Schreiner Jewelry Co., Inc. - Collecting Costume Jewelry 101

Dates of Operation: 1943 – 1975

Henry Schreiner, the founder of Schreiner Jewelry, immigrated from Germany to New York in 1923. In 1927 he worked for a shoe buckle company called Better Brothers that he later purchased.

More than a decade passed before Henry officially registered his business, perhaps due to a legal requirement of the time. In any case, on September 16, 1943, Henry was certified as the sole person conducting and transacting business under the name “Schreiner Jewelry Company.” Nearly three years later, on July 23, 1946, he incorporated his business under the name “Schreiner Jewelry Co. Inc.
Tanenbaum, p. 27.

*Schreiner Masters of Twentieth-Century Costume Jewelry* G Arts, N.Y. 2017 by Carole Tannenbaum and Eve Townsend. This is a well-researched book, detailing the history of Schreiner jewelry. Much of the information comes from interviews with the Schreiner family. It is a must-read book for any collector today who is interested in Schreiner jewelry.

Henry established a solid working relationship with fashion designers and built the business based on customer satisfaction, innovation, quality, and integrity.

He was quite adept at soldering and very artistic. He was an opera buff and admired great painters. His first love was doing work for the couture designers.
Miller, p. 62

*Costume Jewelry* 2nd edition, Avon Books, N.Y. published in 1994 by Harrice Simons Miller. Miller includes an informative section on Schreiner jewelry based on her interviews with the Schreiner family. The section is only six pages long (p. 61 – 66), but packed with information focusing on the Schreiner company’s relationship with well-known designers.

Many of the Schreiner designs are unsigned because they were made to order for designers who selected them to complement their designs. Henry’s connection with designers was instrumental to the success of Schreiner Jewelry. From this relationship Henry had a steady source of revenue. He also had access to the latest fashion trends. His contacts in Europe provided him with a source for high-end materials, especially stones, and the newest manufacturing techniques.

The rhinestone pins had been made for dress houses and the buttons for such designers as Pauline Trigere, Ben Reig, and George Halley…The Schreiner company produced all of Norell’s jewelry, buttons, belts, and buckles…
Miller, p. 63

Despite the connection with famous designers, the company remained small with approximately 40 employees. In comparison, Trifari at one time, employed over 1000 employees. Henry ran an efficient operation with a tight grip on the quality of the product he was producing for his customers.

Henry always said, “If you stand at the back of your factory and can’t see what’s going on, your place is too big and you’re not managing it correctly.” As a result, the company never grew beyond forty employees.
Tanenbaum, pgs. 41-42

Henry Schreiner died in 1954. His daughter, Terry and her husband Ambros Albert assumed the reins of the company with Terry in charge of the customers and Ambros responsible for the designs and the manufacturing.

Although Henry was a talented, innovative designer and a superb businessman it is Ambros who designed the Schreiner jewelry coveted by collectors today.

Ambros was trained as an engineer but worked at the family business prior to Henry’s death. At this time Ambros’ talents as a designer flourished. He loved art, he loved enduring strength and structure, and he loved efficiency.

He traveled in Europe to absorb the newest jewelry design and manufacturing techniques. He then added his unique design aesthetic to produce outstanding and distinctive jewelry. The jewelry shown in the gallery below was designed and manufactured under Ambros and Terry’s leadership.

In 1974, Ambros Albert fell ill…Terry made the difficult decision to close the business and retire…by 1975, production of Schreiner jewelry had stopped.
Tanenbaum, pg. 117

Signatures:

Many Schreiner designs are unsigned. When signed, the most commonly found signatures are:

These three signatures were used interchangeably for many years.

Pieces dating to the late 1940s and early ’50s are occasionally marked “Schreiner Jewelry N.Y.C.” on an elongated semicircular plaque…
Tanenbaum, p. 190

Brand Traits Associated with Schreiner Jewelry

The following traits are often found in Schreiner designs but are NOT unique to Schreiner jewelry. Other brands especially Austria, Regency, and Kramer produced jewelry with these traits. At the time many brands, including Schreiner, were “influenced” by European jewelry.

