
Vintage jewellery can come to be a prize possession to any individual, even more so when there is an understanding and awareness of where it came from. Whether it was acquired as a lucky find in an antique shop, or it’s been passed down through the generations, its earliest history can make a piece even more special. To help you learn more about your vintage jewellery, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of some of the most well-known vintage jewellery designers throughout history.
How to identify a vintage jewellery maker
The best way to find out who designed or made a piece of vintage jewellery is to check for the maker’s mark. This will usually be a name or initials engraved onto the piece. Sometimes, however, you’ll only find a mark denoting the company that produced the jewellery, rather than the designer. This can make it more difficult to put an age or designer to the piece, without further research.
If you are fortunate enough to find a designer mark on your vintage jewellery, use our list to find out more about its origin – including a rough idea of when it was made, and of where it came from.
18th Century Vintage Jewellery Designers
It’s still possible to find some pieces of vintage jewellery that date back to the 1700’s, although of course these are rare as much will be in museums across the world. Examples of some surviving pieces can be traced back to Europe, specifically France, England, Sweden, and The Netherlands. There are a few pieces hailing from the United States too. Here are some well-known vintage jewellery designers of this time:
Production Dates | Designer/Company | Place of Origin |
---|---|---|
1780 – present day | Chaumet et Cie | Paris, France |
1781 – present day | Asprey & Company, Ltd. | London, England |
1735 – present day | Hennell, Ltd. | London, England |
1767 – present day | Bonebakker & Sons | Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
1791 – present day | W.A. Bolin | Sweden |
1796 – present day | Shreve, Crump & Low | Boston, Massachusetts |

19th Century Vintage Jewellery Designers
The 19th century produced a huge array of beautiful jewellery, much of which has become precious heirlooms. While still considered extremely special, pieces from this time period are of course less rare. From the glistening tiaras produced in Tsarist Russia, to the more accessible, colourful costume jewellery produced in Victorian England, this century was anything but bland when it came to jewellery design. See our list of vintage jewellery makers of the 1800s:
Production Dates | Designer/Company | Place of Origin |
---|---|---|
1802 – 1951 | Cardeilhac | Paris, France |
1802 – 1952 | R. and S. Garrard | London, England |
1806 – present day | James Dixon & Sons | Sheffield, England |
1815 – present day | Samuel Kirk | Baltimore, Maryland |
1817 – present day | Collingwood & Company | London, England |
1818 – present day | Gorham Corporation | Providence, Rhode Island |
1821 – 1982 | Maison Vever | Metz, France |
1824 – present day | Elkington & Co. | Birmingham, England |
1824 – present day | Reed & Barton | Taunton, Massachusetts |
1829 – present day | Jaccard Jewelry Company | St. Louis, Missouri |
1832 – present day | Bailey, Banks & Biddle | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
1834 – 1904 | Christopher Dresser | London, England |
1839 – present day | Christofle | St. Denis, France |
1841 – present day | Anton Michelsen | Denmark |
1842 – 1918 | House of Faberge | Moscow, Russia |
1844 – 1939 | Hunt & Roskell | London, England |
1847 – 1938 | Arthur J. Stone | Boston, Massachusetts |
1847 – present day | Cartier | Paris, France |
1848 – present day | Comyns, William & Sons | London, England |
1851 – 1942 | Arthur Mackmurdo | Heygate, England |
1853 -1935 | William B. Durgin Company | Providence, Rhode Island |
1853 – present day | Wurttembergiche Metallwarenfabrik | Geislingen, Germany |
1853 – present day | Tiffany & Company | New York City, New York |
1856 – 1935 | Johan Rohde | Denmark |
1857 – 1942 | Gustav Stickley | Syracuse, New York |
1858 – present day | Boucheron | Paris, France |
1859 -1933 | Dirk Van Erp | Oakland, California |
1859 – 1942 | Nelson Dawson | London, England |
1860 – 1930s | Fouquet | Paris, France |
1860 – 1939 | Alphonse Maria Mucha | Paris, France |
1860 – 1945 | Rene Lalique | Paris, France |
1861 – 1944 | Florence Koehler | Chicago, Illinois |
1862 – 1948 | Edward Colonna | Paris, France |
