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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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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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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