Costume Jewelry Collectors Int’l Honors The Working Force Behind “Researching Costume Jewelry
January 25, 2024Variety is the spice of life, and the Jonette Jewelry Company, commonly referred to as “JJ”, gave that to us in spades. I was inspired to co-write a book about the company, because I was amazed at the myriad of designs the Company produced. JJ is usually associated with whimsical and humorous designs, such as the cat and car brooches depicted here. Note the original design drawing with the car brooch.
Whimsical JJ cat brooch
Santa Claus driving convertible car brooch by JJ
What some collectors may not know is that JJ also made many elegant designs as well, such as the winged bull and hidden faces examples below.
It is estimated that JJ made between 18,000-20,000 designs over the course of its history. The jewelry was moderately priced, which gave a huge number of customers an opportunity to own a small piece of artwork. The company’s production exploded after founder Abraham Lisker’s son, Gordon, took over the company reins in the early 1970s. In-house designer, Alan Weimer, as well as other full-time and part-time designers and model makers brought Gordon’s ideas to life, as well as contributing some of their own designs. JJ’s approach to design differed from many of the other costume jewelry manufacturers, in that JJ focused on current trends, as seen in magazines and the news. JJ did not really follow the latest fashions coming out of New York, Milan and Paris. This approach should be helpful in trying to date JJ jewelry, as the Company only dated their jewelry for a couple of years in the late 1980s. Then it switched to copyright.
JJ elegant winged bull brooch
JJ elegant hidden faces brooch and earrings
For example, JJ is well known for its mythological lines – wizards, castles and dragons, which come to life in amazing detail. When was production of these lines likely at its pinnacle? In the late 1990s to mid 2000s, when the infamous Harry Potter line of books and movies were released. The mythological lines have retained extreme popularity in the secondary market.
Another example of dating JJ jewelry is viewing its medical and nursing lines. Hospital and nursing caps with dangles, messages of support for nurses, abound. Initial production was likely in the 1980s during the AIDS epidemic. A resurgence in popularity occurred again after 9/11, and within the secondary market after the COVID epidemic.
The Jonette Jewelry Company (JJ)
JJ closed its doors in 2006, so one must look at websites like eBay, Ruby Lane, or Etsy, or in local vintage and antique stores to find JJ pieces. A quick perusal in the online marketplace under a search of “JJ” will immediately reward the viewer with the staggering depth of JJ designs. I still come across designs that are new to me.
It is the vast variety of designs that prompted co-author, Nancy Rozendal, wife of JJ CEO, Gordon Lisker, and I to index the drawings and photos in our book by category, rather than alphabetically. It was hard to index such a huge variety of designs in any other manner, and the book, which is full of pictures, is only a partial compilation! The book also provides a history of an incredibly talented and dedicated group of employees. I am very grateful to Nancy for providing access to former JJ employees and Company records, and the opportunity to meet Gordon. The camaraderie between the employees I met, and their interactions with Gordon and Nancy, reflect the love and pride they have for this great American company, the Jonette Jewelry Company.
To order a copy of “The Jonette Jewelry Company (JJ)”, visit ShopBooksDirect.com or Amazon.com.
Jewelry photos courtesy of Barbara Rokow; book cover photo courtesy of Red Penguin Books.