1862 – present day | R. Blackinton & Co. | North Attleboro, Massachusetts |
1863 – 1957 | Henri Clemens Van de Velde | Brussels, Belgium |
1864 – 1933 | Archibald Knox | London, England |
1864 – 1934 | Henry J. Wilson | London, England |
1864 – 1936 | Alexander Fisher | London, England |
1865 – 1933 | Margaret Macdonald | Glasgow, Scotland |
1866 – 1940 | James H. Winn | Chicago, Illinois |
1866 – present day | Krementz | Newark, New Jersey |
1866 – present day | Whiting Manufacturing Company | North Attleboro, Massachusetts |
1868 – 1928 | Theodor Fahrner | Pforzheim, Germany |
1868 – 1940 | Peter Behrens | Munich, Germany |
1869 – 1933 | J. Paul Cooper | Westerham, England |
1869 -1950 | Webster Company | North Attleboro, Massachusetts |
1870 – 1956 | Josef Hoffmann | Vienna, Austria |
1872 – 1919 | Unger Bros. | Newark, New Jersey |
1872 – 1940 | Alwyn C. E. Carr | London, England |
1872 – 1945 | Harold Stabler | Keswick, London |
1873 – 1951 | Theodore W. Foster & Brothers Co. | Providence, Rhode Island |
1874 – present day | J.W. Benson | London, England |
1875 – 1953 | Hukin & Heath | Birmingham, England |
1875 – present day | Liberty & Co. | London, England |
1876 – 1957 | Jan Eisenloeffel | Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
1876 – present day | David-Andersen | Norway |
1877 – 1956 | Bernard Cuzner | Birmingham, England |
1878 – 1945 | George Gebelein | Boston, Massachusetts |
1878 – 1960 | Carl Otto Czescha (Czeschka) | Vienna, Austria |
1878 – 1960s | Frank M. Whiting Company | North Attleboro, Massachusetts |
1879 – 1958 | Evald Nielsen | Denmark |
1879 – 1972 | Marie Zimmermann | New York City, New York |
1879 – present day | Henry Birks & Sons | Montreal, Canada |
1880 – 1949 | Otto Prutscher | Vienna, Austria |
1881 – present day | Bulgari | Rome, Italy |
1884 – 1960 | Erik Magnussen | Copenhagen, Denmark |
1885 – 1910 | J.P. Kayser Sohn | Krefeld-Bochum, Germany |
1885 – 1910 | Kayserzinn | Krefeld-Bochum, Germany |
1885 – 1940 | Samuel Yellin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
1885 – 1984 | Charles Horner | Halifax, England |
1886 – present day | Alvin Manufacturing Company | Providence, Rhode Island |
1887 – present day | Hobe | Mt. Vernon, New York |
1888 – present day | Spaulding & Company | Chicago, Illinois |
1890s – 1917 | Feodor Ruckert | Moscow, Russia |
1890 – 1932 | Tiffany Studios | New York City, New York |
1890 – 1952 | Goldsmiths’ & Silversmiths’ Co. | London, England |
1890 – 1966 | Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Art | Bromsgrove, England |
1890 – present day | Birmingham Guild of Handicraft | Birmingham, England |
1892 – 1950s | Marcus & Company | New York City, New York |
1892 – 1977 | Harald Nielsen | Denmark |
1892 – present day | Ciner | New York City, New York |
1895 – 1930 | Bradley & Hubbard | Meriden, Connecticut |
1895 – 1938 | Roycroft | East Aurora, New York |
1898 – 1956 | Hagenauer Werkstatte | Vienna, Austria |
1898 -1976 | Alexander Calder | New York City, New York |
1899 – 1927 | Potter Studio | Cleveland, Ohio |
1899 – 1955 | Charles Clewell | Canton, Ohio |
1899 – present day | Mikimoto | Tokyo, Japan |

20th Century Vintage Jewellery Designers
After the rich design culture of the 1800s, artists and jewellery makers of the 20th century were fuelled with an array of inspiration and motivation to put their own creations out into the world. And so we enter another vibrant period of exquisite jewellery, including the decorative pearls and pendants of the roaring 20s, and the bulkier costume jewellery pieces of the 50s and 60s. Our list contains some of the most prominent jewellery makers of the time:

Production Dates | Designer/Company | Place of Origin |
---|---|---|
1900 – 1905 | Orivit | Koln-Ehrenfeld, Germany |
1900 – 1905 | Ferdinand Hubert Schmitz | Koln-Ehrenfeld, Germany |
1900 – 1915 | Craftsmen Workshops | Syracuse, New York |
1900 – 1930 | Edgar Brandt | Paris, France |
1900 – 1930s | Benedict Manufacturing Co. | East Syracuse, New York |
1900 – 1970 | Kalo Shop | Chicago, Illinois |
1901 – 1942 | Artificers’ Guild | London, England |
1901 – 1979 | Coro | Providence, Rhode Island |
1903 – 1932 | Wiener Werkstatte | Vienna, Austria |
1903 – 1964 | Margaret De Patta | San Francisco, California |
1904 – 1950 | Marshall Field & Company Craft Shop | Chicago, Illinois |
1904 – present day | Georg Jensen | Denmark |
1904 – present day | Seaman Schepps | Los Angeles, California |
1905 – 1996 | Paolo de Poli | Padua, Italy |
