Collecting Costume Jewelry 101

My name is Julia C. Carroll. I’m the author of four books on collecting costume jewelry. Welcome to my Collecting Costume Jewelry 101 webpage and BLOG for beginning and intermediate collectors!

Thank you to everyone who purchased and enjoyed my books. The four titles below are unfortunately out-of-print and only available in the secondary market.

However, there is good news!

For fun, I wrote Collecting Costume Jewelry 404 The Basics of Recognizing Great Design. It is available to read for FREE by clicking on the Collecting Costume Jewelry 404 cover. Of course, the information is copy protected, so permission is required to copy the text or photos.

The Information link on the red ribbon leads to additional reference materials and articles.

My weekly jewelry blog follows. Scroll down to read previous entries or click the BLOG INDEX link below for an alphabetical list of past blogs.

BLOG INDEX

  • Ledo

    Ralph Polcini founded Leading Jewelry Co. in 1911. The company began marking jewelry Ledo in 1948. After Ralph Polcini’s death in 1963, his son renamed the company Polcini Manufacturing Co. At this time the Ledo signature was replaced with Polcini. The company continued until the late 1980s. Jewelry marked Ledo is scarce today. Many of…

  • Bi-Color Treasure

    Good morning, Last week I was delighted to find this beautiful brooch and earrings set featuring bi-color rhinestones. It is unsigned. Bi-color rhinestones have two identifiable colors. The bi-color stones in this set are called bi-color vitrail medium stones with rose and emerald colors. Vitrail medium is a special coating applied to the stones. In…

  • New Blog Index

    As promised in an earlier Blog, I finally completed a BLOG INDEX of past blog topics. It is an alphabetical list of MOST past blogs with a thumb nail size photo of jewelry discussed in the blog. The first entry in the Blog Index is below. Art Jewelry https://collectingcostumejewelry101.com/?p=5137 The Blog Index link is at…

  • bergère, Inc.

    bergère (ber-zher) French for an upholstered armchair with exposed wooden frame Jack Pohls founded L. Erbert & Pohls, Inc. in New York in 1940 and in 1947 he created the Bergère, Inc. brand in Providence, Rhodes Island. Jewelry marked bergère was made from 1948 – 1979. (Information from dsfantiquejewelry.com Bergere Jewelry – Mysterious & Elegant…

  • Kramer Jewelry Creations

    Kramer Jewelry Creations has been added to the Table of Contents of Collecting Costume Jewelry 404. Kramer sold beautifully made jewelry with interesting designs. Kramer produced so many attractive sets, it is difficult to decide on a favorite. I love long necklaces, so I love this Kramer Armourelle set designed by Frank Hess, formerly head…

  • Schiaparelli

    I’m delighted to introduce a new unit about American-Made Schiaparelli jewelry. It can be found in the Table of Contents, Chapter 2 Part 2 of Collecting Costume Jewelry 404. Julie Francis Irving, Collector and Researcher of Schiaparelli American-Made jewelry generously contributed her expertise, and a sampling of jewelry to the unit. The set below is…

  • Joan Rivers Lorgnette

    Recently I acquired a beautiful, well-made Joan Rivers lorgnette necklace. In her book Jewelry by Joan Rivers published in 1995 by Abbeville Press Publishers, this design is described as a: …lorgnette with alabaster- and lapis-enameled stem bearing crest of Nicholas II, after a design by Fabergé; … Rivers, p. 109 Joan Rivers lorgnette necklaces were…

  • REGENCY JEWELS

    Good morning, Yesterday I finished the unit on REGENCY JEWELS. It can be found in Chapter Two of Collecting Costume Jewelry 404 (available from the red ribbon or by clicking on the cover of the book). REGENCY JEWELS designs are sometimes mistaken for Schreiner and Weiss designs. Many sets feature high-end Austrian crystals and art…

  • Weiss

    Jewelry by Albert Weiss has been added to Chapter Two Part Two of Collecting Costume Jewelry 404. I hope you enjoy it. Except for the Weiss pieces I love to wear, my Weiss jewelry has been stored for many, many years. It was fun looking at it again. My Weiss jewelry was stored in cotton…

  • Schreiner Jewelry Co. Inc.

    After many weeks of work, I finished the Schreiner Jewelry Chapter in Collecting Costume Jewelry 404. It can be accessed from the Table of Contents under Chapter Two. It is a primer for beginning collectors on the innovative and often distinctive Schreiner designs and recognizable Schreiner jewelry construction traits. The Schreiner designs featured in this…