The Sterling Button Company

One of my favorite necklaces is an unusual piece from the Sterling Button Company.  All I can find out about the company is that they were a part of a large button and textile company that operated from 1904 until 1997 in New York City.  The original company was, Max Turkeltaub and Sons.  Max Turkeltaub was born in 1864 and died in1969 at the age of 105!

I have only seen a few pieces of Sterling Button Company jewelry over the years but the designs are always unique.  Turkeltaub was a Russian immigrant and I can only imagine that his heritage influenced the designs since I have been unable to come up with any information about the company's jewelry.  The metals are marked with ornate stampings and designs and beautiful art glass is featured.  This is the only necklace that I have ever seen by Sterling Button Company.

Mysterious and Beautiful Stones

I, first of all, consider myself a dealer of vintage costume jewelry.  That is not to say that I don't love vintage jewelry it's just that I approach it in a way that allows me to let pieces go and bring joy to someone who also loves and appreciates the beauty and craftsmanship of vintage jewels. 

There are pieces that pain me to see go.  Some I hang on to till I'm ready to let them go and there are those that over stay their welcome.  I have decided that those that are around for a while are just waiting for a certain someone and when they go to a new home it makes sense.  Then there are pieces that mean more than beauty. 

I began selling jewelry in earnest when a friend brought me her mothers costume jewelry to sell.  I've been selling jewelry for her for years so from time to time she shows up with a box of treasures that she wants to sell.  I have had the privilege to handle many beautiful and rare pieces that belonged to her mother.  One day she showed up with the most stunning parure.  I had never seen anything like it.  The glass stones had an incredible iridescence and changed color magically in he light.  Then she told me that she wanted to give me her mothers amazing jewelry set.  I was thrilled to have it and even more thrilled that she would give me her mothers jewelry.

Now I have seen this set a few times over the years.  This is the only design that I have seen these stones used in.  None of the pieces are signed but I have seen the necklace with a Schiaparelli hang tag.  The stones are beautiful and mysterious and this is one set that I will not part with.

I Love Har Jewelry

I was taken with Har jewelry the first time I laid eyes on a fantastic brooch of a dragon studded with the most incredible assortment of rhinestones and glass I have ever seen.  The unique designs and unusual stones along with the manner in which they are used are the main characteristics of Har jewelry.

The oriental figurals are charming with their smiling faux ivory faces.  Their costumes are beautifully detailed, studded with faux gem stones in a wash of gold or sometimes an enamel whitewash.  Some are full bodies and some are torsos. 

I especially like the little guy on the right because he makes me think of The Buddha.

The brooches and earrings in this line are more common but there are a number of harder to find bracelet designs.                                                                          

The bracelets with the single charm are easier to find and therefore less expensive than the more elaborate and unusual pieces
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Without a doubt the Har genie or fortune tellers are by far the best  designs of this kind.  The finish on these pieces is a golden brown that adds to the exotic look.

The turtles have been done with any number of of different materials decorating their shells.

The feathery shapes in the brooch on the right are referred to, for some reason, as dragon tooth.  It is another much sought after design.

This is only a few examples of the wonderfully magical creations of the Har jewelry company.  They were only in business for a short time from the early 1950's to the late 1960's and little is know about the company, the designers or what inspired this fabulous work. 

Rock N Roll Butler and Wilson

To the poet
baring the soul
give it a kick
rock n roll

Nicky Butler and Simon Wilson began designing jewelry in 1970.  They used Austrian crystals, rhinestones and semi precious stones set in gold and silver plated metals.  Their work was considered global chic and their clientele was the rich and famous.  Parisian designers chose their pieces for accessories to couture clothing. 
 
This is the 40th anniversary of Butler Wilson Jewelry.  Their designs are cool.  Like these clip earrings in the shape of electric guitars covered with rhinestones.

Egyptian Revival

The Egyptian Revival period probably first began in the late 1700 after Napoleon's campaigns in Egypt and the  occupation by the British. The Europeans were taken with ancient Egyptian designs and began using them to adorn any number of items. Egyptian symbols, scarabs, sphinx, Pharaohs, gryphons and the lotus, often with gilding were used in modern forms to create a style referred to as Egyptian Revival.

The archaeological digs in the 1800's renewed interest in ancient Egyptian culture and the Victorians began using these motifs in jewelry even to the point of using real scarab beetles with gold settings.  When King Tut's tomb was discovered in the 1920's, Egyptian design met with Art Deco.  In the 1970 the treasures of King Tut came to American and the fascination began again, inspiring jewelry designers to create designs such as these.

Here are some of my favorite Pieces of Egyptian Revival Jewelry.

I Know We Arn't The Only Ones

A few weeks ago, Jamie and I drove east toward Logan Martin Lake to look at some jewelry.  We had a nice visit with the lady selling the jewelry and learned that she bred Ragdoll cats.  We looked through her jewelry and selected a number of beautiful art deco era items, a few older pieces of jewelry and some pieces from the 1950's.  But wait, we are cat lovers.  We have a big old yellow cat named Jake and a big Maine Coon named Zack.  So, before heading home, I asked if I could see the cats.  There were no little kittens so it seemed safe.  We walked up the hill where the cats lived and while she introduced me to her cats one attached herself to Jamie.  She literally would not let him go and it was clear to me that he was taken with this little cutie.

Maggie, the cat, had belonged to a friend of the breeder.  She became ill and could no longer look after the cat so the breeder took her back.  She's two years old and tiny except for her feet.  She's a polydact, a Hemingway cat with six toes.  I'm sure you see where this is going.  Maggie came home with us that day.

It proves my point that you never know what you will find on a quest for treasure and it reinforces my love of the hunt for that very reason.  I bet we're not the only ones who have gone out looking for something and come back with a new member of the family.

Watch out for snakes

I grew up in the South East where every poisonous snake in North America can be found. As a child every time I went outside to play my mother would remind me, "Watch out for snakes". That must have stuck because now when I search for vintage jewelry I always watch out for snakes.

The serpent has always been a popular motif for jewelry probably even before fashion's first icon, Cleopatra. Romans wore bracelets fashioned in the shape of a coiled serpent. In the Middle ages Medieval and Byzantine jewelry used the image of snakes as talisman to ward off evil. It became a popular theme again in Victorian jewelry when Prince Albert gave Queen Victoria an engagement ring that was a snake with an emerald head. This symbol of eternity, rebirth, and healing has never lost popularity. Even though many have a visceral reaction to the snake others are enchanted. I am the latter.

I love the way designers and artist find ways to portray snakes in their work.

I hope you enjoy these images of some of our favorites.