All put back together and looking glorious!

Repaired Miriam Haskell

Miriam Haskell repair

So you found this wonderful piece of rhinestone jewelry and it looks a bit dull and dirty. Your first thought is to clean it with some hot soapy water.

STOP! Rhinestones are afraid of the water.

You could compromise the value and integrity of the stones by using water or most any other liquid on your piece. Back in my uneducated rhinestone days I was given a sterling silver brooch set with Austrian crystals in a snowflake pattern. The silver was a bit tarnished so I went about polishing the silver with a liquid silver polish. I was so sad to see that my stones had lost their sparkle! The foil on the back had begun to wear away. I had a good cry about it then set out to learn everything I could about the care and cleaning of these delicate creatures of glitz!

If you need to clean your rhinestones please use care and caution. A Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol and gently wiped on just the rhinestone surface will bring it back to sparkle. A very soft natural bristle brush- I use sable for my little darlings- can help brush away the dust on the underside of the stones if they are prong set with open backs.

As for my faded snowflake- it serves to remind me of a lesson learned. Someday I may get brave and replace all the stones to bring it back to it’s glory.

One more note about the Schreiner opera bib- I did wear it in public. The Carroll Community Theatre had a fundraiser a few years back. It was a ball and I wore it all evening. Needless to say we had a wonderfully enchanting evening at the Bling Ball!

Every fisherman worth his salt has a story about the one that got away. Well, I don’t fish but I do have a story about a piece I let go. A few years ago I had in my possession a very unique piece of vintage jewelry…

This necklace was created by the Schreiner Company of New York. Henry Schreiner immigrated from Bavaria Germany to the United States in 1923. In the old country he worked as a blacksmith, in New York City at that time there were not many horses so he took a job with Con Edison and then later worked for a baker. In 1927 Schreiner went to work for the Better Shoe Buckle Company. Business was wonderful because ladies were wearing their dresses shorter which increased the demand for decorative shoe buckles. In 1939 Henry opened his own company based in New York. His daughter Terry and her husband Ambrose Albert joined the company in 1951. Henry died in 1954 and his daughter and son in law continued the business until 1975.

Schreiner’s early stones were only of Czechoslovakian origin; their creations were always unusual and distinctive and often utilized gunmetal plating. Henry kept his ties with the old country and was able to purchase custom made stones. He had “Key” shaped stones made in Germany by skilled Czechoslovakian craftsmen. These stones were very expensive, exclusive to Schreiner, and are no longer manufactured; therefore, it is important to take care of your Schreiner Jewelry!

The Schreiner Company was known for its imaginative use of color, which Terry attributes to working for ‘the couturiers’ and having the precious color swatches before anyone else. Another Schreiner characteristic was inserting rhinestones upside down, meaning instead of having the flat side up - the point was on the top. With the smooth surface of the stone underneath, it was able to pick up the color of the garment being worn. The pointed button of the stone was now on top to catch the light. They used un-foiled stones for the same reason. If they put the stones over a melon color, it would pick up the peach tones and look like it was custom made for that garment.
Schreiner production was always rather small, and all of it was handmade. The attention that their pieces commanded in the media made extensive advertising unnecessary.

There are many unsigned pieces of Schreiner jewelry because when Schreiner made jewelry for many clothing designers - the Schreiner name tag never went on these pieces. When Schreiner created jewelry for the department stores and exclusive boutiques, they used the Schreiner or Schreiner-NY hangtags, which were removed by the buyer.

…so back to my story. I was experiencing a cash flow problem and so I decided to sell this piece on eBay. You do what you have to do. I wish I still had it but I know it went to a good home and is being well cared for and appreciated. You know I will be searching the rest of my life for another piece as magnificent as this one.

When I was a kid my mother had a rhinestone tiara- nothing real fancy- in fact it was pretty basic. I would sneak into her room and try it on and admire myself in the mirror. I would have worn it around the house if I could. I’ve been in love with rhinestones ever since. My grandmother wore alot of big sparkly brooches on her dresses and rhinestones on her glasses. I have one of her brooches that I wear all the time. So this obsession with all things sparkly has led to collecting and collecting has lead to repairing  which has led to selling and buying and that has led to this: Vintage Jewelry Source.