What Defines Retro Costume Jewelry?

The word "retro" in relation to jewelry, does not refer to an item's being old or outdated. Retro instead is a trade term which refers to 1940s jewelry. However, be aware that there are many people who use the word in the colloquial sense or are completely mistaken about a piece's age.  Some people also use the word to describe 50s jewelry.

To understand what defines retro jewelry, first we have to talk about deco.  Art Deco is both a style and period. People often refer to deco jewelry as jewelry that came from the 20s and 30s. However, it is also a style which gained it's name from the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modern. "Deco" pieces of jewelry were typically in silver or silver tone, were geometric and more often than not, were unmarked. These pieces often used a great deal of clear paste (aka rhinestones). Bakelite and cellulite pieces were also popular during this period. Deco is not to be mistaken with "deco style" which was instead pieces made later when the style became popular again.

So what defines the "retro" period and how can you identify a piece as being "retro"? Prior to World War II, most designers got their inspiration from Parisian designers. However, when the war started in Europe in 1939, it caused numerous changes in the jewelry business. First, many Europeans who had been making jewelry (both fine and costume) came to the United States. Second, production of jewelry ceased in Paris, which meant that Americans had to find their own inspiration for making jewelry. Third, before the US joined the war it already started rationing most metals used in costume jewelry. Rhodium was one of the last to be rationed in 1942.  This caused all war time jewelry to be made out of sterling. Finally, rhinestones stopped being imported from Europe. The last is important because Americans primarily imported rhinestones and could not make quality rhinestones. Also, for whatever reason, people during this time moved away from silver toned jewelry. Instead most pieces were sterling in a gold tone.

The result was that many war time pieces used fewer rhinestones and instead used enamel or pearls. Often a piece would be based around one central stone. Even after the war, this style continued, although many pieces started using more rhinestones as things began to return to normal in Europe.  Below is a typical Retro brooch made by Coro. However, while this mold was used during the war this brooch was actually made in the late 40s post-war, since it is not made from sterling and uses copper.

Now look at these vintage ads from Eisenberg. The first one dates from 1941. As you can see there is already a shift towards using fewer rhinestones.  Also, while a number of pieces use many rhinestones, there is a shift away from the geometric pieces of the Deco era.

 

Now look at an ad by Eisenberg from 1943. Notice that everything is designed around one central stone and that there are far fewer rhinestones.

However, once you start getting to the end of the 1940s, identification can be a little harder.  While they continued to make some of the war time styles, as you saw with the Coro bow brooch, they started moving towards the 1950s style. So how do you tell if a costume piece is from the late 40s or early 50s? During the 1950s makers returned to using many rhinestones and you can positively date any items with a copyright symbol as being made in the year 1955 of later. Aurora borealis were also commonly used in 1950s jewelry and were only invented in 1953. Marquis shaped stones were also very popular in 1950s jewelry.

So in conclusion how can we tell that an item is Retro? Unlike the Deco period, costume jewelry made during the Retro period was generally not geometric, and was gold toned, using few or no rhinestones. Costume jewelry makers designed pieces around one or a few central stones if they used rhinestones at all, and often utilized pearls and enamels.  Jewelry made during this time period were frequently marked unlike many of the items made during the previous era. Jewelry during the end of the 1940s started to again use base metals and utilized more rhinestones in their designs. Usually you can identify jewelry from the 1950s through the type of stones used as well as the use of the copyright symbol from 1955 onwards. Sometimes it is easy to confuse jewelry from the early 50s from that of the late 40s.  However, that will be discussed in a later blog entry.

Below I have included a number of Retro, or transitional Retro pieces to examine:

Here is an example of a Retro Lisner choker and bracelet.  I'm not sure on the exact date of this set but I believe they were made during the war due to the lack of paste. However, they are not marked sterling so they may date to the late 40s.

Here is a transitional piece from 1938-42. This unsigned trembler brooch, based on Coro's famous "Quivering Camellia" set. It is made of rhodium with a gold toned wash, so it could not have been made after 1942. As you can see this design uses a great deal of paste unlike later pieces.

If you are unfamiliar with what rhodium looks like, I am including a picture of the back of this brooch.  It has a bit of an unrefined look, unlike sterling silver.

Unfortunately I do not have any enamel Retro pieces at the moment.  They tend to be extremely collectible and rare, since enamel is easily damaged.  Good enamel pieces from the period go can go for as much as $300-800. However, I do have a good example of a novelty brooch which does not use enamel. This banjo brooch is by Coro and I have been unable to date it. I believe it is early or late 1940s. It is unlikely to be a war time piece since it is not sterling. 

This picture is of a Trifari necklace, which was patented by Alfred Philippe in 1945.  Necklace reads "pat. pend." so it was not made after 1945.

Thanks for reading my blog! If you are interested these items are for purchase. Please feel free to email me with any questions that you might have about my blog or the items I'm selling.

You can check out my Bonanza store here:
http://www.bonanza.com/booths/CarrieHuot

Or my Ecrater store... My Ecrater store has a few more items than the Bonanza store including the Banjo brooch.  However, you can see the pictures better at the Bonanza store.
http://carriescostume.ecrater.com/