Panetta:  Beneditto Panetta was born in Naples, Italy where he had a small jewelry shop and  learned to craft fine platinum jewelry, but he emigrated to the U. S. in 1901 where he quickly found work as a platinum jeweler in New York City's active fine jewelry trade. Panetta became a designer and model maker at Trifari, one of the pioneers of American costume jewelry manufacture. When Trifari moved from New York City to Providence, RI, he decided to stay in New York and simply switch employers to work for the jewelry maker Pennino Brothers. He founded the costume jewelry company bearing his name in New York City in November, 1945. There was a slogan associated with Panetta jewelry that "if it didn't look 'real', it went back to the drawing board," and it's true that the company certainly went to great lengths to craft very exact replicas of the best fine jewelry. They used very fine materials and limited production, so their prices were high even in their original sale. Panetta was able to apply many of his skills working with platinum to working with white metal forming the base metalwork in costume jewelry to create incredibly realistic effects. They made a wide variety of styles, ranging from figural pins and accessories to their most avidly collected rhinestone pieces produced during the Art Deco period. (Reference Source: Costume Jewelers: The Golden Age of Design @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Pell:   Four brothers- Joseph, Anthony, Alfred, and William Gaita- founded The Pell Jewelry Company  in 1941. The company makes a wide variety of rhinestone earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and brooches, and they have done specialized commissions for many firms such as Disney for use in their multimedia productions and the tiaras for the winner of the Miss America beauty contest. (Reference Source: Modernist Jewelry 1930-1960: The Wearable Art Movement @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Pennino:  Orest  Pennino founded the Pennino Jewelry Company in 1927 in New York City, making high end watch cases and fine costume jewelry using Austrian crystals mounted in 14k gold plate or in sterling silver. Pennino jewelry is usually marked "Pennino" in script. The company was also known for fine workmanship, employing many of the new Italian émigrés to the United States, and they continued in operation and deftly navigated the many style changes in the consumer market all the way until 1961. (Reference Source: Fabulous Costume Jewelry: History of Fantasy and Fashion in Jewels @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Polcini:  Master goldsmith Ralph Polcin founded the company bearing his name in 1911, operating the company until his death. After his death, his children took over the company and renamed it Polcini. Polcini designs were both traditional and conservative and of very good quality, and they produced a popular line made with reconstituted opal. (Reference Source: Fifty Years of Collectible  Fashion Jewelry: 1925-1975 @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Reja:  What later became known as the Reja Jewelry Co. was founded by Sol Finkelstein in 1939, largely a boutique manufacturer of costume jewelry who sold through smaller gift shops and jewelry stores. While this company was founded as Deja Costume Jewelry Inc., they soon changed their name  to Reja as a result of a legal dispute with DuJay, Inc. over trademark infringement. Reja jewelry is usually marked with an impressed "Reja" but is quite scarce relative to many of the other early- and mid-20th century American costume jewelry manufacturers. Reja ceased ongoing operations in 1962. (Reference Source: A Century of Jewelry: Classy, Flashy, And Trashy! @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Renoir:   Renoir was best known for their uniquely shaped solid copper jewelry. Growing out of the American Arts & Crafts movement, copper was a popular choice for early 20th century metalworkers active in the Arts & Crafts design. Renoir was founded in Los Angeles, California in 1946 by Jerry Fels, and from the outset he took the company in the direction of contemporary abstract designs evocative of modern art just coming on the scene. Recreating the look of hand-hammered copper as their material of choice, Renoir has always made a nice change from the more typical costume jewelry using rhinestones as the key material. The Fels family also founded another important name in 20th century costume jewelry, Matisse, Ltd. Matisse also created fine copper jewelry but added enamel decoration to the surface and taking the jewelry in new directions. Both Renoir and Matisse ceased ongoing operations in 1964. (Reference Source: Fabulous Costume Jewelry: History of Fantasy and Fashion in Jewels @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Richards, W.E. Company:  Still in business today, the W. E. Richards Company was founded in the 1902 in North Attleboro, MA. Their jewelry is usually marked  "wRe" and since 1936 has been marketed under the registered trademark name Symmetalic. Symmetalic jewelry is usually made of sterling silver with 14k gold overlay, and most of their pieces reflect period Art Deco design as well as some accessories harking  back to the Edwardian and Victorian eras. Richards' sterling silver vermeil jewelry includes fine quality materials like cultured pearls and Austrian aurora borealis crystals, and they also made 10k gold accessories like brooches, rings, scarf and hat pens, and pendants. (Reference Source: Fabulous Fakes: A Passion for Vintage @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Rosenstein, Nettie:  Nettie Rosencrans was born in Austria, changing her name to Rosenstein following her 1927 emigration with her family to New York City. She soon found work in the New York garment industry, but her imagination and drive led her into the world of couture fashion and subsequently into high quality women's fashion accessories. Many of her most popular and avidly collected designs were produced during the 1930s Art Deco period, usually combinations of sterling silver and intricate enameling. She stopped doing couture fashion in 1961 to focus exclusively on the jewelry and accessories business, but the company ceased ongoing operations in 1964. (Reference Source: Modernist Jewelry 1930-1960: The Wearable Art Movement @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

S.A.L.:  Always a top supplier of rhinestones and crystals to the American costume jewelry manufacturers, Swarovski also established their own line and American subsidiary Swarovski America, Ltd. The "S.A.L". mark was used on their jewelry until 1989 when the company switched to a new swan logo and changed their name to Swarovski Consumer Goods, Ltd. when the company's jewelry and gift shop businesses were merged. (Reference Source: Costume Jewelers: The Golden Age of Design @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Saint Laurent, Yves:  Designer Yves Saint Laurent was born in Algeria in 1936, the child of French expatriates. Drawn to design and the arts at a very early age, he apprenticed with the House of Dior in 1954 when only 18 years old. Following the death of Christian Dior in 1957, the young Yves Saint Laurent took over one of the most prestigious of the French fashion houses. His early collections were noted for their extreme, maverick quality. He opened his own Paris house in 1961 after leaving Christian Dior, and first YSL couture clothing collection was introduced in 1962 in Paris, France featuring the “chic beatnik” look. In 1965, YSL Enterprises was purchased by Lanvin-Charles, and Saint Laurent turned his attention to ready-to-wear fashion and accessories by opening the first YSL / Rive Gauche boutique store in Paris in 1966. YSL and Rive Gauche expanded rapidly in many different parts of the world, introducing jewelry to the line in the early 1970's. By 1974, his design empire included jewelry, sweaters, neckties, eyeglass cases, linens, children's clothes, and fragrances. Over the years, Yves Saint Laurent referred to a number of other designers he claimed as influences of his own style, most frequently Schiaparelli in jewelry design and the House of Chanel and Christian Dior for his clothing lines. (Reference Source: Fabulous Costume Jewelry: History of Fantasy and Fashion in Jewels @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Sandor:  Founded by Sandor Goldberger in 1938, Sandor jewelry was best known for his floral designs done in sterling silver and enamel, but they also produced figural pieces that are actively collected. For the most part, Sandor jewelry was marked "Sandor" although in the years 1939 and 1940 it was marked "Sandor Goldberger". The company ceased ongoing operations in 1972. (Reference Source: Fifty Years of Collectible  Fashion Jewelry: 1925-1975 @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Schiaparelli:  Elsa Schiaparelli was born in Rome, Italy in 1890, drawn to the arts and design at an early age and establishing her first couture fashion house in Paris where she was both a contemporary and competitor to Coco Chanel. With the coming onset of World War II, Schiaperelli left France in 1940 and sailed for the U. S. where she immediately put in place her own fashion operation based in 1949 in New