Bogoff Jewelry

Being a resident of the Chicago area, I tend to find a lot of jewelry that has a signature of "BOGOFF." It's always beautiful jewelry with an incredible presence.

Not knowing much on the company, and being curious in nature, I figured I'd do some research on them and share it here.

This post is merely a compilation of information that I have found in books and online. There are some far more in depth articles out there. See the bottom of this post for links.

Bogoff jewelry that I have found usually has a style and construction that consists of silver or rhodium plated pieces, paste set rhinestones, and either clip or screw-back earrings.  The majority of the pieces that I find are made with clear rhinestones, though I have seen pieces with pale blue in person, and have found pieces with other colors online.

Though the rhinestones are paste set, which in many circles is a code word for "cheaply made," the pieces from Bogoff are consistently high quality pieces with gorgeous design. 

Bogoff Up Ear Earrings by Pink Astilbe Vintage at Etsy

According to the book Collecting Costume Jewelry 101 by Julia C. Carroll, the company was founded in Chicago by Henry and Yvette Bogoff. "In the latter part of the 1920s this company produced accessories, including rhinestone buttons. In 1946, Henry began to design and manufacture rhinestone jewelry." (page 112)

The Bogoff company name is often connected online and in books with "Spear Novelty Company" in Chicago. However, Carroll points out in her Collecting Costume Jewelry 202 book that "the 1955 Jewelrs' Buyers Guide lists the company as Jewels by Bogoff located in Chicago, Illinois, with no mention of Spear Novelty." (page 151)

Various sites around the internet and in several books have varying dates for the end of the company, with the majority of sites claiming that the company closed in the late 1950s, though one claims the company was producing jewelry all the way until the 1970s. 

Bogoff Necklace by Pink Astilbe at Etsy

Perhaps the best website with comprehensive information about Bogoff Jewelry is Illusion Jewels, who managed to get an interview with Henry and Yvette Bogoff's son. It is well worth the read for the information as well as the pictures.

Other great images of Bogoff Jewelry can be found at Morning Glory Antiques. There they have a fantastic collection of vintage jewelry advertisements for Bogoff jewelry.

Cerrito Jewelry

I have come across only three pieces of jewelry made by a company called CERRITO. 

One was this lovely rose brooch:

Another was this Orchid brooch:

And a third was a gorgeous Dogwood blossom brooch that I gave directly to my mother and didn't take a picture of. (Pity)

According to the Illusion Jewels website, the ©Cerrito signature is for Cerrito Jewelry Limited, Inc out of Johnston, Rhode Island, and they started production in the late 1970s. The above mentioned orchid brooch is also stamped with a year (1982). 

There really is not a whole lot of information out there about Cerrito jewelry. What I have found is that Cerrito still makes jewelry and still exists. (Some business websites list their trademark as "active" while others list it as "inactive.") Although I have not seen any Cerrito jewelry advertised for sale here in the U.S, there was an old New York Times article from April 16, 1989 that discusses a trade organzation founded by "John Cerrito, president of Cerrito Jewelry Ltd." whose purpose was to cultivate foreign business.

Regardless of their current status, the jewelry that I have come across has been well made, and very realistic. The dogwood blossom brooch was so lifelike, I expected it to blow away in the breeze! (You'll have to trust me on this, as again, I didn't get pictures of it.)  The orchid brooch above also looks exactly like a Cymbidium Orchid! 



Photo from Fiftyflowers.com

I just wish that I had more information about the company, their history, and their inspiration!


Websites used as resources for this post:

IllusionJewels

New York Times

You're asking me???

I still consider myself a vintage jewelry newbie.  I have loads of questions about designers, construction, identifying pieces, pricing, and other topics. Sometimes I worry that I make myself a right pest when I'm chatting with members of the EcoChic team on Etsy.

But recently, I was asked by one of my supervisors at work to look at some costume jewelry that her father had started buying at estate sales.  According to her, her dad had met someone who'd made "Loads and loads of money" buying jewelry cheap and then re-selling it. He had decided to start buying lots of jewelry at the ends of estate sales in the hopes that he'd have something good and make "Loads and loads of money." So Cath had brought in a box of her father's finds for me to look at.  "Is any of this any good?" she wondered.

I started to go through the pile. In the back of my mind, I was thinking "I don't really know a whole lot, I only know enough to be dangerous." But she asked for my help, and being a teacher by trade, I am always happy to share my knowledge.  Her dad didn't have anything spectacular, there were no unsigned Miriam Haskells or rare DeLizza & Elster Juliana Parures or anything. Pity. After I sorted out the pieces stamped "Chico's" and "Claire's" I took a hard look at what was left. 

Her father has a good eye: he had several gorgeous Lisner and Coro pieces with unusual Aurora Borealis, Ruby colored or Topaz stones, BUT they were missing more than half the stones or had other damage to the pieces! Everytime I saw one of these pieces missing the stones I groaned a little inside. I told her that unless her dad found someone who wanted the pieces for crafting, he wasn't going to get hardly any money for those pieces because they were missing stones and were broken.

For the remainder of the items, I wasn't sure how to start pricing them for her, so I told her the truth. "The only information I can give you is what I would price these things for MY store."  Most of the pieces that she had, I genuinely would price at about $10 or $12 a piece.  But there was one star piece in the whole pile. Her dad had found a B. David choker made with tiny perfect pink rhinestones. The rhodium plating was perfect, all the stones were bright and clear.  I told her honestly that I would price that choker at between $30 and $40 in my shop, and that if she was willing, I'd buy it off of her for a fair (agreed between the two of us) price.

She sold it to me, and then said that she was glad that I was willing to look at the jewelry and she'd probably have more from her dad in the future. I left work that day still stunned that someone had come to me looking for advice on costume jewelry. 

I still consider myself a vintage jewelry newbie, but I've come to realize that I'm like my students in many ways.  I always tell them, "You know more than you think you know. You've just got to trust yourself."  So now, I realized that I know more than I think I know, and I just have to trust myself.

I feel confident that the information I shared with her was correct, and that I was fair and honest in my dealings with her. There's not much more that you can ask of yourself.

I will still include that disclaimer when talking to people.  You know, the one that says "I am not a vintage jewelry expert!" But I'm farther along the path to vintage jewelry knowledge than other people are. 

Maker's Mark: G.L.P.

I'm planning to use this blog to share information that I find while researching marks and signatures on the back of vintage pieces.

One of the pieces that I picked up recently is an Amethyst brooch with the initials G.L.P on the back of the clasp.

It took a while for me to find any information, because this company was not very big, nor was it in business for very long, but here's what I found:

"The George L. Paine Company was founded in Attleboro, Massachusetts shortly after the turn of the twentieth century. They produced solid gold and gold filled pieces according to the book American Jewelry Manufactures by Dorothy Rainwater on page 184." (Item listing on Amazing Adornments)

"The George L. Paine Company of Attleboro, MA was in business from 1909-1922." (Item listing on Worthpoint)

And finally:

"G.L.P., or G.L.P.CO, is the hallmark for George L Paine & Company. Founded in 1909 in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, and last known in business in 1922. Their products were mostly solid gold, 10k gold front and gold-filled jewellery. Marks used on jewellery - G.L.P., G.L.P.CO, GLP, GLP CO." (Vintage Cove)

The first quote has given me a resource to check out from the library. It's on my request list from inter-library loan.  Once I get it, I'll try and put more information up on this company. 

Until then, you can check out the brooch at my Etsy store.  G.L.P Art Nouveau or Edwardian Amethyst Brooch