Dates of Operation: 1942 – 1971

The historical information about Albert Weiss jewelry varies depending on the source. Most agree that Weiss worked for Coro in the 1930s and started his own business in approximately 1942.

There is some disagreement on the exact date. The nature of his business is also in dispute. Some sources indicate Weiss did not manufacture jewelry but purchased jewelry designed and manufactured by others who added his brand name to the pieces. Other sources suggest he had a factory, but due to the popularity of Weiss jewelry, the factory was unable to keep up with the huge number of orders. To increase production, Weiss turned to other manufacturers in the US and abroad to complete his orders.

There is some concrete evidence that Weiss worked as a wholesaler who selected designs from other manufacturers.

First, Albert Weiss and Co. is listed in the 1954 Jeweler’ Buyers Guide as a wholesaler located at 303 5th Ave. This does not rule out the possibility Weiss had his own factory, but it does confirm that he worked as a wholesaler in the mid-1950s.

Secondly, Weiss purchased jewelry from DeLizza and Elster as early as 1947-1949. In his book Memoirs of a Fashion Jewelry Manufacturer, Frank DeLizza writes,

Our line was crystal – mostly chatons with a few square and octagon stones. The stones were mostly Austrian with a few Czech crystals. We made duette clips for Albert Weis [sic], and pins for Kramer and Garne. We sold to larger wholesalers and smaller ones.

DeLizza, p. 16

Author’s Note: Unfortunately, Weiss jewelry was reproduced and over time, the reproductions have made their way into the collectible marketplace. My recommendation is to buy SIGNED Weiss jewelry with the BEST designs and hardware components, especially Weiss jewelry with beautiful prong-set stones, and smooth rhodium, black or gold plated backs. These are the pieces that reflect Albert Weiss’ design aesthetic and the designs most likely to hold their value over time.

Most often found Weiss Signatures:

WEISS NY (not shown)

In 1969 Albert turned the business over to his son Michael. Michael closed Albert Weiss Jewelry in 1971.

New Albert Weiss Jewelry

albertweiss.com is a website dedicated to new jewelry made in the “tradition” of vintage Albert Weiss jewelry. The company purchased the rights to the Weiss name. Their goal is to honor the excellence of vintage Albert Weiss jewelry with new, hand-made quality designs. The designs are not reproductions of vintage Weiss jewelry.

Author’s Note: The earrings offered by this company are especially lovely.

Gallery

The following Gallery features collectible Weiss jewelry designs.

Sets

Brand Trait: Although found in the designs of many brands, Weiss popularized the use of black diamond rhinestones (smoky quartz, or gray) in costume jewelry designs.

A 1959 Weiss advertisement (not shown) describes the stones as “…distinctive Gray Austrian rhinestones…”

The black diamond jewelry below features high-quality prong-set stones, rhodium plating, and pavé icing details. The monochromatic color scheme is rich-looking and elegant. Except for the crescent-shaped pin, all of these pieces are symmetrical.

Brand Trait: Some Weiss designs include pavé icing.

Brand Trait: High-end Weiss designs often include a variety of stone shapes especially marquise shaped stones.

Sometimes, considering how many different shaped stones are part of Weiss designs, it is easier to see the variety from the back.

Author’s Note: The following wreath-style pin and earring set belonged to my grandmother and was purchased in the late 1950s.

Weiss produced a large volume of jewelry with black diamond stones. Although slightly different in design and size, the pieces coordinate well with each other. The photo below includes a 16 1/4″ black diamond necklace and two pair of black diamond earrings. All of the jewelry shown in the photo can be worn together in any combination.

The following clear crystal set features pavé icing with a variety of highly reflective crystal rhinestones.

Brand Trait: The belt-style clasp and safety chain are often found on Weiss bracelet designs.

Weiss advertisements from the 1950s and 1960s help to approximately date some designs. Jewelry with navette stones surrounded by a halo of tiny rhinestones was advertised in 1957 as “Skyline” jewelry.

Brand Trait: “Skyline” style jewelry is a distinctively Weiss. It was adapted for many designs in many colors.

Brand Trait: Weiss hooks, especially on higher-end necklace designs, are often decorated with one rhinestone. Most, but not all, hooks are thin.

