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

  • “New” Article on Repairs

    Good morning, Learning how and when to repair vintage costume jewelry is an important skill for beginning and experienced collectors. In my book Collecting Costume Jewelry 101, I devote four pages to this topic. The information in those pages, twenty years after publication, still provides a useful guide for beginning collectors. Of course, the best…

  • Ralph DeRosa Jewelry

    Ralph DeRosa was born in Italy in 1889. In 1935 he founded Ralph DeRosa Jewelry in New York. He was joined in the business by his wife Virgina and their two daughters Elvira and Teresa. They managed the business after Ralph’s death in 1942. It is unclear when DeRosa closed. The company is listed in…

  • David Mayer’s Jewelry

    Collecting Costume Jewelry 101 was published twenty years ago in 2004! Many of the most beautiful pieces featured in the book came from the Collection of David Mayer, owner of the Millsboro Bazaar. For fun, I wrote an article about select pieces from his collection titled “David Mayer’s Jewelry from Collecting Costume Jewelry 101 Twenty…

  • 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…