1906 – 1973 | Henry Steig | New York City, New York |
1906 – present day | Van Cleef & Arpels | Paris, France |
1906 – present day | Hans Hansen | Denmark |
1907 – 2002 | Sigvard Bernadotte | Sweden |
1908 – 1967 | Harry Dixon | San Francisco, California |
1908 – 1997 | Claire Falkenstein | San Francisco, California |
1911 – 1992 | F. Carlton Ball | San Francisco, California |
1911 – present day | Marvella | New York City, New York |
1912 – 2004 | Frances Higgins | Chicago, Illinois |
1912 – present day | Oscar Heyman & Brothers | New York City, New York |
1913 – 1964 | Sam Kramer | New York City, New York |
1915 – 1978 | Harry Bertoia | Detroit, Michigan |
1916 – 2002 | Allan Adler | Los Angeles, California |
1917 – 1982 | Henning Koppel | Denmark |
1917 – 1982 | Art Smith | New York City, New York |
1918 – 1976 | Hattie Carnegie | New York City, New York |
1918 – 1991 | Ed Wiener | Provincetown, Massachusetts |
1918 – present day | John Paul Miller | Cleveland, Ohio |
1918 – present day | Trifari | New York City, New York |
1919 – present day | Buccellati | Milan, Italy |
1920s – 1950s | Elsa Schiaparelli | New York City, New York |
1920s – 1960 | Frederick Davis | Mexico City, Mexico |
1920s – 2005 | Nanna & Jorgen Ditzel | Denmark |
1920s – present day | Coco Chanel | Paris, France |
1921 – 1950s | Gilbert Poillerat | Paris, France |
1921 – 1959 | Walter Lampl | New York City, New York |
1921 – present day | Judith Leiber | New York City, New York |
1922 – present day | Napier | Meriden, Connecticut |
1924 – present day | Betty Cooke | Baltimore, Maryland |
1924 – present day | Miriam Haskell | New York City, New York |
1925 – 1931 | Gerard Sandoz | Paris, France |
1926 – 1991 | Earl Pardon | Saratoga Springs, New York |
1930s – 1965 | Paul Lobel | New York City, New York |
1930s – 1974 | Salvador Vaca Teran | Mexico City, Mexico |
1930s – 1988 | Margaret Craver | Boston, Massachusetts |
1930 – present day | Eisenberg | Chicago, Illinois |
1931 – present day | William Spratling | Taxco, Mexico |
1932 – present day | Harry Winston | New York City, New York |
1934 – 1960 | Matilde Poulat | Mexico City, Mexico |
1934 – 1967 | Francisco Rabajes | New York City, New York |
1935 – present day | Eugene Joseff, Joseff of Hollywood | Hollywood, California |
1935 – 1975 | Nettie Rosenstein | New York City, New York |
1937 – 2001 | Peter Macciarini | San Francisco, California |
1937 – present day | Monet | E. Providence, Rhode Island |
1939 – 1966 | Hector Aguilar | Taxco, Mexico |
1939 – present day | Los Castillo | Taxco, Mexico |
1940s – 1950s | HAR | New York City, New York |
1940 – 1972 | Bernice Goodspeed | Mexico City, Mexico |
1941 – present day | Antonio Pineda Gomez | Taxco, Mexico |
1943 – 1980 | Kramer Jewelry Creations | New York City, New York |
1943 – 1986 | Isidro Garcia Pina | Taxco, Mexico |
1943 – present day | Bernd Munsteiner | Idar-Oberstein, Germany |
1945 – present day | H. Stern | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
1946 – 1956 | Jean Schlumberger | New York City, New York |
1946 – 1964 | Matisse | Los Angeles, California |
1946 – 1964 | Renoir of California | Los Angeles, California |
1948 – 1985 | Margot de Taxco | Taxco, Mexico |
1949 – present day | Paloma Picasso | New York City, New York |
1950s – 1960s | Selro | New York City, New York |
1950 – 1979 | Enrique Ledesma | Taxco, Mexico |
1950 – present day | Ed Levin | New York City, New York |
1950s – present day | Aaron Basha | New York City, New York |
1952 – present day | Sigfrido Pineda (Sigi) | Mexico City, Mexico |
1957 – present day | Lea Stein | Paris, France |
1963 – present day | Kenneth Jay Lane | New York City, New York |
1965 – present day | Fred Leighton | New York City, New York |
1975 – present day | John Hardy | New York City, New York |
1980 – present day | David Yurman | New York City, New York |
1985 – present day | Acme Studios | Los Angeles, California |
1996 – present day | Nicholas Varney | New York City, New York |

With this list of vintage jewellery designers, it should hopefully be possible for owners of historical pieces to identify where they came from. If you can identify a name or initials, use this list to determine where in the world it was made, and an idea of the date as well. Get more information and advice when it comes to buying jewellery, with our guide to the difference between antique and vintage jewellery, and understanding the difference between costume and fine jewellery.