Few have had such an impact on fashion trends as Nina Ricci. The brand’s jewelry became part of Parisian chic and a role model. Nina Ricci managed to combine classic and innovative elements, influencing a whole generation of designers and inspiring them to create their own jewelry lines.

From early childhood and throughout her life, Maria Adelaide Giuseppa Nielli was known as Nina. At the age of 12, she moved with her family to France. Young Nina began learning dressmaking from a seamstress. She possessed a natural talent and, by her early twenties, had become a professional fashion designer.
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The partnership of Jacob Karlan and Blanche Bleicher, a harmonious man-woman couple, resulted in the establishing of Karlan & Bleicher corporation in December 1926. Jacob Karlan became president, and Blanche Bleicher was secretary and treasurer of Karlan & Bleicher, Inc., 185 West Third Street, New York City.

Born in Russia on November 18, 1892, Jacob Karlan came to the USA in 1910. Originally a tool and die maker, he developed ideas for ring manufacturing. His patented numerous ideas were beneficial not only to his own company but to the industry as a whole.
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Aimée Lee, an upscale jewelry, accessories, and clothing boutique at 545 Fifth Avenue, was a prominent part of New York fashion in the 1950s. The boutique sold imported European costume jewelry, as well as jewelry from renowned designers of the time. Among them, for example, were costume jewelry by Nina Ricci and designer jewelry by Robert Fleischer, Gubelin, and others.

Advertisements for Aimée Lee jewelry and accessories graced the pages of the most prominent fashion magazines and newspapers from the 1950s to 1960. They included Vogue, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, House & Garden, Esquire, American Girl, Town & Country, The New York Times Magazine, and Cosmopolitan.
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From its founding in June 1953 until its closure in 1983, Burt Cassell Jewelry Corporation was a leader in the production of gold filled and Scarab jewelry. Burt Cassell, the founder of the eponymous company, served as its president and treasurer.

The jewelry factory was located at 118 Richmond Street in Providence, Rhode Island, and the showroom was on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
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The history of the “Originals by Anthony Creations” costume jewelry brand began in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1945. Anthony’s founder was jeweler Antonio Aquilino (1907 – 1948), a native of Naples, Italy. He emigrated to the United States in the 1920s. Antonio Aquilino named the company after his son, Anthony.

Registered at 50 Aleppo Street, Providence 9, the company produced necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and brooches made of sterling silver, gold-plated, or 12-14k gold filled, Swarovski crystals, lucite, and rhinestones. Designed in a classic 1940s style and elegantly packaged in branded boxes, these jewelry sets became popular.
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A native New Yorker, Ethel Stiffson (1889 – 1969) established her company in 1939 and led it for about two decades. Initially, the Ethel Stiffson boutique was located in the Ritz Tower Hotel at 461 Park Avenue, Manhattan, New York City. The boutique offered jewelry in classic floral and animalistic designs, crafted from sterling silver plated with 18-karat gold.

Thanks to frequent advertisements in Vogue from 1940 to 1955, her boutique, selling really wonderful looking costume jewelry and exclusive evening bags, soon became widely known. In 1950, Hildegarde joined the business as a partner, and the boutique at 749 Madison Avenue changed its name to Ethel Stiffson & Hildegarde.
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The most famous American costume jewelry designer of the 20th century, Kenneth Jay Lane (1932 – 2017) became a legend even during his lifetime. He created masterpieces of costume jewelry for a wide range of audiences: from royalty, presidential wives, and socialites to ordinary fashionistas.

His bracelets, brooches, and earrings were worn by Jacqueline Kennedy, Princess Diana, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Greta Garbo, the Duchess of Windsor, Nancy Reagan, and Barbara Bush. During his 55-year career in fashion, Ken Lane, dubbed the “King of Costume Jewelry,” received numerous awards.
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