Holly Jolly Holiday Jewelry
By Pamela Wiggins Siegel
…And not a single Christmas tree in the bunch.
What? No glittery rhinestone Christmas tree pins for the holidays? I know you love all those vintage beauties, and I do, too. But when it comes to the volumes written about Christmas jewelry, other equally fun designs meant to be worn during the holiday season often get left out in the winter cold.
This month, I’m giving them some love, focusing solely on Christmas jewelry that deserves a little more attention, if I do say so myself. In the process, I’ll share some of my all-time favorite brands and designers with you. My hope is to inspire you to hunt down a few pieces for your own jewelry wardrobe—or someone on your nice list—to make this the most festive season ever for you and yours.
Santa Claus Favorites
While I love it all, when it comes to ardent Christmas jewelry collecting, my heart belongs to Santa Claus. I mentioned some of my Santa collection in a prior feature on Bettina von Walhof and her daughter Michelle. They made some smashing interpretations of Santa created with rhinestones, and many were based on vintage holiday decorations of yesteryear. They’re so expressive you can’t help but smile when looking at them. These date to the late 1990s and early 2000s, so they’re now vintage in their own right. You won’t run across them often, but they’re worth a splurge when you do.
B&M von Walhof Santa brooch with articulated
rhinestone beard, late 1990s, $225-$275.
I’ve also collected quite a few vintage Santa pins from the 1960s. Most of these are much smaller than the von Walhof designs, but some of them are still very clever. One favorite was made by Hollycraft, a company known for producing oodles of Christmas tree designs. This particular Santa is triangular like a tree, in fact, so he has a Modernist flare about him. The company made other more traditional-looking Santa pins, too, but this one is their best work, in my humble opinion.
Hollycraft mod Santa pin, 1960s, $75-$100.
Snowmen That Last
One of Santa’s biggest rivals is the snowman when it comes to Christmas jewelry. Even though we’ve enjoyed “Frosty the Snowman” on television since 1969 and in song since 1950, jewelry portraying these cute guys wasn’t all that common back then other than a few plastic novelty pins. By the time the ’80s and ’90s rolled around and collecting Christmas jewelry was in full swing, more and more snowmen entered the marketplace.
One of the companies that made some really cute and clever snowman jewelry is Lunch at the Ritz (LATR), a business that got its start in 1982. What makes this company’s snowmen so special is that many of them have articulated elements, so they move with the wearer. Others have a proliferation of dangling charms, like their over-the-top earrings that look like a ready-made party for the ear. They do have rhinestone accents but are mainly crafted of enameled metal. LATR was sold in boutiques and resort gift shops in its heyday, so these pieces were somewhat plentiful and moderately priced.
Kirk’s Folly snowman, c. 2010, $35-$55.
I also like the snowmen designs marketed by Kirk’s Folly. Since these were mass-produced and sold through QVC, there are many styles available. Some of these also have enameled elements that are layered to give them dimension; others have bodies encrusted with clear rhinestones. The best part about these is the something-for-everyone price points and because they were sold in larger quantities, they’re easier to find than several other brands of holiday jewelry. Before I move along from Kirk’s Folly, I’ll mention that they did produce a very cool limited edition Santa face brooch, too, that’s worth watching out for.
Other Shiny Baubles
As a collector, I’ve found myself being drawn to the unusual over the years—making a personal statement with jewelry has always been important to me. When I discovered Dorothy Bauer’s rhinestone designs back in the mid-1990s, they perfectly captured my longing for the adornment with flair. The first pieces were actually marketed under the brand “Piece of the Rainbow” beginning in 1982 and then the mark changed to “Bauer” in the 1990s. My favorite Bauer designs are ones that feature rhinestone Christmas lights, but there have been many others that caught my attention including saguaro cactuses decorated for the holidays and charm bracelets with holiday motifs. And, yes, her company made Santa pins, too, and I have one of them in my ho-ho-holiday stash.
Bauer window with Christmas lights brooch, early 2000s, $50-$75.
Heidi Daus is another brand sold on television (HSN) that markets some very pretty rhinestone Christmas jewelry. Many of the pieces look like they could be vintage, but they’re usually larger in size than Christmas jewelry dating to the 1960s. Of course, that’s one of the things I personally like about Heidi Daus jewelry since I want statement-making pieces in my collection. From poinsettias to reindeer and wreaths to ornaments, there’s no shortage of sparkling treasures to collect at a variety of price points.
And a Partridge in a Pear Tree
We’re getting into tree territory here, but not traditional Christmas greenery. Just like the “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” we’re ending our holiday jewelry journey with a partridge in a pear tree (yes, I was singing to myself when I wrote that). I’ll start by mentioning one of the most expensive in the costume jewelry realm: Trifari’s partridge in a pear tree pin. They come on the market from time to time and sell in the $125 to $200 range.
Now, if you want a partridge in a pear tree pin and don’t want to spend that much, don’t worry. There are many more affordable options you can find a lot easier, and they sell for $25-50. Some of my favorites are marked Cadoro and Original by Robert, but lots of other companies produced these as well. And just for the record, a bird in a Christmas tree doesn’t qualify as far as I’m concerned. I want at least one pear in the tree to make it official.
Cadoro partridge in a pear tree pin, 1960s, $40-$60.
Of course, there are many more options for all the different types of Christmas jewelry you can don once you start shopping around. What you pick up doesn’t have to be pricey to bring some whimsy to your holiday wardrobe either. Look for bargains marked Mylu, ART, JJ, and even unmarked pieces. Some of my favorite little Santa pins are sassy, unsigned, enameled examples that are cute and can be worn together in Christmasy clusters.
PAMELA WIGGINS SIEGEL has been buying, selling, and collecting costume jewelry for more than 30 years. She is the author of Warman’s Costume Jewelry and the co-founder of Costume Jewelry Collectors Int’l, an organization dedicated to hosting events and providing educational resources for collectors. Visit her online at www.chicantiques.com and www.cjci.co.
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