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

  • Happy Holidays

    I want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season. Thank you for continuing to check my website. I’m amazed at the number of visitors I receive each day from all over the world. I have not written many new blogs the last few weeks because I’m working on adding two major brands to Collecting Costume…

  • Les Bernard Jewelry

    1963 – 1996 Les Bernard jewelry has an interesting history and features lovely designs created with innovative techniques. Today these designs are affordable for collectors with many pieces selling for under $100.00. Brief History Les Bernard jewelry was named for founders: Bernard Shapiro and Lester Joy. Bernard Shapiro was the son of well-respected Vogue Jewelry…

  • Pieces I Love by BB Sterling and Norma Sterling

    Over the years many different brands of jewelry have passed in and out of my collection. It is a joy to sort through the collection today to rediscover some pieces I stored simply because I love them. The following BB Sterling fish pin and Norma Sterling talking birds pin are two examples of sweet pieces…

  • Emmons, Sarah Coventry Revisited

    Today, on this cold, rainy morning, I found a wonderful article at www.antiquetrader.com titled “Home Party Jewelry Remembered” by Pamela Wiggins Siegel published November 8, 2022. Her articles are always well-written, easy to read, and carefully researched so it was a pleasure to enjoy the article with my morning coffee. It prompted me to revisit…

  • Selro/Selini Revisited

    As a collector, I purchased signed jewelry from many different brands. However, only my favorite pieces, from any one brand, made it into my collection. The two sets shown below are signed Selro and/or Selini and are the only remaining pieces from this brand in my collection. A fabulous article on Selro/Selini jewelry titled “Selro…

  • Otis Sterling

    This beautiful Otis Sterling necklace is shown on the cover of Collecting Costume Jewelry 303 published in 2010. At that time, there was little information on the company. Due to a 2017 beautifully researched and photographed article by Barbara Schwartz and Robin Deutsch titled “Bracelets by Otis: A Surprising Connection”, we know more about the…

  • Capri Jewelry

    The historical information online for Capri Jewelry, Inc. varies almost as widely as the designs of the jewelry. Most sources agree that Capri Jewelry was founded in 1949 by Sol Smith. The company then merged with DeNicola in 1973. At this time the jewelry from both companies was signed Capri with the copyright symbol. By…

  • Donald Stannard, Medusa

    Donald Stannard worked with Kenneth J. Lane from 1968 – 1972 when he launched his own brand. He is known for bold designs created for Broadway, TV, movies, and for famous stars of the time. Often his jewelry is sculptural and eye-catching. His most famous designs include a large twin lion necklace and foo dog…

  • Buying DeLizza Doubles

    Both of these lightweight floral pins were designed and manufactured by DeLizza and Elster. The peridot pin is featured in Collecting Costume Jewelry 404 and described as one of my favorite pieces to wear. This week I was happy to find a light sapphire version, in silver tone metal, with the same DeLizza and Elster…

  • White House Black Market

    Chico’s FAS, Inc. is a Florida based company founded in 1983. Today Chico’s FAS includes three brands: the original Chico’s, White House Black Market (since 2003) and Soma (since 2004). [Information from www.chicofas.com] Chico’s and White House Black Market are “mall boutique” and online stores that include fashions, jewelry, and accessories. Although mass produced for…