Miriam Haskell Vintage Jewelry

Miriam Haskell (1899 - 1981) was an American designer of costume jewelry.  But that's like saying that Babe Ruth was a baseball player; or Albert Einstein was a mathematician. In a fashion world dominated by men, Haskell, like her distaff contemporaries Coco Chanel and Hattie Carnegie, founded her own company to pursue her ambitions. The company persists today making high-end costume jewelry, much of it in the same design genre as the designs of the forties and fifties. With her creative partner Frank Hess, she invented affordable pieces of stunning originality from 1920 through the 1950s. Vintage examples of Miriam Haskell designs are truly collectible, held in both private collections and museums internationally, and are equally wearable, as the quality and designs are long lived.

Born in 1899, at the height of the Art Nouveau era, Haskell’s jewelry reflected the opulence and voluptuous curves of those times, even into the 1950s. She opened her first boutique in 1926, “Le Bijou de L’Heure” in New York’s McAlpin Hotel. Along with her talented designer Frank Hess, she created collections for the society women of her day. Her jewelry ranged from simple to over-the-top. Beautiful Swarovsky crystals, custom made Baroque pearls, Gripoux molded glass beads, and specially designed metal findings are hallmarks of all her pieces.

We search out affordable and beautiful examples of Miriam Haskell jewelry, as well as those of her contemporaries DeMario and Originals by Robert, whose high quality designs often mimic the motifs of Haskell jewelry.  Below is a gallery some of the pieces we currently have in our jewelry cases.

This gorgeous Haskell necklace is made of blue art glass beads of varying sizes, clear beads that have been scored with a spiral design, tiny pearls, crystal rhinestones in both clear and blue, along with the signature Miriam Haskell gilt findings.  This necklace is from the 1950s.

This next piece is a fantastic vintage Miriam Haskell Pate de Verre necklace. It has mint green art molded glass beads of varying sizes, with a few translucent milky beads included. There are two molded leaves of green glass and several amethyst glass flowers.  This is an example of a 1960s piece.

 

Below are photos of several other pieces that are currently in our collection.

These last two pieces are from Original by Robert and have a distinctly Haskell feel.

All of these are available through our online antiques sales site www.trocadero.com/vintageslg/.

There are several excellent informative online sources for further research on Miriam Haskell.  Cathy Gordon's marvelous jewelry collection website is the best first stop.  Cathy is the co-author of the definitive book on Haskell jewelry.  Morning Glory Collects is another fine resource, as is the Miriam Haskell Official Website.

Father's Day is Sunday, June 20th

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.  

- Clarence Budington Kelland

Father's Day sometimes gets overlooked.  But not here at Vintages.  We always have a nice selection of Dad gifts, from desk accessories, wine and bar tools, jewelry and antiques.  We also have some really great Father's Day cards.  Many of these items are available online at one of our online shopping sites.

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 9th

God took the fragrance of a flower...

The majesty of a tree...

The gentleness of morning dew...

The calm of a quiet sea...

The beauty of the twilight hour...

The soul of a starry night...

The laughter of a rippling brook...

The grace of a bird in flight...

Then God fashioned from these things

A creation like no other,

And when his masterpiece was through

He called it simply - Mother.

God's Masterpiece Is Mother
by Herbert Farnham

While we surely send our love to our mothers throughout the year, this special day is a celebration in a grander style of Mom -- all she is to us, all she means to us, and all she will be for us.

We can help you with lots of special gifts and thoughts for Mom.  We have excellent vintage and hand crafted jewelry, as well as a number of styles of jewelry holders for Mom to organize and store her treasures.

Inspirational signs, cards and slogans celebrating Mothers and home come in a several of styles and sizes.

Plus we have a few whimsical sweet nothings for Mom, as well as just things Mothers will love.

Happy Mother's Day

Hand Made Olive Rose Dolls and V. Originals Plaques and Signs

We have added some wonderful hand made products from a number of talented American artists.  This month we want to feature the hand crafted fabric dolls from Olive Rose and hand painted artistic plaques and signs from V. Originals.

Olive Rose tells her story ... Art has always been a part of my life. My father was an amateur cartoonist and illustrator, so I spent many nights at his drafting table, coloring along. My grandmother helped me create my first hand-stitched doll dress, and the muse was unleashed. Variations of that design appear in my work today. Noticing my interest, my parents presented me with a sewing machine for my 13th birthday. I immediately set about creating my own wardrobe, and that of my Barbie doll's as well... this eventually led to design school.

My life has taken many paths - freelance designer, tailor, collage and mixed media artist. I still do what I love, and continue to explore creative paths. My collage and mixed media work has appeared in many magazine publications and books.  My life is still blessed...

We have several of Olive Rose's creations at Vintages.   Maybelle is an angel ... literally.  She has nifty wings decorated with old paper, sheet music and stamps.  Her sheer polka dot dress is fluffed up with tulle petticoats and lace bloomers.  She holds a heart in her hands.  Sweet!

Lovey is an angel too.  She flies with sparkling wings and holds a heart with a love banner.  Her primitive dress is white-washed and has lace trim.  She is a real sweetheart.

These Halloween Puppets are festive and fun.  Truly reminiscent of days gone by, kind of like the old jester wands.  And Skelly, the little skeleton doll, is quite the character!

This Big Red Santa wears a red suit and hat with hand-stitched trim and dark pants.  His vintage quilt bag is stuffed with greenery, a Christmas card and a cookie cutter.

V. Originals is the combined effort of some self described Hot Chicks from Atlanta painting pretty pictures and doing what they love, while loving what they do.  Each piece is hand-worked, hand-painted and individually detailed…with love. We are well stocked with love bird wooden signs,  painted wood blocks with snippets of sage advice and plaques with whimsical dogs and cats.

Many of these items are on our online shopping site.  Please visit our online shop, or come on in to our shop in Los Gatos.