Thursday, November 30, 2017

Juliana Christmas Jewelry Rarest of the Rare

So right now you are probably thinking why is she saying Juliana Christmas brooches are the rarest of the rare.  I see Christmas brooches listed as Juliana (D and E) all the time.  Well they are not Juliana (D and E). Many people think that since Juliana made so much jewelry over so many different years there must be tons of Christmas brooches of theirs running around.  Well there is not and here is why.


From Mr DeLizza's book on page 70 in the chapter dealing with the 1964-1966 period he states and I quote: "We made a group of Christmas pins - something we did not regularly do - but I had picked up a new customer from a friend of mine, at 225 Firth Avenue, the gift building."  

The first three brooches shown here are the Juliana (D and E) Christmas brooches that had been found at the time my book was published.  Since that time one more Christmas brooch has been found (the double bell) and we are still on the hunt for the last one, the double candle).  We knew what Christmas brooches there were we just needed to find them.  Unfortunately I can't take credit for finding any of them first.

The colors on all the brooches are the same it just looks different as the photos were taken by different photographers.

These Christmas brooches have actually been very easy to identify as for sure being Juliana once found.  All have the traits we look for in Juliana Jewelry.

The wreath has a square wire wrap over holding the candle and also the candle stem is made of figure 8's.  

The bells also have square wire hangers for the crystal beads.  


The Christmas tree has a cast stem.

The holly leaf also has the cast stem.

For those who are wondering why do I consider this cast stem a Juliana trait, note it is a certain design of the cast stem that is the Juliana trait.  In Mr DeLizza's book on page 31 he stated and I quote" "Father also had Tony Catoni, our model-Maker, make us strips of 18pp castings".

I hope this Christmas blog has helped to clear up the idea that there are tons of Juliana (D and E) Christmas brooches out there.  There are not.  Now there are items that are done in Christmas type colors but they are not specifically Christmas themed in design.

Next week we will talk about Juliana Cameo's.  You may think you know their cameo's but there are many more designs than you realize.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

The Unusual - Juliana Cut Metal and Tubing Jewelry

Buy Now - Juliana Cross Necklace
Our Unusual topic of the day is the jewelry Juliana (D and E) made with cut metal and tubing.  They used this cut tubing in so many different ways.  In his book Mr DeLizza says on page 92 and I quote: They had a great selection of tubes and squares they they would cut either straight slices or on a bias. This chapter dates the start of these designs to 1970.

Buy Now - Hot Balloon Necklace
  This first example is a new find.  It is a faux turquoise cabochon cross with cut tubing inside the cross frame. The frame is made of cut squares.

My next item uses cut tubing along with ball chain.  Ball chain is something Juliana used all the time and I will have a later training blog on that. You can see this necklace uses oval cut tubing where the previous one used round.  I have showed a close up of the necklace so you can really see the tubing.
Red Cabochon Curved Tubing Set

Juliana did not only use the tubing in little cut sections.  They used long curved sections of it as well. The red necklace shows long curved sections of tubing and they ran the necklace chain though the tubing.  They did many different variation on this design.  However not all tubing with chain though are Juliana as others saw and used this same idea.

Patriotic Cut Metal Pendant
Buy Now - Topaz Flower Pendant
Another cut metal design is this great pendant that used cut metal that is ridged.  It makes for a very unique and wonderful look.

Here is another example with long oval tubing cut at a bias.  It has rhinestones set in between to make a sort of flower look.

Buy Now - Circle Bracelet
My final example is a bracelet that they also made a matching brooch and probably other pieces as well. So far I have only found the brooch and the bracelet  It makes for a very unusual bracelet for Juliana.  Notice the different sizes of cut metal and tubing accented with clear rhinestones. 

Next week will take a break for a while from "The Unusual" and talk about figurals.  Next week will be the Juliana Christmas figurals as those are the brooches that are some of the most wrongly identified pieces out there.



Thursday, November 16, 2017

The Unusual - Juliana Charms



Buy Now Fox Hunting Earrings
I have decided to approach this blog post slightly differently than the previous ones.  This change for this week is due to the fabulous pair of Juliana earrings I found today that I want to share and also that totally tie in with our topic of the day.  You say what am I talking about, well I am talking about these huge 4 inch long Fox Hunting Charm earrings shown here on the left. 


Fox Hunting Bracelet and Necklace
Now you are probably saying is she crazy.  Why does she think those earrings are Juliana,  I would never have pegged them as Juliana.  Well that is where the fun from this "unusual" topic comes in.  Yes Juliana did make fabulous charm jewelry and this blog post will show just a taste of them.

First here is the Fox Hunting necklace and bracelet that goes with the featured earrings.  According to Mr DeLizza's book pictured on page 149 this design was made for Dottie Smith (and probably sold to others) and dates to 1985.
Buy Now - Charm Necklace

Next is the Charm Necklace that was made several different ways.  It was made as shown her both in gold tone and silver tone.  It was also made with a variation in some of the charms including the center charm which was switched for a larger heart shaped rhinestone one and sold to Les Bernard.  The large center heart charm was signed for Les Bernard.  There is also a bracelet for this design and several different types of earrings.  This design is also pictured in Mr DeLizza's book and dates to 1989.
Starfish and Bead Charm Necklace

The next necklace is a wowzer.  It is the starfish and beads charm necklace.  Many of the starfish are plastic as are the beads, so it is pretty light weight for such a large necklace.  It is also pictured in Mr DeLizza's book on page 140 and dates to 1979.


