Recommendations of the Editorial team
Since the beginning of the 20th century, costume jewelry has been an expression of luxury for everyone. Affordable, versatile and accessible to broad sections of society. Patrizia Sandretto’s Re Rebaudengo collection shows the range that this type of jewelry has developed over decades.
At a time when Europe was torn by war, numerous artisans found a new home in New York. Their expertise made the city the center of costume jewelry in the 1920s and 1930s. There they founded ateliers that led brands like Trifari and Coro to global significance.
Materials such as Lucite or Bakelite shaped a new aesthetic that clearly differentiated itself from traditional, “real” jewelry and at the same time challenged it artistically. Costume jewelry became a wearable art form. A medium of self-determination and a visual statement for a generation.
A look into the history of democratic luxury
A new illustrated book documents this development. Texts by Carol Woolton and Maria Luisa Frisa accompany the approximately 600 exhibits, which range from the 1930s to the new millennium. Costume jewelry offered women new freedoms early on. Accessories as an expression of individuality, beyond financial hurdles. Stars used it as a stylistic device, designers as a field for experimentation and subcultures as an identity-forming symbol.
- Costume Jewelry
- Hardcover, 26.9 x 33.6 cm, 4.49 kg, 528 pages
- EUR 100
- bags.com
Book presentation
“Costume Jewelry” will be presented by the editor and two jewelry experts: Petra Lamers-Schütze, Regina Herbst and Philipp Demeter will talk about the creation of the book “Costume Jewelry” at the Dorotheum Vienna (Dorotheergasse 17, 1010 Vienna) on December 3rd at 12.30 p.m. The host is Martin Böhm.