Ciner Art Deco Style Swarovski Crystal Statement Earrings
About the Item
- Creator:Ciner (Jeweler)
- Dimensions:Height: 2.75 in (6.99 cm)Width: 1 in (2.54 cm)Depth: 0.63 in (1.61 cm)
- Style:Art Deco (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1980s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Ferndale, MI
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU848221770602
Ciner
What defines “fine” jewelry? For many aficionados, there’s a clear line separating the golden wheat from the gilded chaff. But the handcrafted pieces made by Ciner, a 128-year-old costume jewelry house with a glittering past to rival some of the hautest high jewelers, call into question our notions of what constitutes preciousness.
Quality? Craftsmanship? Painstaking detail? Vintage Ciner earrings, brooches, necklaces and other accessories have them all in spades.
Much of the Ciner’s allure can be traced to its origins in fine jewelry. Emanuel Ciner, an Austrian immigrant, founded the firm in Manhattan in 1892, crafting pieces from the traditional precious gems, gold and platinum. But World War I and the Great Depression caused purse strings to tighten and materials to become scarce. Rather than try to weather the economic downturn, which shuttered many other American jewelers, Ciner made the risky transition from fine jewelry to costume (or fashion) jewelry — virtually uncharted territory.
Emanuel Ciner’s sons, Irwin and Charles, introduced an array of innovations — rubber casting molds, which are especially durable and produce higher quality results, and white metal alloys, which affordably mimic the look of more precious materials — that would become the standard for costume jewelry. During World War II, Ciner’s advanced molding technology was utilized by the U.S. military to produce munitions and tools. This arrangement gave the firm access to the heavily rationed metals it needed for its jewels, enabling it again to endure conditions that drove others into bankruptcy.
The company hit its stride in the 1960s, when its jewelry was sold at some of the country’s toniest stores, even garnering an Andy Warhol–illustrated ad for Bonwit Teller. Its pieces were worn by the era’s brightest stars. In the famous 1957 Joe Shere photo of Sophia Loren sneering at Jayne Mansfield’s décolletage, Mansfield is resplendent in shoulder-grazing Ciner earrings.
Ciner is unique among costume jewelers in that its pieces aren’t imitations — they are coveted in their own right. Elizabeth Taylor, a voracious jewelry collector with a taste for the very finest, was a longtime client. Several suites of Ciner jewels were included in the 2011 Christie’s sale of Taylor’s collection, with one group of rhinestone-studded ear clips and a bracelet fetching $15,600 — more than 100 times the auction estimate. It’s a reminder of a time, not so long ago, when women of great style wore fine and costume jewelry with equal aplomb, often at the same time.
Today, Ciner — now run by Emanuel Ciner’s granddaughter Pat Ciner Hill and great-granddaughter Jean Hill — continues to adhere to the same exacting production specifications. It is the only jewelry house in New York, and likely the United States, that manufactures all its pieces entirely in-house. Each begins with dozens of elements that are cast in rubber molds and then individually filed and polished, plated in a particularly thick layer of 18-karat gold or rhodium, assembled on the bench and painted with enamel or set with stones. Every step is performed by hand by craftsmen, many of whom have been with the company for more than 30 years.
