Alice Caviness (1909 – 1983)
Ensemble with earclips and necklace that can also be worn as a brooch
Topaz-coloured glass, pearls, Swarovski Aurora Borealis stones, stones set by hand
Late 1950s
Unsigned. This type of jewellery often had paper labels attached, which were discarded when the item was first worn.
Alice Caviness, who entered the fashion industry as a model, established her own apparel company in New York City. Her company began to manufacture and import costume jewelry and accessories to complement her fashions in the 1940s. The business became known for its bold, colorful offerings with quality stones.
The Alice Caviness Jewelry Company produced pieces out of its factory beginning in 1943. The business also commissioned works from other factories and imported jewelry made in Europe to sell under the brand. By 1949, the company had a showroom on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan with sales offices in Dallas, Chicago, Miami, Raleigh, and Los Angeles to service their nationwide boutique customers.
Designers Millie Petronzio and Lois Steever helped Caviness design the company's diverse catalog of earrings, necklaces, bracelets, brooches, and animal pins. Petronzio worked as part of the design team for 25 years and won two Swarovski awards for costume jewelry during that time. She later went on to work as head designer for Miriam Haskell.
After Caviness retired around 1980, Steever purchased the business. Caviness died in 1983, but Steever reportedly kept the company operating under its original name until about 2000.
About Vintage Costume Jewelry:
Costume jewelry– also known as Fashion Jewelry– was especially made popular in the mid-20th century. While their materials were less precious than real gold and diamonds, using glass stones, semi-precicious stones and lead and brass, many big fashion houses and designers produced highly complex pieces of jewelry that stand for craftmanship that today can only be found in so-called Haute Joaillerie. Most famously, Coco Chanel popularized the use of “faux jewelry”, bringing costume jewelry to life with gold and faux pearls. Chanel's designs drew from various historical styles, including Byzantine and Renaissance influences, often featuring crosses and intricate metalwork. Her collaboration with glassmakers, such as the Gripoix family (Maison Gripoix), introduced richly colored glass beads and simulated gemstones, which added depth to her creations without the high cost of traditional precious stones.
Elsa Schiaparelli– Chanel’s lifelong rival– brought surrealist influences into costume jewelry design, famously collaborating with Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau. She created the House of Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, celebrating Surrealism and eccentric fashions. Her collections were famous for unconventional and artistic themes like the human body, insects, or trompe-l'œil, and for the use of bright colors like her "shocking pink". While Schiaparelli had to close her avant-garde business in the late 1950s and was forgotten for decades, her designs have recently been rediscovered and are celebrated for their bold design.
In many instances, high-end custome jewelry has achieved a "collectible" status and increased value over time. Today, there is a substantial secondary market for vintage fashion jewelry. The main collecting market is for 'signed pieces', which have the maker's mark, usually stamped on the reverse. Amongst the most sought after are Miriam Haskell, Sherman, Coro, Butler and Wilson, Crown Trifari, and Sphinx.
The term signed however is an invention that only reached European production in the late 1950s- when American buyers started to ask for authentification to distinguish high class designers from mass-produced pieces, while in Europe all costume jewelry had been issued by the fashion houses themselves and hence remained somewhat exclusive from the start.
Alice Caviness (1909 – 1983)
Ensemble with earclips and necklace that can also be worn as a brooch
Topaz-coloured glass, pearls, Swarovski Aurora Borealis stones, stones set by hand
Late 1950s
Unsigned. This type of jewellery often had paper labels attached, which were discarded when the item was first worn.
Alice Caviness, who entered the fashion industry as a model, established her own apparel company in New York City. Her company began to manufacture and import costume jewelry and accessories to complement her fashions in the 1940s. The business became known for its bold, colorful offerings with quality stones.
The Alice Caviness Jewelry Company produced pieces out of its factory beginning in 1943. The business also commissioned works from other factories and imported jewelry made in Europe to sell under the brand. By 1949, the company had a showroom on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan with sales offices in Dallas, Chicago, Miami, Raleigh, and Los Angeles to service their nationwide boutique customers.
Designers Millie Petronzio and Lois Steever helped Caviness design the company's diverse catalog of earrings, necklaces, bracelets, brooches, and animal pins. Petronzio worked as part of the design team for 25 years and won two Swarovski awards for costume jewelry during that time. She later went on to work as head designer for Miriam Haskell.
After Caviness retired around 1980, Steever purchased the business. Caviness died in 1983, but Steever reportedly kept the company operating under its original name until about 2000.
About Vintage Costume Jewelry:
Costume jewelry– also known as Fashion Jewelry– was especially made popular in the mid-20th century. While their materials were less precious than real gold and diamonds, using glass stones, semi-precicious stones and lead and brass, many big fashion houses and designers produced highly complex pieces of jewelry that stand for craftmanship that today can only be found in so-called Haute Joaillerie. Most famously, Coco Chanel popularized the use of “faux jewelry”, bringing costume jewelry to life with gold and faux pearls. Chanel's designs drew from various historical styles, including Byzantine and Renaissance influences, often featuring crosses and intricate metalwork. Her collaboration with glassmakers, such as the Gripoix family (Maison Gripoix), introduced richly colored glass beads and simulated gemstones, which added depth to her creations without the high cost of traditional precious stones.
Elsa Schiaparelli– Chanel’s lifelong rival– brought surrealist influences into costume jewelry design, famously collaborating with Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau. She created the House of Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, celebrating Surrealism and eccentric fashions. Her collections were famous for unconventional and artistic themes like the human body, insects, or trompe-l'œil, and for the use of bright colors like her "shocking pink". While Schiaparelli had to close her avant-garde business in the late 1950s and was forgotten for decades, her designs have recently been rediscovered and are celebrated for their bold design.
In many instances, high-end custome jewelry has achieved a "collectible" status and increased value over time. Today, there is a substantial secondary market for vintage fashion jewelry. The main collecting market is for 'signed pieces', which have the maker's mark, usually stamped on the reverse. Amongst the most sought after are Miriam Haskell, Sherman, Coro, Butler and Wilson, Crown Trifari, and Sphinx.
The term signed however is an invention that only reached European production in the late 1950s- when American buyers started to ask for authentification to distinguish high class designers from mass-produced pieces, while in Europe all costume jewelry had been issued by the fashion houses themselves and hence remained somewhat exclusive from the start.
