Trinkets as Treasures : An Exhibit of Costume Jewelry Shows the Art in the Whimsy

It sits in an illuminated museum case, but it looks very familiar: an opulent crown-shaped brooch smothered in glass stones. Didn’t someone in the family have one just like it?

Probably. The maker of this pin--and perhaps 49,999 more--is Trifari. The date is 1944. The cost was $15. Today, the company says, it would fetch $250 to $500 in the collector’s market.

But it’s not only value that gives the brooch a place in “Jewels of Fantasy,” a new exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Together with 393 other pieces, it is a tribute to the art of 20th-Century American and European costume jewelry, of its ability to chronicle the era in which it was born to adorn. And proof that today’s trinkets can be tomorrow’s treasures.

How did jewelry as diverse as a 1900 American Indian brooch and a 1990 English “kitchen sink” necklace make the cut? And how could today’s shopper duplicate the trick?

In her introduction to the coffee-table book that serves as a catalogue for the exhibition, editor Deanna Farneti Cera says each piece is an example “of the infinite variety of patterns, subjects and themes that distinguish these modern-age ‘objects of desire’ with their grace, beauty, eccentricity and sense of humor.”

At least three examples on exhibit are still manufactured. Butler & Wilson’s rhinestone snake, spider and lizard pins ($112 to $298) are sold at the company’s store in Sunset Plaza. Actress Chita Rivera wears one of the giant spiders “as a good luck thing,” in the New York stage production of “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” says owner-designer Nicky Butler.

He prefers costume pieces with pizazz, not imitations of fine jewelry. “Obviously, if you put on a diamante lizard that’s 7 inches long, it is not made of real diamonds. It’s about style for me, and most people with style have a great sense of humor.”

His museum pieces reflect the opulence of the ‘80s. This decade, he is turning to such things as “romantic, religious influences and antique gold. I’ve done hearts, crosses, angels.” Butler, who also sells antique jewelry, says a woman should expect to spend “at least $80 to $100” on a modern fashion statement, more on some antique pieces.

To coincide with “Jewels of Fantasy,” Neiman Marcus is introducing Magnificent Costume Jewelry, a combination of new designs and antiques owned by Clive Kandel, a leading collector and contributor to the exhibit. At Neiman’s, Kandel’s modern pieces cost $500 to $2,500; antiques from his collection of famous manufacturers featured in the exhibition, such as Joseph Mazer, Trifari, Marcel Boucher and Coro, cost $350 to $5,000.

Kandel calls the Trifari crown brooch “a wearable day piece, not an exceptional work of art.” He attributes its museum status to the design. “It started with Trifari and was knocked off by every costume jewelry manufacturer,” he says. “When Saks put it on display in the 1940s, it sold out by lunchtime. They must have made 50,000 pieces. It was colorful and different.”

Kenneth Jay Lane, called the “king of costume jewelry” by Time magazine, has a number of pieces in the exhibition, including the “Jackie O-style necklace,” as the book calls it. Originally made “in various colors and imitation stones at the request of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,” there is a version--in sapphire and emerald colored stones--at the Kenneth Jay Lane store in Beverly Hills. It costs $350; matching earrings are $50.

Whimsical pins, such as his dragonfly with stones and Lucite wings, “are always very collectible,” Lane says. “People like whimsy. They never go out of fashion. They’re not a fashion statement with a capital F. “

No matter how extravagant the piece, he says, “Costume jewelry isn’t show off. It’s pure fun. You’re not saying: ‘My husband can afford this.’ Or, ‘I can afford this.’ I also think it makes woman feel younger because it’s more of a fantasy. It’s not as serious. It’s got a little giggle.”

Sherry Baker, president of Swarovski Jewelry, U.S., says the exhibition can give buyers clues on how to buy costume or, in today’s lingo, fashion jewelry: “One of them is quality. Pieces have endured because of some unique workmanship. Another is being on the cutting edge of design, whether it’s a fashion trend or some sort of statement the jewelry is making. Or it could be a unique medium.”

Fashion versions of red ribbons, which symbolize the fight against AIDS, “are not an expensive piece of jewelry,” says Baker, “but they’re indicative of something very important going on in society.” And although “crosses have been around for ages,” Baker suggests buying one. “It demonstrates a trend going on now.”

Even a button earring can have staying power, says Lee Brevard, a Los Angeles designer of fine jewelry who has also made costume jewelry.

“If I were looking for something collectible, I would want the idea to be very strong. It could be anything. It’s the execution. You’ve seen button earrings a thousand times, but if you could see one designer, one collection where they take a bee or a button and make it really special, it would be worth buying.”

But not, says Brevard, before “you look at the craftsmanship. If you just play with it a little, you should get some sense if it’s going to fall apart.”