Patriotic, Sweetheart, Homefront, and German "Gold for Iron"
Patriotic and homefront jewelry were popular mostly during World War II to show support for the war effort and keep spirits up. These pieces were often light-hearted, meant to bring cheer. They were often made from sterling silver or non-metal materials like wood, plastic, or a pressed fake leather material - conserving necessary metals for the military. Sweetheart jewelry was given to girlfriends to keep the memory of the giver fresh. Homefront jewelry showed support for the war effort at home, such as rationing and fund raising. Patriotic jewelry showed a general support for the nation.
Berlin Iron and German Gold For Iron Jewelry:
When Napoleon occupied Germany in 1813, the German government encouraged citizens to trade in gold jewelry to raise money for the army. In return, citizens were given Berlin Iron jewelry - jewelry made from cast iron and coated with a black varnish. Often this jewelry was marked "Berlin". This jewelry became a symbol of German patriotism. During World War I jewelry was again produced to fund the military and was engraved "gold I gave for iron" . Medals, pins, watch chains, chains, and rings can be found. These are usually dated 1914 to 1916. All this jewelry is now highly collectible.
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Accessories: This category includes things like cufflinks, hair combs, watch chains, purses, compacts, boxes, hair ornaments, vinaigrettes, and chatelaine pieces.
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Bracelets:
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Cameos:
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Celluloid and Other Early Plastics:
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Charms and Charm Bracelets:
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Coro and Corocraft: DUETTES - Duettes are a pair of clips that attach to a frame with a pin on it. They can be worn has one large pin or two smaller clips. Although many manufacturers made them, Coro is the best-known maker of these and they made a huge number of them.
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Essex Crystals: A Essex Crystal is a cabochon of rock crystal or glass carved on the back (flat) side and painted to produce a 3-D effect to the subject. The carving was often backed with mother of pearl. These are also considered to be reverse intaglio crystals.
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Fur Clips:
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Gold:
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Gold Filled Jewelry:
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Insects: Insect jewelry could be made from actual insects or just simply feature insect motifs.
Hard insects like beetles could be treated like gemstones and prong set into jewelry. Scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae) are very common colorful beetles and were often used. Bright green metallic wood-boring beetles (Buprestidae) were and still are used for jewelry. Another very large family of beetles with many colorful members is the leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae).
Butterfly wings could be made into jewelry, usually set under glass. The most common butterfly wing to be made into jewelry is that of the Morpho butterfly of South America. These butterfly wings are an iridescent blue even after years because the wings are covered with prisms which continue to split up light even after death. These pieces are often purchased as a souvenir of a trip to Rio and are usually found in silver or silver tone. Thomas L. Mott of England made sterling real butterfly wing jewelry from the Victorian period into the 1920's. This sterling English butterfly wing jewelry exploded in popularity after 1924 when it was exhibited at the British Exposition. This jewelry is an example of the jeweler's creativity in using materials other than gemstones to make beautiful, colorful jewelry.
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Lockets:
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Lucite:
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Necklaces:
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Other Designer Pieces: Original by Robert - Beau Sterling - Shiebler - Krementz - Austria - Pennino - Silson - Hollycraft - Korda Thief of Bagdad - Ocean Treasures - Mazer - Wendy Gell - Kalo - Forstner - Kerr - Nettie Rosenstein
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Pendants:
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Pins - Including Sash Pins: SASH PINS - Sash pins were large heavy pins with thick pin stems from around 1890 through 1915. The fashion at this time was to wear a sash over the shoulder and across the chest (like Queen Victoria); or with the lighter Edwardian fashions, around the waist. These pins were used to secure the sash to the dress and were large and heavy to pin through multiple layers of cloth. They come in many styles and motifs.
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Rhinestone Jewelry:
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Rings:
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Silver and Sterling - Siam Sterling:
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Trifari:
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Vegetable Ivory: Vegetable Ivory is made from the tagua nut, the seed of a South American palm tree. It is very dense and can be carved like ivory. It is white when fresh but turns yellow with age. Victorian vegetable ivory is usually a characteristic light brown.
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Vulcanite Jewelry: Vulcanite is one of the earliest man-made plastics, patented about 1846. It was in heavy usage during the Civil War years. During this time period, massive jewelry was in vogue, and many woman were in mourning. Vulcanite, being plastic, was cheap and light while still being the mandatory mourning black. Vulcanite jewelry is never carved, but always molded, and smells like burning rubber when heated.
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Wooden Jewelry: