1960s

Vintage Florenza Pin Brooch Black Glass Cab Faux Pearls - Lovely brooch from an old jewelry store estate this is a gorgeous mid century Florenza black glass cabochon brooch with a strong antique finish to the heavy gold plating. The cabochon measures about 25mm long. As many collectors of these old Florenza and Goldette pieces know oftentimes it is either unmarked or the marking is more often underneath that thick gold finish. They were so heavily plated that oftentimes the markings were buried under the gold plating and heavy finish. Florenza was well known for its mid century cameo and art glass jewelry. This piece has very fancy filigree with tiny cut work on the gold edges. Very intricate and well detailed. Beautiful, perfect no wear condition. No wear to the antiqued gold finish. No filigree damage etc…. The faux pearls are 2mm and the faux emerald rhinestone accents are about 5mm each. Size of brooch north to south is 2 1/4″ north south by 2 1/8″ east west. Locking clasp is strong and works well. This is a lovely old addition of vintage mid century Florenza jewelry for your collection.   “The History of the Florenza Jewelry Company” by Preston Reuther Spotting Florenza Jewelry One of the easiest ways of spotting Florenza jewelry is to look for the trademark stamp on the jewelry piece. Most of the jewelry they produced has the word Florenza in script or print followed by the copyright mark. Some of the pieces will have the name Florenza in script and circled while other will have the name printed within a square or rectangle. The actual location of the mark depended on the size of the jewelry as well as its design. However, Kasoff started using the mark only after he discovered that he could claim original design rights. This means that some of the original Kasoff designed jewelry are not marked with the Florenza name but are still prized by collectors because of the intricate and high quality design and finish. Another reason why some of the Florenza jewelry pieces do not have the mark is because they are part of a set. In such cases, only the bracelet or necklace was stamped with the mark and not the earring or the stud. Apart from this, some of the jewelry produced by Kasoff was not marked for unknown reasons. Some collectors speculate that particular designs were purchased totally by a specific wholesaler who marketed it under their own brand name. As a rule Florenza jewelry have most of the features described here. Most Florenza jewelry had stones set in Tiffany style.This means that there will be multiple faux prongs or clasps surrounding the stones. Moreover, the unsigned pieces should have the same texture, clasps, links, and clips as found in the signed pieces. While many costume jewelry manufacturers used some of the same techniques, if you find an unsigned piece that closely resembles the signed Florenza lines, then it is more likely to be a Florenza original. Antique Jewelry Looks Florenza jewelry pieces are distinctive for their antique looks and resemble Victorian and Renaissance jewelry. Florenza Jewelry was initially designed by Daniel Kasoff whose original name was Kosovsky. He started off his career in the garment industry and it was chance that gave him an entry into the costume jewelry business. He was out dining when someone stole his coat. Mr. Speier was also in the same restaurant and paid him for a replacement coat. Kasoff repaid Speier the amount as soon as he was able, and Speier, impressed with his honesty offered him a job in Speier Costume Jewelry Co. There, Kasoff was able to gain experience in various aspects of the business and ten years later he branched out. He set up Kaywin Novelty New York in the 1930s along with Marty Weiner. He then set up his own costume jewelry company called The Dan Kasoff Company using savings he had accumulated by then. Emphasis on Quality Florenza jewelry placed emphasis on quality and fine finish. This is what made marks such as Estee Lauder and Revlon choose to use their products and designs. Legacy Dan’s son Larry Kasoff continued to carry on the legacy of his father and the Florenza jewelry line was produced until 1981. Larry Kasoff was planning a new line of jewelry at that time when he was severely injured in an automobile accident. This forced him to shut shop and Florenza jewelry is no longer produced.