The influence of these European designs is obvious when examining the imported pieces found in the Schreiner Family Archive. These Parisian jewels feature fancy dogtooth prongs, crimped settings, and hook-and-eye construction…
Tanenbaum, p. 54

The traits associated with Schreiner are shown below as a GLOSSARY of terms and techniques for the beginning collector. Identification of unsigned Schreiner jewelry is a complex process. Unsigned jewelry with one or more of these traits does NOT necessarily indicate the piece is an unsigned Schreiner.

Glossary of Terms and Techniques Associated with Schreiner Jewelry

Inverted Stones

The idea to invert the stones arose after Ambros had gone through the company’s stone inventory. During this process he noticed that, while the glass of the old crystals was in excellent shape, the foil on many of the stones had begun to wear away. In order to salvage the stones, the factory workers scratched the remainder of the foil off the stones…
Tanenbaum, p. 187

Even when the damaged inventory was exhausted, unfoiled, inverted stones continued to be used in Schreiner designs until the company closed in the mid 1970s.

Schreiner jewelry is not cast. It is made with settings.

This process is thoroughly described on pages 172, 173 of the Tanenbaum book. The steps are briefly summarized below:

A prototype is made.
The prongs on the prototype are clipped and metal is added. This produced a weighted version of the prototype that could be inked and pressed into a setting block leaving a visible outline.
Settings (cups, etc.) of the correct size and shape are placed along the outline and soldered into place.

Hook and Eye Construction

Hook and eye construction is an easy way to add layers/height to jewelry designed with “settings”.

Rivets are used to secure stones in settings.

This Schreiner floral decoration features round rivets securing the faux turquoise stones.

Hand-made Components

The floral element is secured to the design by a hand-made component.

Bar-style Earring Back

A paddle-shaped bar is often, but not exclusively, used to attach the earring to the design.

Crimped/Cupcake/Piecrust Settings

There may be more accurate industry names for the following settings; however, the terms crimped, piecrust and cupcake setting are often used interchangeably by costume jewelry collectors to describe a ruffled/metal setting vs a smooth metal setting. The settings can have open or closed backs with very different looks.

Most Schreiner pins/brooches include a hook so the pin can be worn as a pendant.

The double wire hook on the left is typical of Schreiner pendant hooks.

Dog-tooth is a term used by collectors to describe diamond-shaped prongs often found in Schreiner designs.

This Schreiner design uses dog-tooth prongs as an important part of the design. The lacy-look mimics the lacy-look of the art-glass stone.

Fancy prongs decorate many Schreiner designs. This style is called the scallop edge.

These prongs circle a large stone, so they are not only decorative, but they help to secure the stone.

Another decorative prong found on Schreiner designs called the fleur-de-lis.

The fleur-de-lis prong is often used for large stones and adds a touch of elegance to Schreiner designs.

Bezel Setting

This setting looks like short saw-teeth. Bezel setting is defined as a ring of metal surrounding a stone that holds a stone without intruding on the sides/edges of the stone.

Schreiner Hook/Tail Designs

Adjustable necklaces with a hook and tail gained popularity in the mid-1950s. The Schreiner hook and tail necklaces have an odd number of links, usually five. This example is from a signed necklace. The tail has seven links. Schreiner necklace tails alternate between a stone and a link ending in a pear-shaped stone.

Stacked Layers

Schreiner brooch designs include multiple layers of decorative elements securely connected to produce a tall intricate design. In this example oval circles with decorative elements are stacked. Hook and eye elements secure the layers.

This pin features two stacked ovals secured with hook and eye components.

The structure varies as needed. Not all tall Schreiner pins have a recognizable hook and eye structure. The following example shows wires bent around the elements but without visible “eyes”.

Plating

Schreiner used several types of plating including silvertone, gold, copper and gunmetal. Some pieces are left unplated. Examples of Schreiner jewelry with different types of plating are shown in the gallery below. The plating choice is part of the design.

