A trek to the antique store ends with a 60 year piece of treasure
How my love for accessories begins
When I was a little girl, I would visit my grandmother, who lived in a bungalow behind ours, and watch her as she styles her outfits with baubles. She loves accessories, from jewelry, scarves, and hats. And while they may not all appear to match in color or pattern, when she puts them on everything seems to click. It is through her habit of visual styling and mixing and matching that I really begin to understand how fun it is to define your own personal style.
Grandma Lory is like my personal Iris Apfel growing up. In fact, both of them are the same age! Although my Grandma did not live long enough to see the advent of social media where style mavens can share their collections and knowledge of fashion. She would have enjoyed sharing her own stories or knowledge of a trinket's creator or origins. Grandma passes away nineteen years ago. However, her aficionado for fashion accessories is passed onto me, whether they are new or vintage. And because of this, I not only love to don the accessories I have in my closet, but I am also drawn to learning about each piece's design history or any anecdotal information from its era.
And while I love seeing new releases of jewelry each season, I have a fascination for sourcing an intricate piece from yesteryears. This is the reason why I love going to antique stores.
The treasure in the antique store along the coast
The antique stores in remote cities or along the coast are my favorite. They are not too crowded and they often stock exceptional treasures at reasonable prices. Some are even willing to barter on the price.
And in one of my familial trips along the coast, I pass by this quaint little antique shop. It is in one of the glass cases that I spot these pretty and colorful pastel Cabochon earrings in a design that is reminiscent from the pieces created by renowned fashion jeweler Schreiner.
I asked the antique dealer if I can take a closer look and inquire further on the earring's make and year. There is no sign of a jewelry brand or artist's insignia. But they are noted to be from the mid 1950s to 1960s and they have been on display at shop for many years.
The earrings reminiscent of a Schreiner design
I could not take my eyes off them. They are simply exquisite! The design is definitely inspired by William Schreiner, who started his company Schreiner Jewelry in 1932. His pieces are quite art deco in his era with their intricate patterns and mixtures of stones and materials of different hues. Soon his company will be sought after by high-end boutiques and worn by Hollywood celebrities, such as Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Bette Davis, to name a few.
"One of the myths associated with Schreiner is a deep connection to the House of Dior since some of their designs are similar in nature. In actuality, Schreiner only produced one brooch and earring set for Dior in 1949....
Schreiner also began to focus on selling to well-known department stores like Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Henry Bendel in the 1950s. These pieces were marked, and the stores freely promoted them as Schreiner. Some of the elaborate collar and bib necklaces along with wide bracelets featured in Vogue and other fashionable magazine spreads were among those being ordered in the 1960s. These are coveted by collectors now."
Want to know more about Schreiner Jewelry?
Carole Tanenbaum, who is an avid fancy jewelry collector, wrote a comprehensive piece on Schreiner Jewelry. When she is asked why she writes this book, her response is, ""When I started collecting costume jewellery about 40 years ago, I was always gravitating to this one designer, who I felt was the designer – for imagination, for creativity, for wonderful construction," Tanenbaum says of the impetus behind her Schreiner collection, which includes 1,200 baubles. "Nobody knows where he came from, nobody knows what his ethics were, and there's a lot of news in this book that says it all."
From the Publisher:
Schreiner is a luxurious book offering a first concise history of one of North America’s foremost designers of high-end costume jewelry, a genre of jewelry popularized by Coco Chanel and today one of the most collectible. Created in New York City by founder Henry Schreiner in 1932, the eponymous company flourished during the early 1940s.
During the 1950s under the leadership of Henry’s daughter, the company’s unusual color combinations, hand-made settings, and use of custom-made stones set them apart from their contemporaries, leaving behind a legacy for jewelry experts and admirers to study, covet, and collect to this day.
For thousands of collectors of Schreiner worldwide, Schreiner provides valuable insight into their collections from the family itself. With hundreds of breathtaking photographs, the breadth of the Schreiner oeuvre is explicated, from the somber years of the Great Depression through the rise of the American ready-to-wear industry. Through the optimistic yet conforming 1950s, the youthful antiestablishment of the 1960s, and the feminist movement of the 1970s, the designs and materials of these pieces reflect the moods and mores of the decades in which they were made.
And for the very serious Schreiner collector, the book explores common characteristics employed in the construction of Schreiner designs aiding collectors in the task of identifying unsigned Schreiner jewelry. This volume examines not only the cultural context and significance of Schreiner jewelry but also offers object-based analyses and archival documentation of various Schreiner pieces.
Interested in a Schreiner Jewelry?
Carole Tanenbaum often restocks her Schreiner finds. You can find it here: Carole Tanenbaum Schreiner stock
But you can also try the pre-loved market, which is the other way of sourcing a Schreiner vintage piece. There are a plethora of used market platforms, from the classic Ebay, ETSY, and to newer sites such as Poshmark, MERCARI, Tradesy, Vestiaire Collective, Facebook Groups, and many more.
Do check them out and you might be able to get a steal of a deal of a beautiful Schreiner piece in excellent condition at a much discounted price!
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