Month: June 2026

Goodman & Company Fine Jewelry Since 1903

Goodman & Company Fine Jewelry Since 1903
Eastern Star earrings, May 1955. Goodman & Company Fine Jewelry Since 1903

A Brooklyn native, Benjamin Goodman (1871 – 1941) founded his own jewelry house Benjamin Goodman, Inc., in 1903. His elder brother Jacob Goodman (1869 – 1942) joined the firm. The company’s headquarters and factory were located at 71 Fifth Avenue in New York City and 42 Washington Street in Indianapolis, Indiana.

It is noteworthy that the company’s advertisements indicate different dates of foundation – 1903 or 1904. Jacob Goodman’s son, Morris Goodman, joined his father’s business in 1914, upon graduation from the Shortridge High School, and became a traveling salesman. He sold products to retail stores across the country. From that time on, the firm changed its name to Goodman & Company.
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Jeanne Costume Jewelry Brand History

Jeanne Costume Jewelry Brand History
Caterpillar Traveler gold plated sterling silver rhinestones brooch pin. Jeanne Costume Jewelry Brand History

The history of costume jewelry branded Jeanne lasted two decades, from 1960 to 1980. The originator of Boutique Jewelry by Jeanne, located at 295 Madison Avenue in New York City, was Jeanne Gans. Incorporated in November 1961, Jeanne Gans Jewelry Inc created two lines of jewelry.

Although Jeanne fashion jewelry was not nationally advertised, sometimes it appeared on the pages of such fashion magazines as Vogue. Its second line of costume jewelry included handcrafted whimsical designs and truly artistic pieces, for which the company received patents from 1963 to 1967.
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Providence Silversmith Hiram Howard (1840 – 1907)

Providence Silversmith Hiram Howard
A characteristic racing trophy by the Howard Sterling Co, September 1892. Providence Silversmith Hiram Howard

This jeweler’s name is forgotten today, and at the turn of the 20th century, Hiram Howard was known as the president of the Howard Sterling Co. However, his career in jewelry began long before the founding of this company. The son of Warner and Mary Taft Howard, Hiram Howard was born in West Woodstock, Connecticut, on November 26, 1840.

After completing his schooling in Massachusetts, he began his business career at the age of 18. He moved to Providence, where he began studying jewelry making. Having mastered the craft and after several years of working at a workbench, he moved to the commercial side of the business.
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Arthur A Everts Jewelry Manufacturing Company

Arthur A Everts Jewelry Manufacturing Company
Barbara Gentry wearing necklace with fringe of 17 emerald-cut diamonds, tasseled baguette earrings, rose-and-fern clip, November 1952. Arthur A Everts Jewelry Manufacturing Company

The founder and chairman of the board of directors of the jewelry company Arthur A. Everts Co. was Arthur A Everts (1866-1952) of Dallas, Texas. He lived in Dallas his entire life and started his business in 1897 in a small room 12 feet wide and 18 feet long. His assets consisted of twenty-two dollars in cash, two rented display cases, and merchandise purchased on credit.

Everts began as apprentice to an engraver at the age of 16, later learned watchmaking, and at night studied copper-plate engraving in his uncle’s store in Lancaster. When he came to Dallas, it was a little city of 12,000. By patience and persistence Everts traveled the road of success to become one of the largest jewelry companies in America.
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E. Maritz Jewelry Manufacturing Company History

E. Maritz Jewelry Manufacturing Company History
February 1906 ad. E. Maritz Jewelry Manufacturing Company History

Edward Ferdinand Maritz (1863–1929) established E Maritz Jewelry Manufacturing Company in 1894. Located at 104 N. Sixth street, St. Louis, Missouri, Maritz specialized in manufacturing, engraving, designing, fine diamond work, repairing and importing diamonds and precious stones.

In April 1909 Edward Maritz and Samuel Kober formed a partnership and renamed the Maritz-Kober Jewelry Mfg Co to the Maritz-Kober Jewelry Mfg Co. Noteworthy, previously Samuel Kober was secretary of the E Maritz Jewelry Mfg Co, and looked after the business during the absence of Edward Maritz.
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Providence Jewelry Company Wachenheimer Brothers

Providence Jewelry Company Wachenheimer Brothers
‘Celleni’ design sterling silver jewelry, Vogue May 1929. Providence Jewelry Company Wachenheimer Brothers

The history of the Wachenheimer Brothers jewelry company began in 1903 under the name H. Wachenheimer & Co. Its founders were brothers Harry and Samuel Wachenheimer, as well as Charles F. Markham and John H. Stone. In December 1904, Harry (b. 1878) and Samuel Wachenheimer (1880-1927) bought out their partners’ shares.

After their third brother, Jacob (1876 – 1934), joined the business in January 1905, they changed the firm’s name to Wachenheimer Brothers. The three brothers, all New York natives, were the sons of Ferdinand and Caroline Wachenheimer. Harry Wachenheimer led the company as president, Samuel became vice president and treasurer, and Jacob became vice president and secretary.
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Bill Agnew Regimental Costume Jewelry

Bill Agnew Regimental Costume Jewelry (1945 - 1953)
Vogue February 1949. Bill Agnew Regimental Costume Jewelry (1945 – 1953)

Thanks to him, elegant American women in the mid-20th century wore authentic regimental awards as jewelry. William R. Agnew, who served in the U.S. Army, was wandering through a Paris flea market one day in 1945, looking for an unusual gift for his fiancée. He found a Napoleonic belt buckle that she might appreciate as jewelry.

She was so delighted that Agnew decided that American women might also appreciate military trinkets. He ended up buying about 80 kilograms of military items, including uniform buttons, buckles, shoulder insignia, and the like, which he sent home and transformed into earrings, pins, bracelets, clips, and belt buckles.
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