Color Combinations

Prior to World War II most rhinestone jewelry was decorated with clear rhinestones. After World War II, especially by the mid-1950s, colorful rhinestone designs were popular. Schreiner jewelry is well-recognized for the use of unusual color combinations coupled with interesting stone shapes and textures. The jewelry in the gallery below helps to illustrate the “Schreiner” use of color.

Gallery

Signed Schreiner Jewelry

This is a well-known, iconic Schreiner set signed Schreiner New York on the back of the brooch. The brooch is 2 1/4″ X 2″. Each clip earring is 1 1/4″ X 1″.

All of the stones are inverted and vary in size. This set is gold plated and fully symmetrical.

The brooch and earrings are tear-drop shape. Large emerald cut stones dominate the design and add height to the piece.

This is a monochromatic color scheme including Czech aquamarine, Czech sapphire and Czech dark aqua stones. The dark aqua stones outline the tear-drop shape providing a bright contrast with the unfoiled aquamarine stones. This color has the highest visual weight drawing the “eye” to the center decoration. As is often true with Schreiner jewelry, the brooch center decoration is repeated in the earring design.

Author’s Note: I’ve owned this set since at least 2008. It is shown on page 274 of my book Collecting Costume Jewelry 101 2nd edition. I’ve also seen this design in pink.

The brooch has the hook and eye construction and a small double-wire hook so it can be worn as a pendant.

Typical Schreiner clip earring hardware.

The following pink set is an iconic Schreiner design shown on page 182 of Schreiner Masters of twentieth-Century Costume Jewelry by Carole Tanenbaum and Eve Townsend in three color combinations including the pink shown below. The book dates this set to the late 1950s.

Author’s Note: It is also featured in my book Collecting Costume Jewelry 303 p. 288. I’ve owned this set since 2009 and it is one of my favorites.

The brooch is square in shape and tall measuring 2″ X 2″ X 1 1/4″. It is signed on the back. The rectangular-shape earrings are unsigned but mirror the brooch’s center design.

All of the round and marquise-shaped stones are inverted. The rectangular stones are not. The pink stones are Czech rose and Czech light rose.

The design of this brooch is a great example of a Schreiner design built in layers. Three marquis light rose stones are set on point at each of the four corners separated by a large emerald cut rose stone. The next row consists of large round stones set at each corner separated by Czech emerald round stones. The top layer consists of a large rose rectangular stone surrounded by a frame of light rose stones with emerald stones at each corner.

Emerald and rose/pink are complimentary colors which is a bold combination. All pieces are symmetrical.

Schreiner New York signature on the back of the brooch.

Hook and eye construction. There is NO pendant hook.

The back view shows the layered construction and typical Schreiner earring backs.

The following set is called the Schreiner “ruffle” pin with keystones, also called tapered baguette stones.

Arguably Schreiner’s most iconic design, the “ruffle” pin is composed of undulating tapered keystones, which surround an oval center.
Tanenbaum pg. 80

There are several different Schreiner “ruffle” pin designs. The design of this set is the keystone ruffle design. MOST ruffle designs include an oval center stone set with dog tooth prongs surrounded by a frame of stones. The “ruffle” stones, keystones, appear to undulate.

This example measures 3″ X 3″ and features black keystones of varying sizes and lengths set around an oval pearl center framed by small, round, ivory stones. The earring design mirrors the center of the brooch. Each clip earring measures 1 1/2″.

The most vibrantly colorful “ruffle” pins command the highest value in the secondary market. The classic black and white version, shown here, is easy-to-wear as it pairs with many outfits. The brooch is heavy, so it is best worn on a thicker material or as a pendant.

The construction consists of two stacked ovals connected with hooks and eyes. Keystones are placed on both oval layers.

The keystones are all in open-backed settings. The back view shows the way groups of three keystones are connected. The brooch and one earring are signed Schreiner New York.

Close view of the bar connecting three keystones.

