What do fabulous costume jewelry and WWII airplane parts have in common? Joseff of Hollywood. Eugene Joseff’s company created the majority of jewelry for the movie industry during the 1930s and 1940s. But like so many other Hollywood figures, when WWII ignited, Joseff did what any good patriot would do and pitched in. His company began making castings for airplane parts. The location helped. It just so happened that his workshop was located in an industrial area of Burbank, CA near several of the airplane manufacturing companies like McDonnell Douglas and Lockheed. The location also happened to be nearby the Hollywood movie studios.
Since casting jewelry and casting airplane parts are not very different from one another, the company still does both to this day. The parts manufacturing side is now about 95% of the company business. They even make parts for NASA.
The Golden Era of Film
But back to the jewelry. When Eugene Joseff moved to Hollywood from the midwest, he quickly made friends with several folks in the industry. His very vocal criticism of the jewelry used in films at the time created a challenge for him to produce historically accurate and reasonably priced beautiful jewelry to be used on film.
Realizing that if he sold his pieces to the studios, he not only wouldn’t be able to cover his expenses, but the studios would have no need to continue to purchase as they would quickly build up a stock of pieces. The answer to this dilemma was to rent the painstakingly made one-of-a-kind items to the studios. This is why much of this fabulous jewelry still resides within the walls of Joseff of Hollywood.
Jewelry, Jewelry, everywhere
Both Eugene Joseff and his wife Joan Castle were highly organized and meticulous. They not only kept fastidious records but also kept everything related to the company, including all that jewelry. Everything is cataloged, and marked, placed in cases and neatly lined up on shelves from floor to ceiling. Some of the more prominent and famous pieces are laid out on display and a few are loaned out to museums as part of exhibitions.
Retail Rewards
The company grew from producing custom pieces for the Hollywood film industry to creating jewelry for retail shops including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks, Macy’s and more. Once the company began producing jewelry for sale, it really took off. The idea of ladies being able to purchase beautiful and fashionable jewelry at affordable prices was a huge boon to both the industry and department stores across the country. You can shop current jewelry designs directly from their website as well as find modern and vintage pieces online from various resellers.
To this day, the high quality and exacting detail of Joseff of Hollywood jewelry brings top dollar. Their pieces are highly coveted due to the level of workmanship.
To read more about Joseff
Check out the Joseff of Hollywood website to learn more about the company.
To read more about their jewelry check out this article from Collectors Weekly.
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