Schreiner

Schreiner

Schreiner

Henry Schreiner began his working life as a blacksmith in Bavaria, Germany. After immigrating to the United States in 1923, he used his metalwork skills to find employment in the thriving shoe buckle industry.

In 1939, Schreiner started making costume jewellery

Schreiner

on a small scale, using high-quality colored crystal stones of unusual cuts.




 He established his own company in the early 1940s.


His talent was spotted by Christian Dior, who gave him several commissions in the ite 1940s and early 1950s. His work drew the attention of the fashion world and he went on to design pieces for American fashion designers Pauline Trigere and Normal Norell., making belts, buckles, and buttons in addition to his costume jewellery.

Schreiner became known for highly creative and elaborate designs, beloved of stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Bette Davis.


 Despite his growing reputation, Schreiner took the decision to keep the company small. Consequently, his exclusive designs were beautifully set and finished by hand..

Schreiner

 His work typically used paste, rhinestones, and top-quality diamante and crystal in unconventional colour combinations, to stunning effect .



'He commissioned the unusually shaped and colored crystals he preferred from manufacturers in Czechoslovakia and Germany.

Many designs were abstract, featuring unique paste stones in extraordinary settings. A characteristic of Schreiner's work w as the inverted-set stone, where the pointed back of the stone was presented uppermost in the setting, with the fiat front set face down.

Schreiner

The idea was to pick up the color of the garment being worn and to add sparkle. He also played w ith different cuts and subtle but unusual colour  combinations, favouring smoky greys, light browns, pale yellows, and soft greens.



 Stones were often unfoiled so that the wearer's clothes showed through, making pieces more versatile, with each creating a unique effect depending on the outfit being worn. Pewter-colored settings are typically Schreiner, and lie used the less common hook-and-eye construction on necklaces.

Schreiner also made some figural pins. His "ruffle" flower pins present long, tapering, keystone-shaped stones at differing depths that lend each piece a three-dimensional, fluttering quality.


Other figural subjects include a range of flowers such as daisies, geraniums, and sunflowers, as well as acorns, turtles, dragonflics, peas in a pod, pineapples, and carrots.

Schreiner's daughter Terry and her husband Ambrose Albert joined the firm in the early 1950s.

Schreiner

 Although Schreiner died in 1954, the company continued production until the mid-1970s, w hen the dramatic radicalization of fashion led to the decline of many established costume jewelers.

Pieces are marked "Schreiner New York," "Schreiner," or "Schreiner Jewelry" on an oval plate.

Relatively few examples of Schreiner's work arc on the market today, because of his exclusivity at the time, so pieces can fetch high prices.


 The beauty of his work is timeless, the quality of the stones superb, and the styles still appeal to collectors. Huge bib necklaces and parures fetch a premium.