Stanley Hagler Jewelry

Stanley Hagler  Jewelry 

part one

Stanley Haglcr described his elaborate and vivid costume jewelry designs as "just plain pretty." Adorning the decolletage, wrists, or earlobes of the rich, famous, and beautiful, his work is so much more than "pretty."

Hagler was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1923.





 A veteran of World War II, he graduated from the University of Denver with a law degree in 1949. His design career began in the early 1950s on a dare, when he designed a bracelet "fit for a queen" for Wallace Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor . He established the Stanley Hagler Jewelry Co. in New York's Greenwich Village 1953 with Edward Nakles.



Vogue magazine followed his work with enthusiasm, and the Denver Post described it as "opulent and provocative" in 1956.

He had worked as a business advisor to Miriam Haskell in the late 1940s, and his jewelry was heavily influenced by Frank I less's designs, with both designers favoring intricate floral motifs. Hagler also produced Oriental-inspired pieces and figural work, such as butterflies. However, he is perhaps best known for another Haskell theme—his faux baroque pearls, which displayed exceptional luminosity.



 Hand-blown beads were dipped up to 15 times in pearl resin, and individually strung to emphasize their quality.

Haglcr's choice of other components was no less exacting: hand- blown "art glass" stones from Murano; Swarovski crystals in clear, vibrant pinks, coral, purples, and greens; rose montees; seed pearls and seed beads; and exceptional Russian gold-plated filigree all feature, as do more unusual materials such as earved-bone flowers.




 His work was hand-wired—"manipulated jewelry," as he described it to the Vintage Fashion and Costume Jewelry Club in 1995.

Hagler's attention to detail made his designs exemplary. To this end, ₍₎jeces were adaptable: accessories could be added to change the look earrings; necklace clasps doubled as hair clips or pins; necklaces used to be worn as bracelets; and pieces were designed to look as ncjining from the back as the front.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, he designed collections for New York's biannual Press Week fashion shows, which he described as "Shocko" pieces, as opposed to the more feminine designs lie favored normally. In 1968, Hagler won the Sv\aro\ ski-sponsored "Great Designs in Jewelry" award for the first of 11 times. In the 1950s, many costume jewelry companies produced Christmas tree pins, of which Hagler's are considered exceptional. Also immensely popular was his range of jeweled crosses, as worn by Madonna.

In the 1970s, Hagler used found metal off-cuts from instruments to create a structural, modern range, called "Tomorrow." Although appreciated for its originality, it did not sell well.

Hagler later moved to Europe for a time, where he worked in precious stones, gold, and silver. However, he found that his clients still demanded his characteristic jeweled and beaded pieces and he returned to New York.

In 1989 lan St Gielar  joined the company as chief designer and in 1993 the business relcoated to Florida. After Stanley Hagler's death in 1996, the company was continued, with St Gielar at its head.

Marks include "Stanley Hagler" straight across an oval disk, from the 1950s until 1983; "Stanley Hagler N.Y.C." on the curve of the oval from 1983 until cl993; while "Stanley Hagler N.Y.C" was used from 1993 onward for designs by Ian St Gielar, who also used tags bearing his own name from this date. Reproductions made by former employees of I lagler's are also on the market, bearing Hagler marks.