Recently while shopping on eBay I saw several pieces that were listed as being by certain designers but then went on to say they were unsigned. How can this be?  If you do your research you can assign pieces to certain designers. For example- Miriam Haskell has a very distinct style. ,

Miriam Haskell first began making jewelry commercially around 1924. Like her design predecessors in the Art Nouveau era, she designed and manufactured jewelry that evoked nature in their subjects and construction. She began to create the pieces using organic materials in her jewelry. Not only was Haskell riding the wave of the Roaring Twenties, she was creating a wave of her own. The Twenties were the years that all of the fashion rules were broken. Haskell’s unbounded creativity met with enormous popularity. The prices for her costume jewelry were much lower than the cost of precious metals and stones, so anyone could afford to look fashionable. The popularity of her costume jewelry continued, even after the stock market crash.

 At the heart of a Miriam Haskell piece is a filigree base made of stamped brass. These come from France, Germany, and the US. The filigrees are plated separately in signature Russian gold or a specialty finish, then assembled, and then embellished. Vintage filigrees that are difficult to find are often used. Each element is first picked up by hand. Depending on the nature of the design, the element, no matter how diminutive, is then threaded, encrusted, or wrapped by hand onto a wire, a chain, or handset into a channel or finding. It’s the tight embroidery of the elements-that exposes no sign of the base underneath- that is one of the most distinctive features of Miriam Haskell jewelry. In addition to meticulous construction practices she used sophisticated and unique materials with colors that are characters unto themselves. In the early years, Haskell jewelry was not marked and production was limited. Many of “unsigned” Haskell pieces are questionable as to authenticity.

Haskell never registered her designs. She began to sign her pieces in 1950. The Miriam Haskell trademark was not received until 1988, 64 years after she began designing. Because there were no marks to identify her work prior to 1950, it is difficult to verify many of her pieces.

Several signatures including an incised “Miriam Haskell” on the hook, “Miriam Haskell” in a crescent shaped cartouche, and an oval stamp “Miriam Haskell” on the clasp. Some designs during the fifties were incredibly elaborate, combining stones, pearls, beads, and filigree in new and exciting ways.

So how do I know if this piece is a real Haskell?  Research. Look through photos in books on vintage jewelry; vintage magazine ads and website that specialise in the designer you are trying to research.  My rule of thumb is that if enough characteristics of the designer are present in your piece you can say with confidence that you do have an unsigned piece “in the style of”  your designer. This piece is not signed Miriam Haskell but the over all design has her style written all over it. From the organic style of the flower centerpiece covered with interesting hand wired beads  to the flower shaped beads accented with rhinestones.  it is very likely that this piece is a genuine Haskell pre- 1950.

The brooch below is one  I recently discovered at a flea market is unsigned. Whne I forst looked at it I thought to myself this looks like a Schreiner piece. But after doing more research and comparing it to other Schreiner brooches I have I have concluded that it is not a Schreiner. The center stone even though it has an open back is foiled.  it would have been more in keeping with Schreiner’s style to place an unfoiled stone of a higher quality as the centerpiece of this brooch.

If you are like me you spend a lot of time wandering flea markets, thrift stores, garage sales and auctions. When it comes to buying vintage jewelry keep in mind these tips before you buy. Nothing is more disheartening then getting a piece home and really looking at it after the “honeymoon” of finding it is over.  In the case of this signed Coro brooch , it wasn’t until I got home from a wonderful afternoon of junking that I realized the top left pearl was a lower quality replacement. Now it sits on my replacement shelf waiting for me to find a better match. Taking this into consideration I would not have paid what I did for it at all.
What is the physical condition of the piece? A well cared for and therefore more valuable piece does not have to look new, after all, it is termed vintage for a reason but it should not look it’s age either.

Missing, cloudy, black or mis colored rhinestones stones: these devalue the piece. If stones are missing inspect the area to see if they are missing due to becoming loose from the glue or in the case of prong set stones the prongs have broken off. In the case of missing stones due to old glue this is an easy repair, however, if the stones are missing because the prongs are broken or missing I would put it back on the shelf and say a little prayer to the Rhinestone Goddess for the mistreatment of one of her treasures.

Missing or broken parts and tacky plating:

 Here is a prime example of what to pass up. This brooch has some wonderful stones in it and they would be easily replaced. Take a good look at the metal. it is in very poor condition. The plating has worn off in places and someone down the line tried to brighten it up by using something on it to cover the old plating. Poor workmanship or repair flaws are a sure sign of a lower quality piece. Missing pieces such as the clasp mechanism on the back of a brooch takes some skill to repair. I have accumulated quite a few pieces of old brooches to use for repair. You will want to match the metal color and patina as closely as possible so your repair doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. The same goes for necklace and bracelet clasps. make sure whatever you use keeps the original integrity of the piece as much as possible.