This view shows the undulating keystones and the typical Schreiner earring backs.

Truly beautiful, this signed Schreiner pin features large light amethyst cabochon stones, light rose stones, amethyst rhinestones, and light sapphire aurora borealis stones. It is a fully symmetrical design with alternating oval and teardrop shapes.

The pin measures 2 1/2″ in diameter and stands over an inch tall. The large stones are bezel set.

The large stones are all open in the back, so they interact with the color(s) of the garment. For example, when placed on a dark blue background, the pink stones have the highest visual weight and dominate the design. On a hot pink background, the rose stones remain prominent, but the large oval stones take on a pink hue.

This pin is signed Schreiner and features typical Schreiner hook and eye construction.

The back view shows the lovely light amethyst stone color and the stacked construction.

The next signed Schreiner brooch is packed with interesting design elements. I borrowed it from my daughter for this chapter. I love the smaller, wearable size, the amazingly bright colors, and the unusual floral wire-over elements.

Signed Schreiner New York, this pin is 2″ in diameter. It has a monochromatic color palette including sapphire, light sapphire and clear aurora borealis stones.

There are four “wire-over” floral designs suspended above the design. Three of them consist of typical Schreiner seven-stone flowers.

The fourth “wire-over” floral is placed at the top of the brooch. It is an unusual pinwheel design with an aurora borealis center stone.

Back view showing the three seven-stone florals with typical Schreiner riveted construction.

None of the stones in this lovely piece are inverted.

A close view of the back shows the way the wires for these florals are attached.

Close view of the Schreiner signature and pendant hook.

The view from the side illustrates the way the floral elements are suspended above the design.

Author’s Note: Truly one of the most beautiful sets in my collection, this Schreiner set features a 7 1/4″ X 1 1/2″ bracelet and matching 17″ necklace including a seven-link, 4 1/2″ extension chain. Both pieces in the set are signed Schreiner.

The high-end necklace features rhinestone components bent over the main necklace. This type of construction is called wire-over. The wire-over pieces add depth to the design. There are a total of seven wire-over elements in the necklace.

The interesting monochrome color palette includes rose, light rose, and clear aurora borealis rhinestones. The stones are NOT inverted. The photos show the metal as dark, but it is silver tone.

Close view of the necklace. Note the five-stone floral decorations, typical of Schreiner. The large light rose stones have dog-tooth prongs.

The design of the bracelet compliments but does not exactly mirror the design of the necklace.

Back view showing the way each floral stone is secured by a rivet. The large round stones are in cupcake settings.

Author’s Note: This set is a testimony to the solid construction of Schreiner jewelry. The various components in the necklace are heavy and want to twist when held, yet even with some twisting, the connections remain secure. Of course, Schreiner jewelry was never inexpensive, so this prized set was likely carefully boxed and stored prior to finding a home in my collection.

The following signed Schreiner Maltese cross pendant dates to the 1950s – 1960s. It was purchased second-hand with the unsigned 24″ chain attached.

Measuring 3 1/2″ inches this large pendant features rectangular faceted crystal glass stones with fleur-de-lis prongs. The inverted square center stone is framed by three smoked topaz baguette stones on each side.

Framing a brooch with parallel lines of stones is a recognizable Schreiner design trait. Four spokes, one from each corner of the center decoration, add depth and interest to the design. Baguette stones set on “spokes” is another design trait of some Schreiner designs.

Author’s note: The clear crystal stones in this design appear to be a light citrine due to their unfoiled backs and shiny gold tone frames. The pendant works with fall colors, but I prefer to wear it as a pendant with off white, sometimes lacy, tops. Then the stones have a subtle, elegant golden glow. It is my favorite Schreiner piece to wear as a pendant.

The pendant is signed Schreiner New York and features hook and eye construction.

Each spoke ends in three prong-set stones.

Back view showing the stacked construction.

