Vintage Small store 14K White Gold Krementz Filigree Circle Brooch, With Seed Pearl

This is a very pretty small 14K circle brooch/pin, like those that were popular in the 1950s. The front of the brooch/pin is white gold and both the back and the straight pin on the back are yellow gold (with a slight pinkish tone). The brooch/pin is the size of a penny. It was made by the Krementz company. It is in the shape of a wreath with a bow, which has a seed pearl in its center. There is very fine filigree work on both the wreath and bow. On the brooch's/pin's back, there is a “14k” mark and another mark that Krementz used. Although the Krementz mark resembles an anchor, it is actually a stylized collar button (see image no. 8), which Krementz was so famous for producing.

The Krementz jewelry business began in 1866, when George Krementz and Julius Lebcheucher teamed up with three other investors and started a jeweler manufacturing business, in Newark, New Jersey. The five-person partnership was quickly dissolved and Krementz and Lebcheucher claimed an equal partnership in the business, which eventually became known as Krementz and Company. In the 1880s, the company developed the high quality finish known as store Krementz Overlay. which was basically a clad-metal process. For this unique process, a base metal was coated with nickel and (finally) thin strips of 14k gold metal and bonded together under intense heat and pressure. The metal bar that resulted was then rolled down to mirror-like strips, from which the jewelry was made. The company's earliest pieces were jewelry and accessories for men (especially, collar buttons). In the Victorian period, dress shirts for men were not designed with collars on them and collars were attached to shirts using metal collar buttons that could be purchased in jewelry stores. A collar button was normally made in, at least, two pieces. George Krementz devised a way to produce a one-piece collar button. The product was so superior to others on the market that Krementz quickly dominated the collar button business. After men stopped wearing detachable collar buttons, in the 1920s and 1930s, Krementz also made a major expansion into ladies fashion jewelry. The company produced a high quality product, with quality standards that were often not found in costume jewelry (of the period). By World War II, Krementz was operating several different jewelry companies, under Krementz ownership. They produced Overlay Jewelry (that was usually marked with the company name, in block letters) and Fine Jewelry (that was either unmarked or marked with the company's hallmark of a stylized collar button). They also produced lines that included gemstones and high-end jewelry, 10k and 14K gold jewelry, and wedding and engagement rings. After the war, Krementz purchased a company that made colored stone jewelry and companies that produced 18k gold and diamond jewelry. By the 1980s, Krementz was one of the largest jewelry manufacturers in the United States. In the 1990s, the Krementz family began dismantling their jewelry empire. Today, Richard Krementz Gemstones is the only family-owned division of the company that still operates.

This item has a diameter of 3/4 of an inch.

This brooch/pin is in good condition, with a good working clasp. There is a slight bend on the straight pin that is on the back of this item, as you would expect to find on old brooches/pins that have been worn a lot. The metal on this item does not attract to a magnet.

RETURNS AND REFUNDS

Please read the description and view the images, which are a part of the description. I will not accept a return, unless I made a material misstatement in describing the item or failed to disclose significant damage. In such an instance, if I am contacted within 4 days of the receipt of the item, I agree to accept a return, and the item is returned to me within 10 days of the receipt, I will provide a full refund and will also reimburse the buyer for reasonable return shipping costs (for which the method of return has been agreed upon, before the item is returned). If an item is damaged during the initial shipping, the buyer is responsible for communicating with (and submitting paperwork and proof of damage to) the shipper, so that a refund can be obtained. I will assist the buyer with obtaining compensation for the damaged shipment, to the extent that I am able to.