Poor repair workmanship: Sometimes you find a piece that has already been repaired. Take a good look at it. Did they use the right glue when resetting a rhinestone? If there is a hard yellow glue residue around the stone or pearl it was not repaired properly. Was the repair stone replaced with an inferior one?  These repair mistakes can be easily corrected by you and you can restore the piece back to it’s glory with the proper tools. (see previuos posts about repair kits and tools)

You have cleaned, removed stones, reset stones and done just about everything you can to get your prize into wearable shape. Now you need to look at the clasp. Maybe it’s missing or broken or it’s so worn it won’t hold anymore.

I buy huge lots of vintage jewelry at flea markets, auctions and on eBay just so I will have replacement parts for my vintage pieces that need repair.

Lobster claw clasps are a wonderful invention - so easy to open. But, they weren’t invented until 1990. Your main consideration for repairing or replacing a clasp is to find one that matches the metal color and is appropriate to the age of the piece. 

Clasps are easy to replace usually by opening the jump rings or other attachments and adding it to the neckline area. I open jump rings by using two pairs of needle nose pliers. I keep telling myself I am going to order one of those handy jump ring opening tools from one of my jewelrysupply sources but I just don’t do it. Jump rings should never be opened by pulling open. They should be twisted open like a bottle cap. Hold the ring in one pliers to keep it steady and open it with the other.

If you intend to sell your vintage pieces and you have replaced the clasp I would make sure the buyer is aware of this. I had a client send me a wonderful MiriamHaskell piece that just didn’t lay right. After checking it over carefully we both came to the conclusion that it had been repaired extensively. The gold chains did not match the metal color in the pendant. The MH oval hang tag wasn’t hanging in the right spot. It was two jump rings in from the clasp. We had an authentic Haskel clasp and pendant but the rest of it was all replaced. This client collects Miriam Haskell avidly and she did not notice these repairs and had paid quite a bit of money for it. So in the interest of good reputation please be upfront about your repairs when selling vintage jewelry.

You’ve removed the old rhinestones, cleaned the cavity, removed any residual glue and tried to return the setting to its original metal color. Now you can set some rhinestones.

To GLUE IN a new rhinestone, first you must choose one that is the right size for the cup setting. I do this by dropping the rhinestone into the setting to make sure it fits correctly. Compare it to the others in the setting to see if they match in color and size. Don’t replace a shiny new rhinestone with others  that are a little more lovingly worn, for instance.

 I repair quite a bit of jewelry and have a fairly large supply of suitable stones on hand. Nothing is worse than spending all this time on the repair and having a piece where the rest of the stones look different.

 I purchase my stones from a wide variety of sources. If you are purchasing rhinestones for repairing vintage jewelry make sure that the stones are from “vintage stock” or “new old stock” not newer stones. Collections of vintage rhinestone jewelry are a great source for both vintage findings and rhinestones. Auction sites are a wonderful source- like eBay for buying lots of vintage rhinestone jewelry for “scrap or repair”

 Putting the stone into the setting and getting it straight takes some practice, but there are some easy ways to do this. A pair of long and very pointed stone setting tweezers is very useful to have but, use them only for setting stones and keep them clean. Don’t be tempted to use them to pry out the stones, for instance. Otherwise, you will have a rhinestone removed, and then won’t be able to hold the new one well!

I suggest practicing first with stones that aren’t indispensable. That way, if you lose one as you attempt the restoration, you won’t be heartbroken. Lay the stone on the table with the flat side down. Place the tweezers parallel to the table top and squeeze lightly then roll your hand over  the stone so it will be at the correct angle to fit into the cup. Practice, practice, practice-you will soon get it.

If you won’t be repairing often and don’t want to invest in the tweezers, you can just use a small piece of scotch tape and attach it to the flat side of the rhinestone and then lower it into the space. I’ve also heard of using a tiny piece of Blue Tac (for hanging posters) or beeswax on a toothpick. There are lots of different techniques for getting the stone into the channel without it going in upside down. I recently purchased a tool by Bead Smith called a Jewel Setter. I bought it to glue flat back rhinestones onto my hand embellished vintage purses. (Fabulous Bags!) They work very well for this but I do have to do some extra cleaning after the glue has dried to get residual wax off the stones. The wax on these blue plastic sticks reminds me of the wax my kids have used on their braces.

Resetting a prong set stone is a little easier. Set the stone into the setting. Be sure it is sitting evenly. You will need to roll the prongs back into place. You do this with any flat tool - tweezers, a thin, knife, even a pair of closed pliers will do. Work again in pairs. Push them lightly down on the first go round and then more firmly on the final pass. You will want to make sure that the stone doesn’t move at all in the setting and sits straight when you are done. Again this takes patience and some practice.

Help!