1920's Style

This necklace is reminiscent of early 1920’s fashion jewelry. It reflects the style of an era whose masses wanted fun, beautiful jewelry that was affordable. Crystals were used rather than diamonds so fashion-conscious woman of the early 20th century could achieve a chic sophisticated look. This period, also known as the Art Deco movement was characterized by longer necklaces made of pearls and crystals.

After 1929, when the Great Depression hit, designers were forced to look for more cost effective ways of producing jewelry. Coco Chanel and Elsa Shiaparelli are among the most famous fashion designers to use non precious stones in their work. They ultimately made less expensive jewelry more desirable to wear.

This necklace is composed of 1950’s clear and silver crystal rondelles, and sterling silver chain. It is one of my absolute favorites and sells for $165

Vintage Miss Carnegie

This necklace has a very unique history because it involves one of the most famous couturiers of the early 20th century– Hattie Carnegie. The black beads you see here came from one of her early 1940’s necklaces. I found the necklace in an antique store and I loved the beads so much I had to have it.

Hattie Carnegie was originally born in Vienna, Austria in 1889. She moved to the United States in 1900 with her family and settled in the heart of New York City. She began as a young hat maker and in 1909, opened her own store called “Carnegie-Ladie’s Hatter” with her best friend Rose Roth. Their business was a huge success due to Carnegie’s fashion forward sense of style despite the fact that she could not sew.

Carnegie’s inspiration came from Parisian designers such as Coco Chanel, and she even adopted some of Chanel’s designs to bring them closer to her American clientele. Before the stock market crashed in 1929, she had become one of the biggest designers in America. After the crash, however, many of her customers were no longer able to afford such expensive pieces, so she began her ready-to-wear line.

In 1918, Carnegie incorporated her business as Hattie Carnegie Inc., and shortly thereafter introduced her jewelry line. She manufactured it to match her dresses and always used expensive materials. It was even worn by Hollywood and New York celebrities of the time. She is known for combining faux pearls, rhinestones, and beads in interesting ways.

This custom necklace includes black Hattie Carnegie beads, faux pearls, antique lampshade beads, and a vintage Marcasite clasp. It sells for $200

Lucky Lucite

This necklace is a combination of vintage Lucite beads, white aurora borealis crystals, and beads taken from an old antique lampshade. My favorite thing about this necklace is that I get to talk about the history of Lucite. The clear ball beads in the necklace are actually a resin, which was created by Dupont in 1937. They became very popular around the 1940’s and 50’s in costume jewelry because Lucite was inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use. It came in almost any color and by 1950, it had al most completely replaced Bakelite, a more expensive form of plastic. It’s biggest claim to fame is perhaps the popular 1950’s Jelly Belly Jewelry line.

Lucite beads are no longer being produced they way they were back in the 50’s, though they are still widely collected and used by modern jewelry designers such as myself. The prices of Lucite do vary a considerable amount because it is becoming harder to find.

This necklace sells for $195

Vintage Mr. Swarovski

1940’s Vintage faux Pearl and Aurora Borealis Necklace with 14k gold Florentine Cameo

Vintage Swarovski crystals date back to 1892, when Daniel Swarovski invented the electric glass-cutting machine. His first factory was built in Wattens, Austria, where the Rhine River served as his source of energy for running the machine. It is thus, this famous river that gave birth to the term “Rhinestone.” By 1913 Swarovski had its own factory and had developed a formula for a flawless crystal.

Throughout the 1920’s the demand for crystals grew worldwide. The biggest designers in fashion, like Coco Chanel used them to design costume jewelry that every woman wanted and desired at the time. Fortunate for the Swarovski company, this trend never really died, and even women today can’t seem to get enough of the Swarovski bling.

The Aurora Borealis trend of 1956 gave rise to an entirely different style of crystal. A metallic coating was applied to the crystals, to create an iridescent effect, which became one of Swarovski’s trademarks. Daniel’s grandson, Manfred Swarovski, later went on to perfect this process alongside Christian Dior.

This necklace is reminiscent of 1920’s style and character. I paired some beautiful Aurora Borealis crystals with some faux pearls from the 1950’s as well for a dramatic “flapper” effect. The cameo is the only part of this necklace that is not vintage but it is 14k white gold and hand carved in Florence. It sells for $275.

Bohemian Glass

The history of bead making in Czechoslovakia is an interesting one. Bohemian craftsmen gave rise to the world’s largest glass industry during the Renaissance period, but it wasn’t until the industrial revolution that new machines could produce vast quantities of identical beads. After centuries of competition with Venice, Czech glass makers went on to master the process of pressed glass.

After WWI the bead industry had nearly collapsed and it wasn’t until after the Great Depression that bead production resumed. Subsequent to the war, Bohemia became part of the new Czechoslovakian state, and in 1945 the entire industry was nationalized under communist rule. In 1958, the communist party had no choice but to look for goods to export in exchange for hard cash, so the Czech Republic once again became the largest exporter of glass beads in the world.

This necklace is a beautiful example of how Czechoslovakian glass came to be part of my vintage Jewelry line. These beads probably arrived in the U.S. during the late 1950's/ early 1960's.

This necklace sells for $250. Please contact me by email to purchase any of my work at KellyEFielding@gmail.com

My Vintage Love

M For the past year everyone I know has been talking about blogs, and the truth is I didn't really understand them until I saw the movie Julie and Julia. Cheezy as it may sound, that movie has opened my eyes up to the world of blogging. I actually had a really hard time getting to this point because I rarely email, or text, and I don't have a Facebook page.

I make vintage jewelry out of vintage jewelry. All of my materials come from antique stores around San Diego and L.A. I love old jewelry because I feel like it has a story to tell when you wear it. Kind of like if you were wearing these earrings, and someone came up to you and said, "I LOVE your cameo earrings!" You would reply, "Thank you, these beads came from an old 1950's bracelet."

I have taken crystals from chandeliers, purses, and even lampshades. So, I decided to post these earrings, along with my first blog- dedicated to the telling of these stories! They are sterling silver with white beads from the 1950's and the shell cameos are set in 14k white gold. They are one of a kind, and sell for $135.