Author’s Note: I purchased this rare Schreiner locket and earrings set many years ago on an antiquing adventure with my husband. I do not recall the name of the store, but we stopped on our way to Brimfield. When the set was removed from the display case, I was surprised and delighted to find inverted stones and the Schreiner signature on the earrings. This was many, many years ago. At the time I did not know Schreiner made lockets! Brimfield was a rainy mess, so as it turned out, this set was the best treasure from the trip.

The locket measures 1 3/4″ with 3/4″ dangling decorations. The earrings are 1″.

The oval locket face is decorated with four green cabochon stones and faux amber stones (possibly a specialty color), inverted light topaz stones, and inverted emerald stones.

Never used, the inside of the locket has room for two photos.

It is unknown if this is the original chain.

Close view of the unsigned necklace clasp.

Schreiner signature on the earrings with the typical Schreiner hardware.

Schreiner figural designs are often innovative and distinctive. This turtle design is as beautifully made as the gorgeous Schreiner sets shown above.

Head to tail, the turtle is slightly less than 3″. Each tear-drop shaped earring measures 1″. All three pieces are signed.

Unfoiled square or pear-shape smokey quartz (often called black diamond) rhinestones encircle a deep carnelian color stone set with scalloped-edge prongs. The unusual stones beautifully simulate the look of genuine semi-precious stones.

This set is one of my favorite Schreiner designs. The combination of shapes and colors elevate the whimsical, innovative turtle design into an elegant, expensive looking set.

The adorable Schreiner green apple pin below is one of the most affordable Schreiner pieces to acquire today. The body of the apple is domed and features typical Schreiner hook and eye construction. The molded glass leaves (also a well-known Schreiner component) are set with dogtooth prongs in cupcake settings.

This tiny 1 3/4″ piece is packed with many Schreiner details.

Back view showing the riveted construction, hook and eye elements, and the cupcake settings.

It is signed Schreiner New York on the back of one leaf.

Signed Schreiner jewelry with Lucite stones

Schreiner jewelry effectively incorporated Lucite in the designs.

Beginning in the mid 1960s and carrying on into the ’70s, the Schreiner company experimented with Lucite…
Tanenbaum, p. 113

The Schreiner jewelry with Lucite stones were produced with the same high-end traits as the glass stone pieces including fancy prongs, unusual stone/color combinations, and innovative designs. However, they are generally less expensive in the collectible market today.

The following Schreiner turtle pin features a tall, large Lucite belly with a moveable “trembling” head. It is a distinctive, easily recognized Schreiner design. It is also a variable design that was made with many different accent stones.

The turtle measures 2 1/2″ and features scalloped edge prongs, a trembling head set with a simulated agate stone, tiny aurum color rhinestone feet and tail.

Schreiner signature on the body of the turtle.

Back view showing the spring mechanism and the underside of the simulated agate stone used for the head.

Author’s note: I love the back view of this design…it is almost as cute as the front!

The following Schreiner set features oval confetti Lucite stones set in dogtooth prongs and suspended from bendable wire branches. Marquise-shape, inverted, jonquil stones decorating the branches compliment the golden foil colors in the Lucite stones. Jonquil baguette rhinestones outline the stem.

Author’s Note: The design of this set is the most effective use of Lucite stones in my collection. It looks expensive but is lightweight and easy-to-wear.

The brooch measures nearly 3 1/2″ in length. Each earring is slightly over 1″.

Back view showing the interesting construction. Author’s Note: A respected Schreiner expert tells me the pin back is a replacement.

The rose monochrome color Schreiner Maltese cross set below features large, faceted Lucite stones. All pieces are fully symmetrical and have some inverted stones.

The brooch measures 3″. Each earring is 1″.

The pin and one earring are signed Schreiner. The other earring has a replacement clip.

The back view shows the Schriner pendant hook and the spoke style design.

Identifying Unsigned Schreiner

Unfortunately, many Schreiner designs are unsigned. The unsigned Schreiner in this gallery are verified using four methods.