York. A daring, flamboyant fashion innovator, she popularized brilliant colors, especially shocking pink. She was the first to use synthetic fabrics and zipper fastenings and the first to open a boutique offering ready-to-wear clothing. Schiaparelli closed the French fashion house in 1954, and focused on the U. S. operation and her fine costume jewelry. Schiaparelli was well known inside the industry for her talent and innovation as a designer, but she was also a very astute business woman in the same vein as Miriam Haskell and Hattie Carnegie. Some of her best known and most avidly collected designs are whimsical pieces she designed with circus themes, signs of the zodiac, and surrealistic jewelry inspired by the surrealist art of Salvador Dali. Schiaparelli costume jewelry is usually quite colorful, using multi-colored rhinestones in often striking designs. (Reference Source: Masterpieces of Costume Jewelry @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Schreiner:  German émigré Henry Schreiner sailed to the United States in 1923 from Bavaria, where he had worked as a blacksmith. Upon his arrival in New York City, Henry got a job at the Con Edison electric utility and later worked at a bakery and in 1927 at the Better Shoe Buckle Company. Henry gravitated to the arts from an early age, and he combined a strong artistic sense with the technique of a craftsman. The Schreiner Company was established in 1951 to make fine costume jewelry, with Henry joined in the business by his daughter Terry and her husband, Ambros Albert. Schreiner jewelry was very colorful, with multicolored Czechoslovakian rhinestones used in a variety of ways, sometimes inverted and set upside down and sometimes unfoiled. Their production was always rather small, and all of it was hand made. Henry Schreiner died in 1954, but the business continued to operate under the direction of Terry and Ambros until 1975 making designs from the original molds. (Reference Source: A Century of Jewelry: Classy, Flashy, And Trashy! @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Staret:  Founded in 1941 in Chicago, IL, Staret costume jewelry is typically colorful and elaborate in design, what collectors sometimes refer to as "fun" jewelry. The quality is typically very high and reminiscent of Eisenberg in design and materials. Staret jewelry is usually marked "Staret" impressed in the metal. (Reference Source: Fabulous Costume Jewelry: History of Fantasy and Fashion in Jewels @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Trifari:  Luigi Trifari was a top goldsmith in the mid-1800s in his native Naples, Italy where he had a small but successful workshop. Gustavo Trifari, Luigi's grandson, was born in Naple sin 1883 and learned the goldsmith's craft from his grandfather. In 1904, Gustavo emigrated to America and found work as  jewelry designer in New York City. In 1910, he partnered with his uncle and founded his first firm Trifari & Trifari to produce high quality costume jewelry. Two year hence, Gustavo went on his own and formed Trifari which he operated as owner and designer until 1917 when Leo Krussman joined the company as sales manager. The company Trifari and Krussman was incorporated in 1918, and after top salesman Carl Fishel joins the company in 1923 the name is changed to Trifari, Krussman, and Fishel. The 1930s were a period of outstanding production for Trifari with Alfred Phillipe as their lead designer, formerly of Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. Under his imaginative leadership and with runaway successes such as the 1941 "crown" pin, Trifari grew to become the second largest U. S. manufacturer of costume jewelry behind only Coro. Trifari leveraged the services of many popular designers including Jean Paris (1958-1965), Andre Boeut (1967-1979), and Diane Love (1971-1974), and Alfred Phillipe stayed with the company until 1968. With these diverse design contributions, Trifari produced an incredibly wide array of styles at all different price levels, but they all enjoy the excellent craftsmanship which Gustavo learned from his grandfather. Most Trifari pieces are marked with a crown above the "T", or in variations "TKF" or "Trifari, Krussman & Fishel". (Reference Source: Masterpieces of Costume Jewelry @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Van Dell:  The Van Dell company was founded in Providence, RI in 1943 during the years of World Wr II. Van Dell manufactured finer quality sterling silver and gold plated costume jewelry incorporating beads, Austrian crystals, cultured and some of the industry's most realistic copies of fine gemstones and pearls. The company is still in operation