Vintage Filigree Jewelry
Q: I am a collector of vintage costume jewelry. I'm looking for
others who might like to discuss, share and sell/swap
information and pieces. My favorites are Haskell and Joseff.
Please respond directly to me or via this network.
A:I'm assuming you mean Joseff of Hollywood.
One of the booths in the Sampler Shoppes in Las Vegas has the largest
selection of Joseff of Hollywood jewelry I've ever seen. It can be
found some places in Los Angeles too. The issue with Joseff jewelry,
from what I understand, is that new pieces are being made today by the
company with old (never before used) findings. That makes it difficult
to know if a piece is a newly-crafted piece made of old material or a
genuine vintage piece. If you know a way around this dilemma, please
advise.
The aforementioned booth also sports a signed letter from Joan Castle
Joseff.
Haskell prices have gone through the roof on the West Coast, with some
dealers putting laughably high tags on their merchandise. We all
chuckled about one dealer whose avarice is well-known; he found a
Haskell necklace (a nice one with the gold filigree and lots of tiny
wired seed pearls, you know the type) and put $1,500 on it. Last I'd
heard he had reduced it to $900 but it still hasn't sold. (My feeling,
from watching auction results and price guides, is that it's a $250
retail value piece.)