The history of the Apex Art Novelty Co, 118 W 29th Street, New York, NY began in 1925 and spanned nearly 50 years. Its founders were Charles Goldman (1899 – 1968) and Vincent (Vincenzo) Minchillo (1893–1938). In August 1929 Vincent Minchillo dissolved partnership, and Charles Goldman became the sole owner of the firm.

A lawyer by profession, Charles Goldman previously served as the attorney and counsel for the United Retail Jewelry Storekeepers Association. In the 1950s, he was also one of the directors of the Costume Jewelry Board of Trade of New York.
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Before opening his costume jewelry company in 1954, Joseph Warner (1888 – 1972) had extensive experience in the jewelry business. In 1957 his eponymous company became corporation – Joseph Warner Co Inc, 37 W 37 Street, NYC. Joseph Warner was president, and Leo Sonenberg (1912 – 1979) served as secretary and treasurer.

According to the Industrial Directory of New York State, 1958, the rhinestone jewelry manufacturing company employed 30 people. The use of the finest materials, including Austrian rhinestones and crystals, Czech glass, and, of course, high-quality craftsmanship, made Warner jewelry popular.
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Halbé jewelry company, 411 5th Ave., New York City, manufactured costume jewelry for just over a decade. Initially, it was a family business founded by Ruth F Halberstadt (1913-1961) and Arthur T Halberstadt (1909-1993) in 1947.

Located at 601 W 26th Street, New York, Halbe manufacturing plant employed approximately 110 people. According to the Industrial Directory of New York State of 1953, Gus La Rocca managed the plant, while Leon G Schneider was office manager. Also, Viola Shefer was responsible for public relations and advertising.
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Incorporated in 1952, DuBarry-Fifth Avenue, 16 West 36th Street, New York , N. Y., were importers and manufacturers of pearl and costume jewelry and novelty products. Initially, DFA was affiliated with the old New York cosmetics company Dubarry, 693 Fifth Avenue, founded by Richard Hudnut in 1913.

Dubarry cosmetics often advertised its products in the 1950s and 1960s in conjunction with the DFA jewelry company, demonstrating this connection.
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A young jeweler born in the German town of Baden-Württemberg, Solomon Freirich (1897 – 1976) emigrated to the United States in the late 1910s. After settling in New York, Sol Freirich met Sadie Weiss (1900-2000), daughter of the renowned jeweler Jacob Weiss.

Her father co-founded the jewelry firm of Weiner & Weiss, 51 Maiden Lane. In 1904 he established a jewelry company under his own name. By 1911, Jacob Weiss had already owned The Imperial Art Co., New York.
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The Brier family, consisting of a father, mother, their four sons, and a daughter, immigrants from Austria, arrived in the United States in the early 1900s. The eldest son, Samuel Brier (1884 – 1962), who worked for several years as a foreman at the Majestic Mfg Co, founded Brier Mfg Co, at 268 Weybosset Street, Providence, in 1912.

Samuel Brier’s co-founders were his younger brothers Harry Brier (1893 – 1953), Benjamin Brier (1897 – 1986), and Charles Brier (1899 – 1959). Started as a jobbing house, Brier also manufactured a large line of goods for five, 10 and 25-cent houses.
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