Born in 1898 in Russia, H M Schrager emigrated to the USA and settled in Northern Illinois before 1920. He was lucky to find a job in W Reichert & Co, 15 W. 37th Street, New York. According to the 1922-25 Jewelers’ Circular Keystone, Schrager was “for many years a traveling representative for W. Reichert & Co.”, wholesale dealers in art jewelry and novelties.

Undoubtedly, working for the company became an invaluable experience for the young man and a springboard into the world of jewelry business.
(more…)

The great American jewelry designer Gene Verri, aka Guido Verrecchia (1911-2013) began a new era in American costume jewelry. Namely, the transition from two-dimensional geometric modernist designs to naturalistic relief-figured three-dimensional forms.

From 1933 to 1965, Verri was the chief designer of the legendary company Cohn & Rosenberger, and it was he who led CoRo to the heights of fame. In 1947, Guido Verrecchia, together with his twin brother Alfeo, opened a family company. In order to clearly trace the connection with Coro Craft, where the master continued to work, he called the company Gem-Craft. Noteworthy, Verri created both his own branded jewelry and jewelry commissioned by Oscar de la Renta, Kenneth Jay Lane, Kramer and many other famous brands.

According to Rhode Island Business Portal, Gem-Craft Inc. merged with Sample-Art Company in 1967. The renewed Gem-Craft company launched four trademark on manufacture of costume jewelry. Among them were Craft (1979-2010), The Adjustable (1980-1999), Attachables (1980-1988), and Anywhere (1982-1989).

Established in 1947 in Cranston Rhode Island, a manufacturer and wholesaler of costume jewelry Gem-Craft Inc ceased to exist in 2024.

Notable, there were similar companies that created Craft-marked jewelry at the same time. Among them, in particular, The Craft Company, Inc. (New Jersey, 24 Jul 1947), Creative Craft Company (New Jersey, 1954), and Craft Jewelry Creations Of San Francisco (California, 1968- 1971). Yet, the oldest Craft company was established in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1904.
(more…)

Frederick Mosell, a Spanish-born jeweler, came to the United States at the beginning of World War II. As early as 1940, he began making jewelry in the kitchen of his New York apartment. Six months later, his pieces were in such demand that he had to open a workshop and begin mass production. Publications in the 1940s began writing about Mosell as “the most inventive costume jewelry designer in the country.”

Whether he’s taking a walk, going to a show, or reading a newspaper, Mosell was always thinking about jewelry. When he saw a black swan on a lake in New York’s Central Park, he made a swan brooch, coated it in black enamel, and set it with rhinestones. When he learned about the opening of the Metropolitan Opera season, he made a bejeweled brooch “A Night at the Opera.” The design featured figures of a man and woman looking through rhinestone opera glasses.
(more…)

East Providence, Rhode Island based JewelArt Company began manufacturing jewelry in 1945. Registered in 1946, the firm produced handmade sterling silver jewelry for three decades before going out of business in the late 1970s. Made in the middle of the last century JewelArt sterling silver artisan jewelry has high collectible value today.

The exquisite filigree work of this firm is very much in keeping with the name of this brand. Art is the basis of the work of talented craftsmen, jewelers and designers who created these ornaments. Detailed patterns of chestnut, willow or grape leaves, embodied in brooches, bracelets and earrings, speak of the high artistic skill, exquisite taste of designers, and their knowledge of botany.
(more…)

Located at 33 Sutton Ave., East Providence, R.I., the Carla jewelry brand began its history in 1965. Carla Corp. was a family business founded by Nicholas J. DeCristofaro Sr. (1920 – 2002). Noteworthy, DeCristofaro previously had worked for Beaucraft Inc., also based in Providence. According to 1952 Polk’s Providence city directory, Luigi Russo (president), Nicholas DeCristofaro (secretary), and Rinaldo Saccoccio (treasurer) co-owned Beaucraft.

Since its inception, the company’s craftsmen handmade jewelry in 12-14 karat gold and silver, cultured pearls, and rhinestones. The designs of the sixties were classic – floral pins, filigree cameos, carved shell roses, and Egyptian Revival motifs. In the 1970s and 1980s, the jewelry became bolder with abstract and geometric designs, and later, runway jewelry. The maker’s mark includes CARLA and 1-20 12K (or 14K) G.F, or Carla S.S. on the back.

In the 1970s DeCristofaro’s son Nicholas DeCristofaro Jr. and son-in-law Ralph V. Fleming Jr. joined the company. Nicholas J. DeCristofaro Sr retired in the 1980s and Ralph V. Fleming Jr. became president and SEO of Carla Corp. Later, his grandsons Ralph V. Fleming III and Brian D. Fleming took the position of vice presidents. By the 1980s, the company already employed 165 people -goldsmiths, designers, jewelers and workers.

DeCristofaro’s sons and grandsons have successfully continued the family business, launching new jewelry lines and brands. Among the company’s new brands, for example, were TGC (1998 – 2009), C (2005), Cassandra (2005-2012), and CB (2015).
(more…)