The biography of the once-famous jeweler Nadja Buckley (1896 – 1973) contains many striking episodes that are difficult to confirm. In fact, her contribution to the jewelry business and achievements in this field are more important.

Leading New York jewelry designer and manufacturer of expensive jewelry in the 1940s and 50s, Buckley was a winner of the most prestigious awards. Her precious jewelry graced the covers of magazines such as Vogue and Jewelers’ Circular. She created the astrological sign for ‘gems’ which was quite popular.

According to most publications from the 1940s and 1950s, she was a princess of Russian descent, spoke many languages, and had acting talent. Born in Italy, Nadja lived with her mother, Marquise Beatrix Angiulli in Paris, studied opera in Rome, and prepared for Oxford. Noteworthy, before getting her passport, Nadja also used the pseudonym Marion May.

Marriage

In the early 1920s, Nadja came to the United States. There she met Patrick Frank Buckley (1888 – 1947), a serviceman from Washington, Iowa. They married on Christmas Day 1923 in Washington, Iowa. Ostrovska adopted his surname, Buckley. It was under this name that she became known in the business. They later divorced.

In the USA Nadja Buckley lived in Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and finally, in West Palm Beach.

During a many-month trip to Brazil in the late 1930s, Buckley studied aquamarines, topazes, and amethysts with leading gem cutters. She returned to New York in 1940 as an accomplished jeweler. As early as 1941, advertisements for her jewelry appeared in Vogue magazine:

Collaboration with Georg Jensen

She spent much of her time in the Bonwit Teller store, where she sold her rings, bracelets, and jewelry boxes. Also, in her workshops where, alongside experienced cutters and setters, she developed wax designs and weighed enormous stones. Noteworthy, in the 1940s Buckley collaborated with the renowned jewelry firm of Georg Jensen:

Opening Stores

In June 1953, Buckley opened a jewelry store in the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas. This was her first retail venture and the only place where her jewelry could be purchased in Texas. Other distributors of Nadja Buckley jewels were George Jensen and Bonwit Teller of New York, Bullock’s Wilshire of Los Angeles, and Garfinkel’s of Washington.

On October 4, 1954, she opened her second retail shop at 30 East 54th Street, New York. The opening of the new establishment coincided with an announcement that seven of her creations became award-winners in the “Diamonds U.S.A.” competition.

Carnation brooch

Her most impressive creation in 1954 was the exact replica of a carnation, one of seven of her winning designs. Worn as a pin or a necklace, the clip had 100 carat of diamonds set in platinum. Each petal of the carnation set on ball bearings allowed the flower to close as a bud or open to a full bloom. According to Nadja Buckley, it worked like an umbrella.

Meanwhile, for several years, Buckley could not find a buyer for this brooch, priced at $35,000.

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