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.

I do a lot of vintage jewelry repairs for people. Most of the time it involves re-stringing the piece so the owner can wear it. Let’s face it when many of these wonderful pieces were created the stringing materials were pretty much mono filament, cotton string or silk string. All of these materials eventually wear out. Mono filament gets brittle over time, silk and cotton can fray with time and all of these result in a necklace breaking at a very inopportune time and place.

Which brings me to a question of ethics. Is it OK to restring vintage pieces with newer stronger stringing materials?

Well that depends- you knew I was going to say that.

When I am repairing/restringing a piece it is usually for someone who wants to wear the piece.  So I use today’s better stringing materials on the pieces. I never use mono filament because it does get brittle and I do not like the way the necklace lays with it. I have many beautiful leaded crystal strands of beads that have been strung on mono filament. I won’t wear it or sell it if it is strung on this awful stuff. Usually the stringing material is so tight that the crystals actually grind against each other. I think in general that necklaces should be rather fluid- not tight and kinky. Vintage necklaces that I have that are strung on cotton or silk are either too loose- the fibers have stretched perhaps under the weight of the beads- or they are frayed and on the verge of breaking. Again - this is not an acceptable presentation in my studio to sell a piece like this. So I restring the pieces.

I let my clients know that the piece has been restrung. The clasp fits nice and tight and all the jump rings are replaced if necessary or shaped back into perfect circles with ends that align properly.

What about replacing missing beads? Or totally refashioning a necklace? The best policy is to be open and upfront about it when selling a piece. I think there are many vintage pieces out there that have been re-worked or repaired at one time or another.

This Haskell choker was too small for the owner to wear it. She needed it to be about an inch longer to be comfortable. I restrung it exactly like it was to begin with but added in black vintage seed beads on either side of the round black beads through out the entire piece. One would never know that it hadn’t been designed this way in the first place. The client was happy with the solution because she really liked the piece and wanted to wear it and we didn’t want to just add an extender to the clasp.

This necklace was one long strand and the customer just didn’t like it. After careful examination I believe it had at one time been a double strand necklace that some one had restrung into a single. It was really designed to be a double. The pattern that the beads were in did not make sense for a Haskell and the stringing material  was too new. I had no idea what the original patten was of the double strand but was able to put this configuration together using all the beads from the single strand. I used vintage double strand spacer findings so the patina of the metal matched that of the clasp. 

Is it OK to do this? Yes because the client requested it. If it were mine I would make full disclosure that the piece had been reworked. Most of us are buying these glamorous old beauties because we want to wear them and we do. They aren’t museum pieces and to be honest- something collectible is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

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.

I have been out visiting my favorite thrift stores recently. I love this part of what I do!  Making my rounds and taking my time to really look at everything carefully. I do this alone and rarely take a friend along so i don’t feel rushed or get distracted. I found this sweet little Miriam Haskell choker at a local thrift store for $3.00 and it’s in excellent condition.

I once did a repair for someone on another Haskell that used the same baroque pearls and pink glass beads in a different style.  

An important tool to keep in your purse when you are “going junking”  as my friend Shari and I call it - is a magnifying glass. I have a jeweler’s loupe that I keep with me when I am doing my thrift store circuit. I find myself relying on it more and more the older my eyes get.  Keep one handy because you neve know what you might find!

All put back together and looking glorious!

Repaired Miriam Haskell

Miriam Haskell repair