Dates of Operation: 1990 – her death in 2014 (The Joan Rivers Classic Collection on QVC continues today under the direction of David Dangle.)

Brief History: Joan Rivers was born Joan Alexandra Molinsky in Brooklyn, New York June 8, 1933. She began her diverse career as a stand-up comedian in clubs and on stage. She was a favorite guest host for The Tonight Show hosted first by Jack Paar and later by Johnny Carson.

Rivers was a popular guest and performing comedian through the 1980s. In 1987 she became the host of her own late-night show titled The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers. Within a year both Rivers and her husband Edgar Rosenberg, who worked with her on the show, were fired. Sadly, Rosenberg took his own life in 1987.

Although greatly impacted by her husband’s death, Rivers found the strength to begin again in 1989 with her own daytime talk show called The Joan Rivers Show. Rivers shined in this medium where she could “talk” as herself – an amusing intelligent woman with an honest connection to everyday people. (Some information, including dates from www.Wikipedia.org Joan Rivers)

In 1990, Rivers was contacted by QVC to endorse a line of cosmetics. Rivers persuaded QVC to instead let her create a costume jewelry line. In her autobiography Jewelry by Joan Rivers, she writes about the beginnings of her jewelry line.

At the time cosmetics didn’t particularly interest me, but I let QVC know that I did have these jewelry ideas flying around in my head…I adapted some designs from my personal jewelry collection, then had them produced for a price that I felt was within the reach of stylish American women who were also smart.

Rivers, Joan. Jewelry by Joan Rivers. New York, N.Y. Abbeville Press Publishers, 1995. p. 15

River’s jewelry line on QVC was immediately successful. She quickly hired David Dangle to help her create jewelry designs, that were “…at once beautiful, wearable, and, best of all, affordable”. Rivers, p. 15

Joan Rivers was successful selling jewelry on QVC due to her exquisite “jewelry eye”, her dedication to quality and affordability, and her extremely effective television marketing.

The online article titled The Curious Case of Joan Rivers’ QVC Line at www.forbes.com written October 27, 2015 by Natalie Robehmend recounts Rivers’ success on QVC.

Her offerings became a regular high-point on QVC …In 2014 alone , Rivers sold 1.2 million units through the channel, while the Joan Rivers Classics Collection alone generated $4.5 million in sales annually, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

www.forbes.com Natalie Robehmend, The Curious Case of Joan River’ QVC Line, 2015.

Robehmend continues,

Considering QVC sold $1 billion of Joan rivers goods over 24 years, her income could have been an estimated $250 million pretax in that time frame. Though that sounds like a hefty sum, it averages to a relatively modest $10.4 million pretax a year.

www.forbes.com Robehmend, 2015

Passion: Joan Rivers had a life-long love for beautiful jewelry. She writes,

Over the years as fashions came and fashions went, my love for jewelry never waivered….I collect jewelry with an intensity usually reserved for fine art collectors. And why not? Jewelry is art.

Rivers, p. 12

Distinctive Design: Many of the early Joan River’s designs were inspired by her personal collection of vintage fine jewelry, especially Fabergé jewelry. She sometimes brought the original jewelry to the QVC show to display it side-by-side with the replicas.

The faux star sapphire pin shown below is a close replica of Joan Rivers’ vintage fine jewelry pin originally made for the Grand Duchess Vladimir. [Rivers, p. 19]

In the 1990s many jewelry brands offered design collections – motifs – that could be added to in subsequent shows. Joan Rivers offered many different collections over the years. It is truly – the chicken or the egg – to try to determine how this trend began. Whether or not this selling technique began with Joan Rivers, she certainly perfected it over the years.

For example, Rivers sold different egg motif charms to be added to the costume jewelry replica of her vintage Fabregé egg necklace. The “starter” necklace came with 9 charms. She then designed additional charms to be sold in future shows. Viewers began collecting the egg charms.

The egg charm necklace is an iconic, distinctive design associated with Rivers.

Brand Trait: Many of Rivers’ designs are inspired by her personal collection of fine and vintage jewelry, especially Russian jewelry.

In addition to egg charms, many different egg motif necklaces were produced for QVC including the following ruby rhinestone egg pendant on a gold tone chain.

In addition to egg motif jewelry, Rivers jewelry designs repeated favorite themes that held special meanings for her. Some motifs include jewelry based on the meaning of the gemstones, the “secret” language of flowers, the symbolism of snake jewelry and turtles. Rivers’ admired turtles because they cannot walk without sticking their necks out.

She also admired bees.

