French fashion costume jewelry brand Courreges Paris began its history in 1980 which lasted 25 years. The owner of the brand was the Courreges Design Limited Company, located at 40 Rue Francois ler Paris France. Initially, Courreges bijoux was part of fashion shows and perfume presentations of the iconic Parisian fashion house André Courrèges.

One of the greatest French fashion designers, Andre Courrèges (March 9, 1923 – January 8, 2016) was an innovator, creator of futuristic “space age” fashion, perfumer and jewelry designer. Courrèges created clothing sketches from childhood and dreamed of becoming a designer. Later, Cristobal Balenciaga, for whom Andre had worked for 10 years and considered his teacher, helped him create the Courrèges haute couture house in 1961.

The master jewelers created high-quality bijoux using gold plating, Swarovski crystals, rhinestones, enamel, and faux pearls. Noteworthy, the earliest jewelry pieces had “Courreges Paris” mark on an oval cartouche (1980-2004), while later ones had a stylized AC mark.

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The history of the costume jewelry brand Longaberger began in 1991 and lasted for a little over ten years. The owner of the costume jewelry trademark was Longaberger Licensing, LLC, headquartered on Broadway, New York, USA. The company produced accessories, home decor items and jewelry under license from the famous Longaberger Company.

A characteristic feature of the jewelry design marked Longaberger was a wicker basket, which harmoniously fit into the style of jewelry. For example, a Christmas tree brooch, decorated not with Christmas tree balls and toys, but with miniature gilded baskets. Or a figural brooch in the form of a bear with a basket, a Thanksgiving brooch in the form of a basket with a harvest, etc. Noteworthy, famous designers and jewelry companies created jewelry for the company of David Longaberger. In this case, jewelry had a double marking, for example J.J. and Longaberger.

Founded by David Longaberger in January 1973 in Dresden, Ohio, the family-owned company made the hand-woven maple baskets that made the company famous around the world. With multimillion-dollar revenues and several thousand employees, the company made not only wicker baskets but also home and lifestyle products.

The company’s popularity peaked in the 1990s, and perhaps the crowning glory of the company’s popularity was its office, a monument to its greatness. The largest basket in the world, and also the 7-story corporate headquarters of the Longaberger company, built in December 1997. One of the main tourist attractions in Newark, Ohio, USA, the office is an example of unique architectural design. In 2013, Longaberger was acquired by CVSL, Inc. and closed in 2018.
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The history of the costume jewelry brand Floralia began in 1960 in the jewelry capital of Germany, the city of Pforzheim. Floralia was one of the brands owned by Rodi & Wienenberger AG, founded by Eugen Rodi and Wilhelm Wienenberger in 1885.

The peak of popularity of the Floralia jewelry came in the 1960s, when the brand’s products adorned many fashion and lifestyle magazines in Germany and abroad. Among them, in particular, Stern, Frendin, Constanze, Quick, Burda Mode, and even The Australian Women’s Weekly (1966). On all advertising posters next to the Floralia brand the company logo is depicted – RoWi with an anchor.

Among other well known trademarks of RoWi were Elasto-Fixo, Fixo-Flex and Admira. When creating jewelry, the company’s craftsmen used solid gold, silver, Austrian crystals and faux pearls. The jewelry design traditionally included plant motifs – leaves, flowers, which corresponds to the name of the brand. Crafted with great skill and standing the test of time, Floralia jewelry is now a collector’s item.

Once a thriving company with multi-million dollar profits and thousands of employees, Rodi & Wienenberger filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and ceased operations in January 2019.
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The history of the Past Times jewelry trademark founded by Historical Collections Group Plc began in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1989. The similar company Historical Collections Group Plc was also registered in 1995 in the United Kingdom. However, both companies and their Past Times trademark ceased to exist in 2005. In fact, Past Time was one of several trademarks owned by HCG Plc. Among them, in particular, were Windrush Mill, Art Room, The Maritime Company, and more.

Inspired by the 18th century rococo designs, museum pieces, early 20th century Art Deco, and Celtic motifs, Past time craftsmen made retro designs, which is quite consistent with the name of the brand. Traditionally, the craftsmen used gold, sterling silver, marcasite, onyx, rock crystal, turquoise, faux pearls and glass. The maker’s mark includes letters “Past Times”, or “PT”.

Noteworthy, jewelry production took place both in the United States and abroad, including Great Britain, India and Thailand. The company sold Past Times jewelry through a world wide mail order catalogue and its representatives in the UK, France, India and other countries.

In addition to jewelry making, the company was engaged in retail store services featuring household merchandise, clothing, accessories, cosmetics, plants, ornaments, statues, figurines, pots, carpets, rugs, etc.

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The history of Goldberg – Kirschman Company Inc. on manufacture of gold and sterling silver jewelry began in the late 1930s. Headquartered at 665 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y., the firm became known as a manufacturer of original miniature rank insignia pins.

In fact, this was natural for jewelry companies working during that wartime. Worn by wives, sweat-hearts, mothers and sisters who had loved ones in service, these decorations were made from heavy 14 K gold, and cost from $12.

According to The Jewelers’ Circular Keystone (1942) the company employed “the craftsmen with over 30 years’ fine jewelry experience.
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The history of Kreisler jewelry brand began in 1913 in New York and lasted sixty-five years. Its founders were Jacques Kreisler (1890 – 1974), Edward Stern and Marcus Stern. Originally, the company concentrated on the manufacture of fine jewelry but turned in 1933 to the production of popular-priced watch bands and men’s jewelry.

21 year-old Hungarian immigrant Jacques Kreisler came to New York in 1911 and began working for Marcus Stern Manufacturing Co., jewelry firm located at 41 Maiden Lane. In 1914 sons of Marcus Stern (1856 – 1919), Edward Stern and Tobias Stern in partnership with Jacques Kreisler founded Jacques Kreisler & Co.
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Founded in New York City in 1895, the Lidz Brothers Company was a well-known manufacturer, exporter and importer of buttons, as well as buckles and sewing accessories. One of the major suppliers of buttons and other sewing notions in the U.S., the company had two divisions.

One of them sold to apparel manufacturers while the retail division serviced a variety of retail customers including department stores, and fabric shops.

In addition to buttons, the Lidz Brothers made high quality costume jewelry in Victorian, Art Deco and classical styles typical of that time.
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