Author’s Note: The “Skyline” style Weiss necklace below was my grandmother’s. The clip earrings are a later addition.

A third example of Weiss jewelry with this “Skyline” design is the stylized leaf pin below. It features fuchsia stones outlined by a halo of crystal rhinestones.

The pin measures 2″ and has rhodium plating. It is signed WEISS stamped into the metal.

Brand Trait: Higher-end Weiss jewelry features rhodium plating or rich-looking gold plating with smooth backs.

The following earrings feature the same “Skyline” design and coordinate with any of the above pieces.

The next Weiss set features all navette-shaped crystal stones. Due to the interesting construction, the tips of the crystal stones appear to be gray. They are not. The color change is due to the way the crystal stones reflect the light. The necklace and earrings are signed WEISS. The bracelet is unsigned.

Design Trait: Weiss often relied on high-end stones to elevate a simple, monochromatic design.

Brand Trait: Weiss designs are versatile and work in a variety of colors.

Brand Trait: Weiss is recognized as being one of the first brands to prominently feature aurora borealis stones in the designs.

This distinctive Weiss set was produced in green and blue. Both versions feature aurora borealis rhinestones.

Brand Trait: The gold color of the plating in this set appears in other Weiss designs. It is a distinctive rich-looking gold shade that is associated with Weiss.

Brand Trait: The enameled floral elements shown in the next set are a recognizable Weiss component. Long-stemmed Weiss flowers pins have been seen using these enameled floral elements.

The center stone and the enameled flower elements are attached by a central rivet. The set includes both light topaz and smoked topaz rhinestones.

Brand Trait: Not all pieces in a Weiss set are signed.

Crystal aurora borealis stones and white enamel are the stars of this well-known Weiss set.

Like the previous set, rivets are used to attach the flowers to the design.

The following set is one of the most recognizable Weiss designs. This set features off-white plastic embedded with clear, peridot, rose, topaz, and light sapphire stones. Other color combinations were made.

There are many unsigned versions of this set in the collectible market. Only the earrings in this set are signed. Some bracelets are signed WEISS on the hinge.

Bracelets:

This bracelet was featured in a 1955 advertisement titled “Cuff Clingers.”

This is another example of an elegant Weiss design that relies on the exquisite beauty of the baguette stones.

Many brands, including Weiss made a summer collection of white jewelry. This Weiss bracelet features white and crystal aurora borealis stones in a repeating, fully symmetrical pattern.

Brand Trait: Weiss jewelry is often monochromatic. Various shaped stones and aurora borealis accents create the design interest.

Design Trait: Weiss offered bracelets in several lengths.

This classic black and white Weiss bracelet has a push-in clasp. There is NO safety chain.

Brand Trait: Weiss created many designs in all black. The 1962 advertisement features a few 1962 designs.

Weiss black earring designs coordinate well with this bracelet and work with many outfits.

Brand Trait: Weiss produced many “basic” jewelry designs in pure colors, not just black, that easily fit any wardrobe. This ease of wear is one of the reasons for the popularity of Weiss jewelry.

The quality of the stones in this Weiss bracelet is a treat for the “eye.”

Combining green and blue rhinestones was popular in jewelry designs from 1950s – 1960s. This bracelet is a beautiful example of Weiss blue and green jewelry.

Necklaces:

This necklace is a recognizable Weiss design consisting of a chain of small prong-set stones decorated in the front with alternating large and larger stones.

Brand Trait: Weiss produced many necklaces with this basic design.

This WEISS necklace design has a rich fall color scheme. The stones are rose aurora borealis, emerald, light topaz, and smoked topaz.

Well-made, this topaz necklace is signed WEISS on one of the petals.

The color of this Weiss necklace is even more vibrant in person. The design consists of a double rhinestone chain decorated by a double row of sapphire aurora borealis rhinestones.

The choker necklace design below is an elegant departure from the colorful necklaces above. It features rhodium plated panels decorated with three prong-set crystal stones. The design simulates the “look” of invisibly set stones.

Pins:

Brand Trait: Weiss offered many pin designs with black (japanned) metal.

This is an asymmetrical design. The sapphire and hematite stones are especially bright set in the contrasting black metal.

The pink Weiss floral design has a much different aesthetic than the one above. The monochromatic rose and light rose rhinestones add a lovely lightness to the pin. Crystal rhinestones define the stem.

