designed for Cartier and Tiffany’s. And the renowned illustrator McClelland Barclay designed costume jewelry for two years before giving his life in the service of his country in World War II. There are the great houses of costume jewelry—Trifari, Coro, Miriam Haskell, Hobe and Ciner. And let us not forget the King of Faux Jewelry, Kenneth Jay Lane, who has been designing for over 60 years.