Find vintage Ciner clip-on earrings, choker necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Ferndale, MI
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Mills Novelty Art Deco Green Porcelain Penny ScaleBy Mills Novelty CompanyLocated in Ferndale, MIArt Deco period penny scale by Mills Novelty co. Period green porcelain pedestal with cream colored foot hold.Category
Vintage 1940s American Art Deco Scientific Instruments
MaterialsIron
- Large 1940s Magnesium Bodied Indianapolis style Tether Race CarLocated in Ferndale, MILarge 1940s magnesium bodied tether race car. Speed chief.Category
Vintage 1940s American Art Deco Models and Miniatures
MaterialsAluminum, Other
- Set of Eight Quartz Crystal Geode Geologic Specimen BowlsLocated in Ferndale, MIEight geological specimen bowls in varying sizes.Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier American Arts and Crafts Natural Specimens
MaterialsAgate
- Art Deco Era Flapper Style Cloche HatLocated in Ferndale, MIRetains Phil Strann originals label, California.Category
Mid-20th Century American Art Deco More Furniture and Collectibles
MaterialsFelt
- Huge JHQ Dansk Style Peppermill to End All Peppermills Restaurant Kitchen PropBy Jens Quistgaard, DanskLocated in Ferndale, MIPurchased from the family of historic Woodward avenue Detroit restaurant. Giant 29" teak peppermill. Possibly a Jens Quistgaard for Dansk promotional p...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Scientific Instruments
MaterialsTeak
- Donald Deskey Style Art Deco Machine Age Side TableBy Donald DeskeyLocated in Ferndale, MIFlat band steel with cylinder tell bases support solid maple top. Top has been restored base is in original patina finish.Category
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Side Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Art Deco StyleBy Assouline PublishingLocated in NEW YORK, NYAt the dawn of the twentieth century, the world yearned for a new design style that would embody contemporary culture. Efforts to create a design language suited to the needs and tastes of the modern world took shape during the first decades of the new century, crystallizing in Paris with the 1925 Exposition International des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes. The Art Deco period encompassed a multitude of decorative influences, including the updating of historical styles, the introduction of exotic elements and the adaptation of avant-garde art currents such as the geometric abstraction of Cubism. Not a single style or a unified movement, Art Deco is a design idiom that reflects a decorative approach to designing appealing consumer goods during the interwar period. Encompassing every discipline within the applied arts, Art Deco manifested itself to some extent everywhere around the world, perhaps the first design idiom ever to do so. Art Deco’s fundamental appeal lay in its decorative qualities, which consumers found attractive and glamorous. From skyscrapers, locomotives, automobiles and ocean liners to fashion, advertising and everyday home furnishings and appliances, Art Deco style...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Books
MaterialsOther
- Art Deco, Sterling Silver-Mounted Threaded Crystal Match StrikerLocated in New York, NYArt Deco, sterling silver-mounted threaded crystal match striker, London, year hallmarked for 1926. Measures almost 2 1/2 inches high x almost 2 3/4 inches diameter. Dark spots in ph...Category
Vintage 1920s English Art Deco Sterling Silver
MaterialsCrystal, Sterling Silver
- Swarovski Crystal Swan Brooch/ Pin, Signed and RetiredBy SwarovskiLocated in Plainview, NYA beautiful authentic Swarovski Swan shaped brooch or pin engraved with the Swarovski logo and 1895-1995. The silver tone pin/ brooch is entirely done with clear colored paddle sma...Category
20th Century Modern Collectible Jewelry
MaterialsCrystal
- Large, Art Deco, Sterling Silver-Mounted Threaded Crystal Match StrikerBy Henry Perkins & SonsLocated in New York, NYLarge, Art Deco, sterling silver-mounted threaded crystal match striker, London, 1931, Henry Perkins and Sons - makers. Measures 2 3/4 inches high x 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Dark sp...Category
Vintage 1930s English Art Deco Sterling Silver
MaterialsCrystal, Sterling Silver
- French Art Deco Elephant Figurine in the Cubist StyleLocated in Austin, TXA fine French Art Deco elephant figurine in the cubist style with a lustrous, iridescent black ceramic glaze.Category
Mid-20th Century French Art Deco Animal Sculptures
MaterialsCeramic, Pottery, Earthenware
- French Art Deco Bronze, Steel, Crystal and Wood Model of a Lighthouse LampLocated in West Palm Beach, FLFrench Art Deco Bronze, Steel, Crystal and Wood Model of a Lighthouse Lamp, A substantial, intricately detailed model of a lighthouse, with inset colored cut crystal...Category
20th Century French Art Deco Table Lamps
MaterialsCrystal, Bronze, Steel