By Hunter Oatman-Stanford — When picturing jewelry of the American Southwest, it’s easy to conjure a cliché of silver-and-turquoise bolo ties and squash-blossom necklaces. But it’s unlikely this fantasy includes the work of the Patanias, a family of Italian-American entrepreneurs who helped make the region famous for its bold jewelry. Since the 1920s, when first-generation immigrant Frank Patania arrived with his old-world techniques and adapted them to local tastes and materials, the Patania family has been an...

Christie Romero on Differences Between Fine and Costume Jewelry Over the Decades

By Maribeth Keane and Jessica Lewis — I started out with general antiques and collectibles... I was a dealer for a while and bought and sold all kinds of things. Gradually jewelry became my focus. In the mid-1980s I started getting serious, and in 1988 I started teaching small classes, workshops, and seminars, primarily on costume jewelry but also some fine jewelry. Vintage costume jewelry was just beginning to take off as a collectible. Up until that time, most people thought it was junk. They didn’t understand what it was...