Posted 6 years ago
PhilDMorris
(223 items)
Signed Sherman Flower Pin Circa 1950's With Earrings
I received this set on November 9, 2018. The color reads as a darker blue ab'd stones flower pin, with above average clarity on the ab stones. The center of the flower has a sculpted center where Sherman used a lot of small stones to make the flower more realistic. He used these complicated groupings much more than other costume jewellers and used them also particularly on other pinwheel designs. This is one of the labour intesive canstruction techniques that made Sherman's work exemplary. Usually I am not that fond of ab stone glazing, but the strong blue makes this set quite beautiful. The earrings are somewhat of a leaf design. This signature in an oval was Sherman's first signature, hence the period of construction was late 40's, earlier 50's likely.
Here is some info the authors of the book on Sherman gleaned after they had published their book :
THE PRODUCTION OF SHERMAN JEWELRY
The company employed a bare bones production line where settings were manufactured, stones were set, pieces were sent for plating and polishing, and finally, assigned to boxes awaiting shipping to customers. Mr. Carmine keenly remembered where he sat and how busy the workroom was under Gus Sherman’s steady and benevolent presence. The job was not always 9 to 5. Often shipments were mailed on Saturdays, and before Christmas the work was near constant to meet the demand.
Among the many types of jewels Sherman manufactured, the men confirmed that the company indeed made tiaras for the Miss Canada pageant (there is one tiara shown in our book). Mr. Carmine pulled out a spectacular pearl and crystal crown he had made for his daughter’s First Communion, and it was complete with a soldered on Sherman tag. They also showed us jeweled belts. These remain scarce today and rarely come up for sale on the secondary market.
We were also surprised to learn the answer to why there are so many color combinations for some designs. Salesmen would take samples to jewelers and often they would order a piece but ask for a specific grouping of stones to be used. If the stones were available, the orders were generally filled so there may literally be one-off designs in specific colors if they were requested by only one jeweler. Added to Sherman’s eagerness to use new Swarovski stones, this explains the variety of color combinations we’ve come across in the same design.
THE UNSIGNED DEBATE
We showed Mr. Carmine unsigned pieces that had come as part of original sets where one or more pieces was signed – but not everything in the parure (complete set). He offered no explanation but did say sometimes paper tags were used when a piece was too small or perhaps too ornate for a soldered on Sherman tag. We talk more about the signed versus unsigned debate in our book. In a nutshell, we believe (and provide photographs we think back up our assertions) that not all pieces in a parure were signed, though Gus Sherman was indeed proud of his branding and used marked boxes, cards and hang-tags prolifically. ....H
Magnificent set Phil, what a gorgeous shade of blue - I am totally in love with the flower brooch! The Sherman superior quality is evident here, also appreciate the great info
Wow, what a gorgeous color blue! Congrats on these ;)
Love it! Very intense blue and the small "navettes" are actually oval stones, no points, very unusual! Great find!
Looks like a cornflower, my fovorite flower
Favorite*...my computer went nuts before I finished. It's absolutely stunning. Love your posts Phil!
I think you are right AnnaB, love to you.
Thanks Kindly Newfld for the comment. The colour can change to a beautiful darker blue in different light. Actually here, all the stones are ab'd but on this flower it looks very good.
More than just impressed.
Thank you Mrstyndall, always love you're visits !~
This set would light up the room, when the wearer walked in! Gorgeous!!
Thank you Eileen for the nice words. The ab stones here can be really nice, especially in different lights.
HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!
Thanks valentino97 for your comment !~
You probably have thee best collection of Sherman jewels by far! They are all beyond beautiful!
Thank you BB2 !~
Thanks Mani again for the love.
I did not know that the signature in an oval was Sherman’s first signature. Always learn something new when reading your posts. TY.
Thank you Relivingthepast, appreciated.
This is truly breathtaking! The cerulean colour is magnificent.
P.S. I "liked" this and then "re-loved" it so that I could love it a second time. So beautiful.
Thank you rhineisfine, I appreciate your interest, love to you !~