Author’s Note: This pin belonged to my mother.

Advertised in 1961 as “Art Nouveau”, this pin is an unusually large Weiss design measuring 3 3/4″ X 3″. The center stone is a faux pearl similar to those found in Regency designs. It is held in place with fancy prongs.

This pin sold for $17.50 in 1961.

Brand Trait: Weiss jewelry often features interesting stones, including molded glass leaves.

Author’s Note: It is rare to find a monochromatic jonquil piece in the collectible market, especially one as lovely as this Weiss pin.

Crystal or clear rhinestone designs were a huge part of Weiss’ line. The pins are generally wearable in size with high-quality, sparkling stones. Most, but not all, are rhodium backed. The stones are prong-set.

Author’s Note: My camera seems to be able to capture the details of crystal pieces or the sparkle, but not both. I opted for photos that show detail. In person, the Weiss pins are highly reflective. They are as lovely and wearable today as they were when they were made.

The following Weiss pin is a pyramid of high-end prong-set stones. There are four layers.

The interesting construction includes three sets of hook and eye components! The top left corner shows the first hook and eye layer. Middle left and middle right show the next hook and eye components. The center bottom shows the last hook and eye components.

Author’s Note: The Weiss hook and eye construction cannot be confused with Schreiner hook and eye construction. It has a very different look. See the unit on Schreiner to view the difference.

A gift from a friend, this wonderful Weiss pin was featured in a 1964 Weiss “Discotheque” advertisement (not shown). It consists of three leaves and one “dangling” flower.

It is a well-balanced asymmetrical design. All of the crystal stones are high-quality and prong-set.

A 1961 Weiss advertisement featured an array of flower pins called “Long Stemmed Beauties“. Examples of Weiss long-stemmed florals are shown below.

They were made in various color combinations.

Both pins feature navette-shaped stones on the stem. The stems consist of twisted metal beads and each stem ends with three rhinestones.

Brand Trait: Weiss is known for many, many interesting butterfly pins.

This butterfly was made in many different color combinations and was sold with matching earrings featuring gammatic-shaped stones.

The multi-color butterfly is a well-known Weiss design. It is decorated with a pleasing combination of colors.

Many brands outline butterfly wings with small stones, usually matching one of the colors on the wings. This wonderful Weiss design uses multi-color stones for the outline.

The wings of the rose and light amethyst butterfly shown below are set on springs, so they tremble when worn. This design was made in various monochromatic color palettes.

Brand Trait: In 1954 Weiss advertised a line of long earrings called “Shoulder Dusters”. These long earrings (not in the ad) are a great example of Weiss “Shoulder Duster” earrings.

Author’s Note: These earrings have an amazing sparkle and presence when worn. They are extra-long, so even though I’m very tall, they “dust” my shoulders!

Nine strands of black rhinestones dangle from each long Weiss black earrings. At 2 3/4″ in they are the perfect length for most women.

Brand Trait: Weiss is credited with being one of the first brands to offer a variety of Christmas tree designs.

The most recognizable Weiss Christmas tree design is the Weiss candle tree.

This design was available with six, five, or three candles.

There are unsigned versions of this tree and a version signed Austria.

Author’s Note: Weiss Christmas designs have been reproduced, many unsigned.

WEISSCO

Some Weiss designs are signed WEISSCO or WEISSCO N.Y. The monochromatic examples shown here feature high-end aqua or crystal stones. WEISSCO necklaces often have delicate fold-over clasps.

The clear crystal necklace and brooch below are both signed WEISSCO NY on an oval cartouche. They were purchased separately but share enough design traits to shown as a set. Both pieces have emerald cut large stones. Both pieces feature a draping design.

The camera does not capture the great sparkle in this WEISSCO heart pin. It is a slightly asymmetrical design.

Author’s Note: I have many heart-motif pins but this is my favorite. It is a lovely, elegant piece that matches EVERYTHING!

Recommendations:

Weiss jewelry is plentiful in the collectible market. It is fun to find, affordable considering the great quality, and comfortable to wear. I always recommend beginning collectors buy signed pieces. For Weiss, I also recommend purchasing signed pieces with prong-set stones, and lovely plating.

Happy Collecting,

Love,

Julie