Carol Dauplaise Cord Charm Necklace
Now we continue on into this wonderful charm necklace made for Carol Dauplaise and sold in different variation also not signed. (pictured at right)  It has asian style coins, leaves and other charms.  It is done on a twisted cord that was also done in other colors.
Buy Now - Mayan Earrings

Now we will talk about the Mayan charm necklace that I have also just found the matching earrings for.   This necklace dates to 1979 and is pictured in Mr DeLizza's book on page 140.  Here are the matching earrings as I don't currently have the necklace to show you.

I have hardly scratched the surface of all the charm style designs Juliana did and this blog post could go on for pages and pages.  However I feel I have given you enough to realize the scope of their designs.  There are many asian style charm designs not shown as well as many others.  Many of them can be found in my book and also in my free database of confirmed Juliana Jewelry at  Is It Juliana Jewelry Database.

Next week we will talk about the cut tubing designs that Juliana (D and E) made.


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Thursday, November 9, 2017

The Unusual - Juliana (D and E) Strung Bead Jewelry


Yellow Beaded Pendant Necklace
Metal Roses, leaves and rhinestones
The topic of the day is the strung bead jewelry that Juliana (D and E) did in the 1970s and 1980s.  The rose flower with leaves set dates to 1989 which is the very end of when Juliana Jewelry was made.  It is done with rhinestones, beads and metal accents.  It features a new cuff style bracelet.
Buy Now - Pink Wood Bead Rhinestone Bow Necklace

The yellow necklace dates to 1973.  This design was done in many many different colors including (cream, pink, yellow, and blue).  Many of which can be seen in my book.

KJL Beaded Choker and Earrings
The coral colored necklace and earrings is signed for KJL and is a 3 stranded choker or dog collar style.  I do not have an exact date on it.

The pink wood bead necklace with the gorgeous large rhinestone center bow with dangles is a mid 1980s design and is found in other colors.

Les Bernard Pearl with large pendant
The pearl necklace with the large center colorful pendant was made for Les Bernard and has multiple strands of faux pearls done torsade style with a large center mogul style pendant.  I also do not have an exact date for this design.
Beads cast circles necklace

Next is a beaded necklace that has a large double circle cast pendant in the center.  Again I do not have an exact time frame for this necklace but I think it was the early to mid 1970s.


Cast Sea Shell Beaded Necklace
The last necklace is bead with cast and painted sea shells and dates to the early 1980s.

As you can see from all these designs Juliana (D and E) used stringing for close to 20 years.  So when you think Juliana (D and E) don't only think rhinestone chaining. 

Next week I will be talking about the charm style necklaces that Juliana (D and E) made.




Thursday, November 2, 2017

The Unusual - Juliana (D and E) Epoxy Jewelry



Stained Glass Pendant
The topic of the day is the epoxy work that Juliana (D and E) did.  This is talked about in Mr DeLizza's book in the 1971-1973 Chapter.  In this chapter he says and I quote: "I also hired a new young designer, Alma Davis, to try and breath some new life into a waning business.  She was suppose to be good with enamel and epoxy.  We bought a baking oven to dry the epoxy.  She worked with the girls in the finishing department and taught them how to dry the epoxy.  She worked with the girls in the finishing department and taught them how to mix the epoxy and pour it into the jewelry and put it into the drying oven.  We made quite a few epoxy pieces that she laid out in sketches and Harry made the necessary models for them."
Epoxy and Plastic Cabochon Butterfly


Big Apple Pendant Necklace
Also in this chapter Mr DeLizza says and I quote: "Harry made models for butterflies which Alma could put epoxy in, with high domed stone for accent." This is speaking of the butterfly on the left.  It was done in many different colors.

Also in this same chapter Mr DeLizza's says and I quote: "At that time the city of New York came up with the name 'Big Apple' for the city.  Apples were everywhere; they became a part of all designs, clothing, and jewelry.  So, of course, we had to come up with a big apple buckle and a big apple pendant.  Alma sketched out a big apple design and Harry made the castings for the epoxy."  The pendant talked about is show here on the right.
Epoxy dots Butterfly brooch/pendant


Kaleidoscope Pendant Page 121
This chapter is just so full of information on the epoxy pieces.  Another quote from that chapter is:"She took our big butterfly and instead of stones put in epoxy dots.

Another design was called the Kaleidoscope pendant and pictured in Mr DeLizza's book on pge 121 and also pictured here.


Epoxy and Plastic Cabochon Pendant

Stained Glass Earrings
There were so many different designs done with this epoxy work that it is impossible to show even a fraction of them.  There are many more shown in my book as well as shown and talked about in Mr DeLizza's book.
Epoxy Abstract Pendant

Next week we will continue with our "Unusual" topic and talk about the strung bead designs that Juliana did.
Epoxy butterfly