Weiss Jewelry
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Weiss Jewelry |
Weiss designed some of the most beautiful, if underrated,
rhinestone jewelry of the post-World War II period, skilfully presenting its
Austrian crystal rhinestones of exceptional clarity and colour in handcrafted
designs.
Albert Weiss learned to
design and make costume jewelry at Coro, the largest costume jewelry
manufactory in the United States, before going on to found the Weiss Company in
New York City in 1942.
The company flourished in the 1950s and 1960s, becoming
recognized for its well-crafted, rhinestone-encrusted costume jewelry. The
company was so successful that it commissioned Hollycraft to produce some of
its work, in order to meet demand.
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Weiss Jewelry |
Weiss was noted for its use of components of exceptional
quality, especially its Austrian crystal rhinestones that were usually
prong-set to maximize their clarity and color.
The rhinestones were set in
fairly traditional forms, including floral, fruit, foliate, and figural jewelry
pieces, as well as a range of Art-Deco-style geometric designs.
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Weiss Jewelry |
The figural pieces
from the 1950s, particularly forms such as butterflies, insects, and single
flower pins studded with rhinestones, are keenly collected.
Settings were of
high-quality gold- and silver-plated metals, and alloys were also used,
sometimes enameled, while japanning became a widely employed design feature in
the 1960s.
Another desirable form from the 1950s was the Christmas tree pin,
heavily studded in Weiss's characteristic rhinestones. Many of Weiss's
Christmas tree designs were emulated by other costume jewelers.
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Weiss Jewelry |
The fashionable "aurora borealis" rhinestone was
favored by Weiss and his team in the mid-1950s.
"All the colors of a
rainbow, captured in a new imported Austrian stone," ran the advertisement
for Weiss's "aurora borealis" jewelry.
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Weiss Jewelry |
Weiss's presentation was
innovative— stones were sometimes inverted to reveal the more intensely
iridescent effect of the underside. In the mid-1950s, Weiss alsodeveloped a simulation of German smoky quartz, called
"black diamonds."
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Weiss Jewelry |
Set in typical Weiss designs, the "black
diamonds" were highly realistic and very beautiful, and are keenly
collected today. The copy for an advertisement in Vogue
magazine in 1959 read: "Especially created for the smart new smoky-toned
fashions.
Distinctive gray Austrian rhinestones accented with tiny shimmering
crystals designed by the pacc-settcr of fine jewelry, Albert Weiss."
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Weiss Jewelry |
When Albert Weiss retired in
the 1960s, his son Michael took over the running of the company. As demand for
costume jewelry declined in the late 1960s, the company failed. It ceased
operations in 1971.
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Weiss Jewelry |
The Weiss Company's designs are comparable to those of
Eisenberg and Bogoff but have been under-rated and under-priced by collectors,
although prices are rising in today's market.
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Weiss Jewelry |
Buyers should beware, however, as
there are many Weiss fakes on the marke Collectors should be suspicious of
poor color and clarity or stones that have been glued instead of prong-set.
Weiss also manufactured unmarked pieces to sell wholesale through department
stores.
An experienced and reputable dealer can help collectors distinguish
unsigned Weiss from fake.
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Weiss Jewelry |
From 1943, pieces were marked "Weiss" in script
or block capitals, or "Albert Weiss" or "AW Co.," where the
"W" is larger and in the shape of a crown. Tags may also bear this
mark.
I have an early Weiss two strand bracelet that I THINK might be 'black diamond' crystals. I've looked everywhere to find some way to be certain, but have had no luck. Any tips? Thank you :-)
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