The designs match book pieces found in reliable published books especially, but not limited to, Schreiner Masters of Twentieth-Century Costume Jewelry by Carole Tanenbaum and Eve Townsend. This is a MUST have book for beginning collectors interesting in Schreiner.
The designs have been verified by a free database of Schreiner jewelry at www.Schreinery.com. This is a searchable database. Read the “knowledge” tab to learn to use the search feature. Author’s Note: It is worth your time to master the use of this database. Unsigned Schreiner jewelry can be submitted through this site for verification although it may take some time to work its way through the process.
The jewelry in this database is verified by a members-only Facebook group of trusted experts. Author’s Note: For personal reasons, I do not belong to Facebook. Collectors who belong to Facebook should be able to easily find this group and apply for membership.
Some unsigned Schreiner designs match signed designs. Author’s Note: Prior to the existence of the Scheiner database, I verified some Scheiner by searching auctions for signed Scheiner with the EXACT same design and structure as the unsigned jewelry.

Unsigned/Verified Schreiner

This is a well-known Schreiner set verified through www.Schreinery.com. I was certain this set was Schreiner prior to the existence of the wonderful Schreiner database because I had seen signed versions of this design in online auctions both the green color shown here and in purple.

The brooch is 2 1/4″, each clip earrings is 1 1/4″. It is verified at www.Schreinery.com and was made in more than one color combination.

There are several Schreiner design traits in this set.

Schreiner often used three large oval-shaped stones set at an angle to form a tall dome.
The black plated prongs give the design a lacy appearance.
The set features rare, unusual art-glass stones.
The smaller stones are inverted.
Also, the way the stones are draped around the earrings, almost like a head piece, is a distinctive design feature.
It is constructed using settings with what appear to be hand-made components.

The crystal, topaz, and olivine colors mirror the colors in the art glass oval stones.

Almost face-like, this is a memorable Schreiner earring design.

Close view of the art glass oval stone and the elaborate use of prongs.

The construction of this brooch is difficult to photograph. The wires shown above have hooks that can be seen from the front of the piece under a loop. These hooks secure the three ovals in place.

Schreiner jewelry designs often feature hand-made techniques like the wire/hooks described above. The bottom photo shows the hooks/wires from another angle.

Back view showing the interesting Schreiner construction, cupcake settings, and depth of the design.

The gorgeous Schriner design below is called the “snowflake” design. However, the earrings look more like flowers. It is a distinctive Schreiner design made in several colors. This example is unsigned but matches the snowflake jewelry shown on page 191 of Schreiner Masters of Twentieth-Century Costume Jewelry.

The brooch measures 2 1/4″. Each earring is 1 1/4″. This example features turquoise cabochon stones, olivine rhinestones and blue navette-shaped stones with streaks of aventurine. These are often called Venetian stones and appear in many verified Schreiner designs. The center stone is light amethyst. The bottom row of florals is connected to a ring of light amethyst and crystal rhinestones. There are NO inverted stones in this distinctive design.

The construction of this brooch includes wires with hooks used to hold the layers in place. Each floral is connected by a wire that is bent over the design.

The five turquoise petals are secured by rivets to the floral frame.

Typical Schreiner donut hole/bar earring back.

The back of this set showcases the wonder of Schreiner construction. It is almost as pretty as the front.

Both of the following butterfly pins are unsigned. The butterfly on the left is verified on www.Schreinery.com. The butterfly on the right is identical in construction and size; however, this color combination is not yet shown in the database.

Both of these unsigned Schreiner butterfly pins measure 1 1/4″ and feature dogtooth settings.

The wings on both pins tremble from the same style of spring.

The stones are set in the same configuration.

Close view of the unusual yellow stones.

Author’s Recommendation

High-end Schreiner designs are expensive in today’s market which invites misleading descriptions and attributions. If possible purchase signed Schreiner pieces with several known Schreiner traits.

I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of verifying unsigned Schreiner jewelry before buying. Study the books, study the Schreiner database, study the signed Schreiner in auctions, and buy from a reliable source.

Happy Collecting,

Love,

Julie

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