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

  • Chapter Three

    Good morning, I’m happy to announce the Introduction for Chapter Three and the first brand – Kenneth J. Lane – is posted! I hope you enjoy them. They were fun to write. The Kenneth J. Lane jewelry brand began in the mid-1960s and continues today. His designs are distinctive, innovative, and well-made. The early 1960s…

  • 1977 Trifari Catalog

    While working on my books I acquired some interesting paper materials including the 1977 Trifari Catalog. With my husband’s scanning help, the catalog is now available for viewing under the INFORMATION tab on the home page. The pages are large enough to clearly view the jewelry and can be expanded for even more detail. The…

  • Article, Pretty Papillion

    Good morning, I tried to take a few days off from thinking and writing about jewelry, but of course, I spent part of the time reading about jewelry online. Today I want to share with you an interesting blog entry at www.plantejewelers.com discussing the difference between a brooch and a pin with fun tips on…

  • New Boucher, Trifari

    Trifari information has been added to Chapter Two Part One. I hope you enjoy it and find it useful! Yesterday, I went to the Liberty Antiques Festival. It was a beautiful day and I walked it for over three hours! It was a fun morning; however, I did not find a new piece to show…

  • Papillion, Liberty

    Good Morning, It is a beautiful day in North Carolina and I have a beautiful new addition to the Nolan Miller pins complete with the original name and paperwork! It is called “The Pretty Papillion Pin”. This design was limited to 2500 pieces. “Papillion” is a French word for butterfly. (Interestingly, it is also the…

  • Nolan Miller Peacock

    This week I received a beautiful new Nolan Miller pin called the Prideful Peacock. He/she features black diamond stones, emerald eyes, and a gorgeous black enameled tail decorated with round emerald stones. The wings and the “eyes” are outlined in gold tone metal. It is hard to imagine an elegant peacock pin, but Nolan Miller…

  • Trifari Mystery

    The other day, I ran across an interesting pin I’ve held onto for many, many years. It is a mystery piece because it looks nearly identical to the famous Trifari dangling monkey clip, design patent 114,235 issued in 1939; however, in my opinion, it is not Trifari. I have six reasons for this belief. First,…

  • Nolan Miller

    The triangular pink stones in this 3″ Nolan Miller “Elite Bow Pin” are a pale pink…lighter than the ones in the photo. The simple design showcases how a designer can effectively use one shape, the triangle, to create a lovely pin. Line is used to outline the triangles. Two curved rows of crystal stones gather…

  • Pennino

    Pennino Brothers has been added to Chapter Two of Collecting Costume Jewelry 404. Originally from Naples, Italy, the three brothers officially started Pennino Brothers in 1926 as a family run business. They closed in 1966. The jewelry designs are often distinctive and recognizable. I hope you enjoy it. One more brand, Trifari, will be added…

  • New Nolan Miller

    This Nolan Miller “Bordeaux” set has been added to the Nolan Miller gallery under INFORMATION. It is beautiful in the photos, but more beautiful in person. The dark burgundy glass beads are all hand-knotted with burgundy colored string. The innovative clasp (both for the necklace and bracelet) has a “hidden” fold-over clasp. The matching pierced…