Joan Rivers shared the inspiration behind her signature bee pins with her dear friend, David Dangle. Although bees are not aerodynamically suited for flight, they manage to buzz around, pollinating the world. That’s why they’re viewed as achieving the impossible, just as Joan Rivers did.

QVC.com Joan rivers Patriotic god Bless America Bee Pin Unknown date, likely 2020s

Innovative:

Many of Joan Rivers’ designs had interesting and often useful features. For example, Rivers wanted women to wear her jewelry, so she insisted on easy-to-use clasps. Many of her clasps are large enough a woman alone could secure the jewelry AND do so without spoiling her manicure.

She also designed jewelry that was versatile and could be worn in more than one way. The following charm necklace and panther bracelet are examples of these innovations.

Brand Trait: Rivers’ designs often incorporate removable charms and/or designs with interchangeable pieces.

This set is signed Joan Rivers with the copyright symbol on all three of the interchangeable charms. In addition, each charm includes the letter “M” indicating the bracelet is size medium.

This panther bracelet is signed Joan Rivers on an oval cartouche with the copyright symbol.

Brand Trait: Rivers’ designs have easy-to-use clasps incorporated in the design.

Brand Trait: Joan Rivers’ bracelets often came in three sizes: small, medium, and large.

Some designs featured moveable elements. For example, the tail of the dragonfly shown below gently moves when worn.

Brand Trait: Some of the most beautiful Rivers designs include colorful “resin” enamel.

Quality Manufacturing:

Joan Rivers was determined to produce high-quality costume jewelry, so she traveled to Providence, Rhode Island with David Dangle to learn as much as possible about costume jewelry manufacturing. She writes,

We pestered designers, model makers, and suppliers until we found ways to get the pieces we wanted at the prices we wanted.

Rivers, p. 144

The Joan Rivers jewelry is either 24K gold plated or “dipped” in sterling silver. (Rivers p. 149)

She was committed to quality manufacturing. She writes,

Whenever I hear that one of my pieces has been handed down from mother to daughter, I am both moved and proud; it confirms my conviction that beauty is eternal and quality is priceless.

Rivers, p. 151

Signatures:

Joan Rivers jewelry is signed on an oval cartouche or hang tag including a copyright symbol. The early jewelry, made in Providence, Rhodes Island has this type of signature, without the country of origin.

Joan Rivers’ book Jewelry by Joan Rivers was published in 1994 so the jewelry featured dates to the early 1990s and was made in Rhodes Island.

Joan Rivers jewelry made in Thailand has the same oval signature plaque with the name Thailand.

Some Joan Rivers designs are marked China. (No example shown.)

Marketing:

Joan Rivers jewelry was designed for and sold by QVC. The marketing was exclusively tied to the television audience. Rivers was a superb saleswoman. She connected directly with her audience through her expertise in jewelry but also through her sense of humor and personal strength. The audience respected and was drawn to her humanity. She thrived in the world of standup comedy and television talk shows in what, at the time, were fields dominated by men.

She survived and overcame the deep personal tragedy of her husband’s death and reinvented herself when faced with tremendous financial issues. Viewers marked their calendars to watch Joan Rivers on QVC.

She connected with all of the hosts, but especially with Kathy Levine. They had a wonderful time together drawing the audience with them into their fun, jewelry-filled television “party”.

Gallery:

This is a layered design requiring two castings, two colors of enamel (red, pink) and an interesting pink, red, orange, and clear rhinestone color scheme. Red and orange are analogous colors. Pink, a shade of red, works well with them resulting in an unusual, vibrant combination.

Charms were a huge element in Joan Rivers jewelry. She understood the meanings behind charms. The following charm bracelets feature many different charms representing her “favorite” things and romantic symbols. The chains are strong, and the clasps are large enough to be easily fastened.

Joan Rivers Classic Collection includes several frame-style cameo brooches in several color combinations.

Conclusion:

Joan Rivers jewelry continues to be sold on QVC. Since there is a huge supply of Rivers jewelry it is important for collectors to use care in adding Rivers’ designs to their collections. The following is a short “tip” list that may or may not be useful.

• The early 1990s jewelry made in Rhodes Island consistently meets the quality standards Joan Rivers set forth in her book. The Thailand designs are often well-made, too.
• The jewelry shown in her book originally dates to before 1994. Of course, a design may have been made for many years.
• The Russian inspired designs, including the egg charms, are innovative and distinctive in terms of design.
• Look for designs that feature quality construction including multiple castings and beautiful enameling techniques – designs requiring expensive labor and materials.