Posted 13 years ago
jlcibs
(1 item)
I just picked up this brooch. I believe it to be the iconic 1950's book piece Christmas tree by Weiss, but it is not signed.
Did he sign some and not others?
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I think if you research it the number of candles and the color of the candle light (bulb) will tell you. I believe all Weiss work is signed. My mother in law was a school teacher from the 1940's until the late 1970's and had a bunch of Weiss costume jewelery. Most of it was given to her at Christmas as a gift from her kids in her class. She had some Florenza and Monet also as well as others. It was left to us to sort and research so we are learning quickly.
Yet...It is absolutely identical to a brooch in my costume jewelry book by Weiss though. I am thinking there has to be unsigned pieces?
I am welcome to more thoughts & comments!
We took an unsigned piece to a second generation jeweler we happen to know. He is good about guiding us now and then. I believe the piece we took was Florenza ear rings (we thought) not signed but we found identical ones (we thought).
Our friend deals in more expensive jewelery but also buys costume jewelery for a different shop he owns. It was obvious by the look on his face we were about to get educated in a way we might not like.
Q. Do you have anything in writing to authenticate it?
A. No.
Q. What makes you think it is an unsigned piece?
A. Someone told us there might be unsigned ones.
Q. Did they happen to explain how they know that?
A. Yes, someone told them.
Q. Do you happen to get paid to think?
A. Not when it comes to this stuff.
Q. If you had a trademark wouldn't you use it to make your product known and of more value?
A. Of course.
Q. You brought me this because someone heard something from someone who probably heard it from someone else. It isn't signed or otherwise marked. You have no way to authenticate it. What makes you "think" anyone else can authenticate it and do it without a doubt? Even trying through testing would cost more than it is worth.
A. Nice day today, maybe we will go walk the beach. Thanks much for the input.
http://a-1antiquesofnaperville.com/page/2/
I found a good article here. It says some pieces are unsigned, but more value in signed pieces.
Howdy,
I would just like to add that I have done a bit of research for you and this could be unsigned Weiss, this brooch looks like its has good structure and well made. I have seen many of these around the web and they are all usually marked unsigned Weiss or signed Weiss by reputable sellers...
I believe Weiss made a few different sizes of this Christmas tree, some with 6, 5 and 3 candles. Its hard to tell without holding and item to see the quality of the workmanship and its age.
Hopefully for you its the real thing, do some more research if you do sell it, until you make sure its the real deal because you dont want to sell it to an unsuspecting person as the real thing and its not :)
Goodluck!
It still boils down to he said, she said. Someone saw it, someone said it , it might be. You can look at an item until it rusts away, can you authenticate it? People come here asking about an item and when they hear the truth they reject it.
Not every item is original, very few are a gold mine find. Take it to have it appraised a
Let us know what the appraisal says. We will all learn together.
I spoke to an appraiser who actually said some of the earlier pieces of weiss, eisenberg, and others are not signed. He said you sometimes identify pieces through vintage adds & books. This 6 candle tree is more striking then my 5 candle signed weiss one I have. He said it is probably the real deal but I will take it in to be sure. Thanks ladies!
Looks like a weiss to Me. ( I to have a unsigned Weiss Butterfly I think beacause I came across one online like it) I think Weiss is known for its Christmas Trees and after reading fhrjr2 comments I got to thinking if its not a weiss wouldnt it have to be another popular good costume jewelry company from back then like maybe florenza,Eisenberg or even delizza & Ester.? You can tell by the pictures its made well and were there really no name costume jewelry companies back then? I think just sometimes not everything got signed by Weiss and others. I dont think these Costume Jewelry Companies thought that their jewelry would be so madly collectable down the road either. Were not talking about Cartier or Tiffanys here just Costume... And not sure if I think on the show n tell for Costume if anyone really thinks they hit the goldmine dollar wise-just in our hearts we do because it is so much fun to Collect ... Its fun to come here for peoples imput and learn.
Vintagejewel, you are 100% right about the fun of collecting. However, you will never authenticate an unsigned piece. It is not possible. In the end result it is either signed or it isn't. Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. The difference in price isn't that great anyway if it is quality.
Yes fhrjr2 I agree the difference of price isnt that much of a difference if it is of quality. Good point.
http://vintagecostumejewels.com/Info/How_to_Spot_Fake_Weiss_Jewelry.htm
Check this link out.
Not all pieces of Weiss are signed. It was common for many jewelers, including higher end, to only sign one or two pieces of a set. Ive seen many pieces of unsigned Weiss that were illustrated in the original ads.
You have to do research tho to tell if your piece was made for Weiss or for someone else. The differences between pieces can be very subtle, from the number and type of prongs, to the pin back mechanism, to color scheme (as well as to rule out fakes). Many companies designed their jewelry but used someone else to produce them. D&E for example made for Weiss, Sarah Coventry, even Avon.
See this one here also
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/232404-weiss-rhinestone-brooch-and-christmas-tr#
Hi Ya'll! Late to the party, I just signed up :)
I must say that there is a wide variety of unsigned high end costume jewelry out there! I had to make a comment on here because of what I read of the person who stated what their jeweler told them. I have been in this business for quite some time now, I can honestly say that the jeweler sounds to me to be a pawn broker also.
For one thing, there is a lot of FAKE signed costume jewelry out there, unfortunate, but true. So for the person who feels that a high quality piece must be signed to be authentic is absolutely incorrect! I know that those comments were from 7 years ago it states, but they were more than enough for me to sign up on here :)
It is always best to do your research if collecting, and also ask questions as you have. There are Antique Jewelry dealers and appraisers out there that will know right away if a piece is fake or real just by the look and feel. Quality is not a mistaken feature.
Thank you for your post and photos!
I hope ya'll have the best of all days :)