Month: July 2025

Sorrento Vintage Costume Jewelry by Uncas

Hematite sterling silver floral design brooch pin
Hematite sterling silver floral design brooch pin

Registered in 1951 Sorrento jewelry trademark got its name from Vincent Sorrentino (1891 – 1976), prominent Providence jeweler of Italian origin. He founded Uncas Manufacturing Co., Providence, Rhode Island and had launched tens of trademarks on manufacture of various types of jewelry since 1911.

In fact, Sorrento has become not just one of these trademarks, but the most popular brand of Uncas Manufacturing Co. Accordingly, this brand definitely deserves a separate publication.

Noteworthy, Sorrento costume jewelry first entered the List of Exhibitors at NEMJSA Show (the New England Manufacturing Jewelers and Silversmiths Association) in April 1954.
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Mazer Brothers Jewelry Company History

Mazer Brothers Jewelry Company History
Art Deco yellow rhinestone gold plated brooch, 1940s. Mazer Brothers Jewelry Company History

The history of Mazer Bros costume jewelry manufacturers founded by Louis Mazer (1884-1952) and his younger brother Joseph J. Mazer (1887-1961) began in 1920 in Philadelphia. The firm moved to New York in 1926 to 6 West 32nd St, and continued at this location for 14 years.

Initially, the brothers’ company produced ornamentation for shoes and buckles. Notably, the famous B. A. Ballou & Co., Inc., Providence, R. I. filed a lawsuit against the Mazer brothers in 1927. Ballou, in particular, accused the Mazer brothers of making and selling shoe decorations with illegal use of Ballou’s patented invention. The company demanded that the production and sale of these decorations be stopped, as well as compensation for damages.
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