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Vintage Caviness Jewelry
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After World War II, a former New York fashion and glove model named Alice Caviness decided to try her famous hands at costume jewelry. Because her brooches, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings appeared in the postwar era, their design is typically...
After World War II, a former New York fashion and glove model named Alice Caviness decided to try her famous hands at costume jewelry. Because her brooches, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings appeared in the postwar era, their design is typically not beholden to the vintage costume and fashion jewelry of the 1920s and '30s. Instead, her pieces speak to the promise of prosperity that typified the 1950s and '60s, thanks to their exuberance and playfulness. That said, other Caviness pieces seem echoes of Victorian jewelry, especially the cameo brooches.
Setting up shop in Long Island before moving to New York City, Caviness initially imported jewelry from postwar Germany. Many of these pieces were made of sterling silver, often in filigree, which would become a signature style of Caviness costume jewelry. For example, filigree was perfect for pins in the shapes of butterflies, although Caviness produced a veritable menagerie of animal brooches, from owls, cats, and poodles to elephants, peacocks, and roosters. Caviness crosses are also popular with collectors of vintage Caviness jewelry from the middle of the 20th century.
Naturally, Caviness used a lot of rhinestones in her costume jewelry, but vintage Caviness pieces tend to use rhinestones of dramatic size, shape, and color rather than in endless arrays, in which the uniformity of small, individual rhinestones is used to create glittering fields of reflected light. Caviness also did a fair number of enamel pieces, while most of the gold used in her bracelets was 12 karat.
Although Caviness did much of her own designing, she also hired the best in the business. The most talented contributors to the look of Caviness costume jewelry were Lois Steever, who would purchase the company when Caviness retired in the 1970s, and Camille Petronzio, who became a designer for Miriam Haskell after her productive years with Caviness.
Continue readingAfter World War II, a former New York fashion and glove model named Alice Caviness decided to try her famous hands at costume jewelry. Because her brooches, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings appeared in the postwar era, their design is typically not beholden to the vintage costume and fashion jewelry of the 1920s and '30s. Instead, her pieces speak to the promise of prosperity that typified the 1950s and '60s, thanks to their exuberance and playfulness. That said, other Caviness pieces seem echoes of Victorian jewelry, especially the cameo brooches.
Setting up shop in Long Island before moving to New York City, Caviness initially imported jewelry from postwar Germany. Many of these pieces were made of sterling silver, often in filigree, which would become a signature style of Caviness costume jewelry. For example, filigree was perfect for pins in the shapes of butterflies, although Caviness produced a veritable menagerie of animal brooches, from owls, cats, and poodles to elephants, peacocks, and roosters. Caviness crosses are also popular with collectors of vintage Caviness jewelry from the middle of the 20th century.
Naturally, Caviness used a lot of rhinestones in her costume jewelry, but vintage Caviness pieces tend to use rhinestones of dramatic size, shape, and color rather than in endless arrays, in which the uniformity of small, individual rhinestones is used to create glittering fields of reflected light. Caviness also did a fair number of enamel pieces, while most of the gold used in her bracelets was 12 karat.
Although Caviness did much of her own designing, she also hired the best in the business. The most talented contributors to the look of Caviness costume jewelry were Lois Steever, who would purchase the company when Caviness retired in the 1970s, and Camille Petronzio, who became a designer for Miriam Haskell after her productive years with Caviness.
After World War II, a former New York fashion and glove model named Alice Caviness decided to try her famous hands at costume jewelry. Because her brooches, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings appeared in the postwar era, their design is typically not beholden to the vintage costume and fashion jewelry of the 1920s and '30s. Instead, her pieces speak to the promise of prosperity that typified the 1950s and '60s, thanks to their exuberance and playfulness. That said, other Caviness pieces seem echoes of Victorian jewelry, especially the cameo brooches.
Setting up shop in Long Island before moving to New York City, Caviness initially imported jewelry from postwar Germany. Many of these pieces were made of sterling silver, often in filigree, which would become a signature style of Caviness costume jewelry. For example, filigree was perfect for pins in the shapes of butterflies, although Caviness produced a veritable menagerie of animal brooches, from owls, cats, and poodles to elephants, peacocks, and roosters. Caviness crosses are also popular with collectors of vintage Caviness jewelry from the middle of the 20th century.
Naturally, Caviness used a lot of rhinestones in her costume jewelry, but vintage Caviness pieces tend to use rhinestones of dramatic size, shape, and color rather than in endless arrays, in which the uniformity of small, individual rhinestones is used to create glittering fields of reflected light. Caviness also did a fair number of enamel pieces, while most of the gold used in her bracelets was 12 karat.
Although Caviness did much of her own designing, she also hired the best in the business. The most talented contributors to the look of Caviness costume jewelry were Lois Steever, who would purchase the company when Caviness retired in the 1970s, and Camille Petronzio, who became a designer for Miriam Haskell after her productive years with Caviness.
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