The Finest Vintage Costume Jewelry | Joseff of Hollywood Vintage Jewelry

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Joseff of Hollywood |Crystal Flower Brooch with Amethyst Center

. . . . Gorgeous!

Joseff of Hollywood

BOOK PIECE - Jewels of the stars, this beauty can be found in the publication, Jewelry of the Stars, pg. 150-151 (same designer frame as shown on pg. 151). This stunning piece has also been featured in the publication, Joseff of Hollywood: Putting the Tinsel in Tinseltown Truly a piece of motion picture Hollywood history!

Not for the faint of heart, comes this beauty from the premier costume jeweler of Hollywood, Eugene Joseff. This is a substantial piece and like so many of the large Joseff pieces is has a good deal of weight to it. Beautifully cut crystal petals accented by amethyst crystal jewels for the center and perfectly placed golden leaves and beads. As with so many Joseff pieces this is a huge piece, a whopping 4 inches. This piece and one very similar were made and then worn by Lucille Ball (pictured below). Movie studios could not get enough of the jaw dropping designs Joseff created. ID-904

Measurements:

Brooch — Approximately 4 inches wide

Joseff-of-Hollywood-crystal-flower-brooch-with-Amethyst-center-rhinestones

Joseff of Hollywood Jewelry History —

Eugene Joseff’s bold designs were made for Hollywood, and Hollywood made him. He designed the jewelry of the stars taking inspiration from historical precedents and reinterpreting them, larger-than-life, to be clearly seen on the silver screen.

Born in Chicago in 1905, Eugene Joseph worked as a graphic artist and an advertising Agency in the early 1920s, designing jewelry in his spare time. By 1927, he was training as a jewelry designer while working in Los Angeles to escape the great depression that was gripping the rest of the country.

It was during a discussion with Walter Plunkett, an established costume designer, that Joseph was challenged to start designing for the movie studios. When Joseph criticized The Affairs of Cellini, in which Constance Bennett costume was accurately styled to the 16th century but her jewelry was 20th century, Plunkett told him: “Well, if you’re so smart, let’s see what you can do.”

Joseff’s career took off in 1931 with the production of one-off, historically accurate pieces for Hollywood studios, made in his own workshops. Astutely, he rented these pieces to the studios, allowing for potential re-hire and amassing an archive of over three million pieces, which is still owned by the Joseff’s family today. In 1935, he opened a store, Sunset Jewelry, in Hollywood and founded a new company, Joseff of Hollywood. Joseff supplied historically accurate pieces for films including A Star is Born in 1936; Marie Antoinette in 1938; The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind in 1939; and Casablanca in 1942.

Inspired by Hollywood goddesses such as Marlene Dietrich and Marilyn Monroe wearing the studio jewels off-screen, in 193l7 Joseff began to produce replicas of the cinema originals for retail. Moviegoers could buy a little piece of film-star glamor, and Hollywood held such influence over the public that the replicas were a huge success. Sold through the finest stores in the United States at the time, these pieces are highly sought after by collectors today.

Through the 1940s, Joseff was the major costume jeweler to Hollywood, producing most of the pieces seen in historical films. In the February 1948 issue of Movie Show Magazine, he gave his advice on styling and accessorizing: “Remember, gold can be worn with more things than silver and topaz is a good stone that looks smart with almost every type of costume.” Joseff died in a plane crash in September that same year. The company continued under the aegis of his widow, Joan Castle Joseff (died 2010) and is still family run today.

Book: by Judith Miller [2010] — Costume Jewelry, Octopus Publishing Group Ltd., London — Joseff of Hollywood: [Page 98].

DON'T MISS THIS! Joanna Mangan finds the HOLY GRAIL...literally. This is a wonderful walk down memory lane.

"Oh. My. God. I’ve just been given the location of the largest stash of Golden Age Hollywood jewelry in the world. Worn by stars like Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, and Greta Garbo, thousands of gems have apparently been gathering dust in an unmarked warehouse, unmolested for half a century. It sounds too good to be true. What are the chances, I wonder, that the treasures are still there? Wouldn’t they be in the world’s biggest museums by now? Worn by the stars’ great-granddaughters? Divided up and sold at auction? I have to see for myself, so I book a flight to L.A. Here’s my story."

Also a must read is the"Our Story" from the Joseff of Hollywood website.

Collectors Weekly: By Joanna Mangan, as told to Lisa Hix — Hidden Gems: Lost Hollywood Jewelry Trove Uncovered in Burbank Warehouse — Overview: [https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/lost-hollywood-jewelry-trove-uncovered/]: [March 2012]

Having trouble with the small sizes of yesteryear? Well, most of us do!
The ladies were smaller than the women of today.
NO Problem, be sure to check out our necklace extenders.