Miriam Haskell jewellery

Miriam Haskell jewellery 

  If Miriam Haskell's work were a person, it would be the glamorous

1930s screen icon Joan Crawford, who was a major fan. Haskell's bijoux fantaisie made costume jewelry more fashionable than fine jewelry and helped it become a valuable art form in its own right.

Miriam Haskell jewellery 

Miriam Haskell was born in Indiana, in 1899. She majored in education at the I niversity of Chicago, but left before finals to earn a living. Although not a designer, Haskell was adept in design selection and at recognizing talent in others. In 1924, she opened a store in the McAlpin Hotel in New York City, selling costume jewelry by well- known designers such as Coco Chanel.

When she established the Miriam I laskell Company in 1926, she appointed Frank Hess as chief designer. Hess had been a window dresser at Macv's department store, and Haskell's trust in his ability was repaid. With asymmetry as his watchword, Hess designed innovative and stylish pieces for Miriam Haskell.

The 1930s saw Haskell open retail outlets in the Saks Fifth Avenue store in New York City and Harvey Nichols in London. This further elevated her profile and prestige, building on her already strong reputation. She had employed highly skilled artists from Europe in the 1920s and 1930s, and maintained exceptional standards of design, craftsmanship, and components.

From the 1940s through the 1950s, Frank Hess designed intricate, handmade designs featuring baroque and seed pearls, rhinestoncs, and iconic combinations of colored beading, woven tapestry-styleonto antiqued filigree backs that became known as the signature Haskell style. Nature was a strong inspiration, referenced through floral, foliate, and sometimes butterfly designs, as well as the use of pearls, shells, nuts, coral, and woven cords.

Miriam Haskell jewellery 

Miriam Haskell and Frank Hess frequently traveled abroad to source the best materials: there were glass beads from Murano, Italy; faceted crystals from Austria and Gablonz, Bohemia (present-day Czech Republic), including her signature flat-backed roses montees set in pierced metal cups; and Japanese faux pearls. 


These quality components were artfully woven together, and it was this attention to detail that made Haskell's work so compelling. During World War II, many restrictions were placed on manufacturing, and innovators such as Haskell turned to materials such as wood, plastics, and even feathers for feature components.

Miriam Haskell jewellery 

Miriam Haskell retired in 1951 because of her health, and her brother Joseph took over the company, which he later sold to Morris Kinsler in 1954. Frank Hess continued to work for the company until 1960. Fortunately the company continued to attract high-quality designers, who continued his fine work.

Robert F. Clark, who started working for Haskell in 1958 and became head designer after Hess, is best known for his bibs and festoon necklaces, chunky chokers, and a love of symmetry and repetition. His sophisticated designs frequently featured mother-of- pearl and pearlized metals. 



After a brief period working under PeterRaines, Larry Vrba became Haskell's head designer in the 1970s. Yrba is known for his oversized, elaborate, and colorful designs, beloved of New York's transvestite community today. 

Miriam Haskell jewellery 

This work was the most fantastic produced by Haskell. Millie Petronzio, who took over as chief designer in 1980, was responsible for the "Retro Line" in 1992, which recreated old Haskell designs, sometimes with a new twist.

I sually no Haskell design ever emulated classic fine jewelry. The bold, unusual, and glamorous look she captured appealed to the world of show business: Haskell pieces were featured on stage, film, and television, including designs for the Ziegfeld Follies and The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, The Lucille Ball Show, and many Hollywood stars, such as Joan Crawford.

Miriam Haskell jewellery 

Apart from a rare set of pre-1940 pieces marked with a horseshoe for a store in New England, Haskell did not begin trademarking jewelry until the 1940s, so identifying pieces before this period is a matter of experience. Referring to advertisements from the time may help: Larry Austin was one of the advertising artists at Haskell during the Frank I less era, so his artwork can be used to identify Hess's unsigned pieces. After 1940, the signature "Miriam Haskell," set in an oval, was used.

Miriam Haskell died in 1981. Her company is still in operation today, and continues to produce vintage-Haskell-style jewelry.

JAPANESE PEARLS

pearls maintain a timeless popularity and Haskell's faux-pearl jewelry is among the most varied and refined on the vintage market. Originally, fine-quality imitation pearls came from Gablonz, Bohemia. However, in the late 1930s Japan entered the market as an alternative and competitively priced supplier of faux pearls.


 After the end of World War II, it was to Japan that Haskell turned to source her pearls. 


The seed and baroque pearls were immersed several times in a blend called essence d'orient, a solution of cellulose, fish scales, and resins. These gave the pearls a deep luster that European rivals could not match, and they are highly prized by collectors today. 


Baroque pearls, with their crinkly surface and irregular shapes, were exclusively supplied to Haskell.