today. (Reference Source: Modernist Jewelry 1930-1960: The Wearable Art Movement @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Vendome:  Building upon the success of Corocraft as their high quality line of costume jewelry, Coro first introduced the Vendome mark in 1944 and introduced the full Vendome line in 1953 as its successor to the high end market for more expensive reproduction jewelry. Vendome branded jewelry is made of the finest Austrian and Czechoslovakian rhinestones, faceted crystal beads, and pearls, and decorative enameling and ornamentation, some even designed with moving parts. In the 1960s, Vendome was particularly popular at least in part due to the innovative designs of Vendome lead designer Helen Marion. (Reference Source: Fifty Years of Collectible  Fashion Jewelry: 1925-1975 @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Vogue:  The "Vogue" trademark first originated with the Park Importing Company of New York City, first used in 1915 on their beaded and faux pearl costume jewelry. However, the company Vogue Jewelry was founded in 1936 by Harold Shapiro and two partners Jack Gilbert and George Grant. One of Harold's sons, Bernard Shapiro, went on to found Les Bernard in 1963 along with master craftsman Lester Joy, thus creating the name Les Bernard. After Harold Shapiro's departure from Vogue in 1961, the company continued to operate until ceasing operations in 1973. (Reference Source: Fabulous Costume Jewelry: History of Fantasy and Fashion in Jewels @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Warner:  Joseph Warner founded the company by his name in 1953 and continued production until 1971. Warner was particularly known for their japanned costume jewelry, wherein the metalwork was blackened through the process. Higher quality rhinestones and other materials were individually set into this metal backing, giving Warner jewelry a unique design contrasting with the other more polished pieces on the market during the period. (Reference Source: Fabulous Fakes: A Passion for Vintage @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Weiss:  Albert Weiss, a former employee of the Coro Jewelry Company, founded Weiss in New York City in 1942. Weiss was known for the very high quality and clarity of their costume jewelry, manufactured with Austrian rhinestones. They produced mainly traditional designs including some figural, floral, and animal jewelry, and among the most avidly collected are the Weiss butterfly and insect pins of the 1950s. They also produced a reproduction of German smoky quartz crystals that they called "black diamond jewelry." After Albert Weiss died, his son Michael assumed the leadership of the company and continued to operate it until finally ceasing operations in 1971. Some Weiss jewelry was outsourced to the Hollywood Jewelry Company and marketed under the Weiss name and trademark. Most Weiss jewelry is marked with "Weiss" in either block letters or script, and they also used "Albert Weiss" and "AW Co." with the "W" in the shape of a crown which was often found on tags and used after 1950. (Reference Source: Masterpieces of Costume Jewelry @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)

Whiting & Davis:  The Whiting & Davis Company is best known for making mesh chains and mesh purses, but they also introduced a popular and successful jewelry line. Founder C. W. Whiting worked for a local chain manufacturing company which had been founded in 1876 by William Wade and Edward P. Davis. The company began making fashion accessories to complement their other offerings, and they became quite well known for their silver and gold mesh handbags and purse accessories. As Whiting's  talents and expertise grew, he soon became a partner and owner in the business in 1907. When the company introduced their jewelry line, they utilized their technical expertise making mesh to create typically sterling silver or silver plated metalwork as the foundation for their pieces. In contrast to most costume jewelry of the day, Whiting & Davis introduced applied transfer porcelain jewelry and cameos as well as a line of iridescent glass jewelry. Whiting and Davis created many original designs, but they also did reproduction copies of museum pieces in the 1950s that also proved popular with the public and now with collectors. Whiting & Davis still produces mesh purses and accessories in Attleboro, Massachusetts, but they stopped making jewelry in 1983. Whiting & Davis jewelry is typically impressed "Whiting & Davis" in the metal, sometimes within a cartouche. (Reference Source: Costume Jewelers: The Golden Age of Design @ the Collectics Collector Bookstore)