Frederick Mosell, a Spanish-born jeweler, came to the United States at the beginning of World War II. As early as 1940, he began making jewelry in the kitchen of his New York apartment. Six months later, his pieces were in such demand that he had to open a workshop and begin mass production. Publications in the 1940s began writing about Mosell as “the most inventive costume jewelry designer in the country.”

Whether he’s taking a walk, going to a show, or reading a newspaper, Mosell was always thinking about jewelry. When he saw a black swan on a lake in New York’s Central Park, he made a swan brooch, coated it in black enamel, and set it with rhinestones. When he learned about the opening of the Metropolitan Opera season, he made a bejeweled brooch “A Night at the Opera.” The design featured figures of a man and woman looking through rhinestone opera glasses.
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East Providence, Rhode Island based JewelArt Company began manufacturing jewelry in 1945. Registered in 1946, the firm produced handmade sterling silver jewelry for three decades before going out of business in the late 1970s. Made in the middle of the last century JewelArt sterling silver artisan jewelry has high collectible value today.

The exquisite filigree work of this firm is very much in keeping with the name of this brand. Art is the basis of the work of talented craftsmen, jewelers and designers who created these ornaments. Detailed patterns of chestnut, willow or grape leaves, embodied in brooches, bracelets and earrings, speak of the high artistic skill, exquisite taste of designers, and their knowledge of botany.
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Located at 33 Sutton Ave., East Providence, R.I., the Carla jewelry brand began its history in 1965. Carla Corp. was a family business founded by Nicholas J. DeCristofaro Sr. (1920 – 2002). Noteworthy, DeCristofaro previously had worked for Beaucraft Inc., also based in Providence. According to 1952 Polk’s Providence city directory, Luigi Russo (president), Nicholas DeCristofaro (secretary), and Rinaldo Saccoccio (treasurer) co-owned Beaucraft.

Since its inception, the company’s craftsmen handmade jewelry in 12-14 karat gold and silver, cultured pearls, and rhinestones. The designs of the sixties were classic – floral pins, filigree cameos, carved shell roses, and Egyptian Revival motifs. In the 1970s and 1980s, the jewelry became bolder with abstract and geometric designs, and later, runway jewelry. The maker’s mark includes CARLA and 1-20 12K (or 14K) G.F, or Carla S.S. on the back.

In the 1970s DeCristofaro’s son Nicholas DeCristofaro Jr. and son-in-law Ralph V. Fleming Jr. joined the company. Nicholas J. DeCristofaro Sr retired in the 1980s and Ralph V. Fleming Jr. became president and SEO of Carla Corp. Later, his grandsons Ralph V. Fleming III and Brian D. Fleming took the position of vice presidents. By the 1980s, the company already employed 165 people -goldsmiths, designers, jewelers and workers.

DeCristofaro’s sons and grandsons have successfully continued the family business, launching new jewelry lines and brands. Among the company’s new brands, for example, were TGC (1998 – 2009), C (2005), Cassandra (2005-2012), and CB (2015).
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Born in the Russian Empire, 20-year-old Samuel Heller came to the United States in 1888. A talented gemologist, inventor, and jeweler, Samuel studied the properties of stones in his Deltah laboratory. Having taken up the business of buying and selling precious stones, he founded L. Heller & Son, Inc in 1892.

The company became known for its Cultique cultured pearls, a product of Deltah laboratories that had the precious appearance of cultured pearls. Protected by a patent, Cultique pearls attracted women who wanted the beauty and perfection of cultured pearls at a significantly lower price.
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Once the world’s largest manufacturer of pierced earrings, Jewelry Manufacturing Company began its history in 1945. The name of the jewelry brand JMS comes from the names of its founders – Jack Glickson Morris and Samuel H Lipton. JMS was located at 256 Liberty St., Bloomfield, New Jersey. The company’s heyday began in the early 1950s. Advertized in jewelry catalogs, JMS designer high-quality jewelry was sold at affordable prices in major U.S. stores.

According to some jewelry advertisements published in 1953, the company produced fashion jewelry under two brand names: Jems by JMS and JMS. The popular company’s logo included stylized JMS letters on a diamond-shaped cartouche.

Handcrafting brooches, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings the jewelers used 10- to 18-karat gold, jade, rhinestones, and cultured pearls. One of their magnificent gold plated earring lines included 12 removable seasonal plaques (including birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, Christmas, etc.)

In 1963, the company went through a reorganization, and the new owners changed the logo and company name to J.M.S. Jewelry Mfg Co.

Having stood the test of time, today fine filigree work of the JMS designers is highly collectible.
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The history of the fine jewelry brand Gorman began in 1940 in Providence, Rhode Island, with the office and factory located at 160 Atlantic Ave. Initially, Gorman & Son, Inc was a family business founded by hereditary jeweler Henry J. Gorman. Headed by Henry J. Gorman as president, the vice president was his son Henry J. Gorman Jr., and the secretary and treasurer was his wife Mary Gorman.

Traditionally, the company sold jewelry directly from the factory to the retailers. Also, the firm had sales offices at 7 East 42nd St., New York, N.Y., and 315 W 5th St., Los Angeles, California. According to the Rhode Island Business Directory, which published company information annually from 1944 to 1968, Gorman also had a factory in Cranston. Henry J. Gorman Jr. died in 1973 at age 60 and was buried in Cranston.

The company’s craftsmen made gold filled jewelry with the use of cultured pearls and natural stones. Noteworthy, the earliest markings on the back of the pieces included the capital letters H G, as well as the gold karat. Later sterling silver jewelry was marked Gorman and sterling 925.

Having stood the test of time, the products of this brand are extremely rare, demonstrate high quality of execution, and today have collector’s value.
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