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And who is Miriam Haskell? |
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Written by Heather DeSimone
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Wednesday, 30 August 2006 |
 And who is this Miriam Haskell?
As you delve deeper and deeper into ‘the Bead World you may have seen the name “Miriam Haskell” from time to time in your bead searches. Here at The Beadin Path we have many findings and beads both in the store and online at BeadinPath.com that we have labeled as “Haskell”. You may have asked yourself ‘Is this a little known country in Eastern Europe? or ‘Why do I care that some woman named Miriam owned these beads?’
Miriam Haskell was a woman as well as an iconic vintage jewelry company name. This article will give you a brief account of who she was and why her company and designers who worked under her were so instrumental in the beadwork medium until this day. Although she was instrumental in cultivating the company’s overall style, Miriam herself was not known as the designer of her signature pieces. Her talents lay in putting together the talent and running the business and marketing end of things
 Arguably the woman who started the ‘costume jewelry’ movement, Miriam Haskell opened her first costume jewelry boutique in New York in 1920. During this time, a new demographic or shopping class known as ‘new money’ or ‘nouveau riche’ was becoming more inclined to subscribe to a trendy way of dressing and adorning themselves. In the past, the successful or high class woman enjoyed only fine jewelry, made mostly of gold and precious gems. When Miriam Haskell jewelry became popular, there was a new appreciation for contemporary fashion and fine craftsmanship determining the higher end prices on pieces of jewelry, more so than just the elements they were made from.
Due to the largely ‘French-inspired’ fashions at the time, Haskell focused on importing materials from Europe and Japan including lamp-wound glass beads, pressed glass beads, intricate stamped filigrees, filigree clasps and findings, coated glass pearls and Venetian beads and pendants. As her presence and influence in fashion grew, her popularity was sustained during the troubled economic times that were to follow. The great Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the subsequent Depression-era only strengthened her success as many more once-affluent customers no longer had the means to furnish themselves with updated higher-end fine jewelry and would turn to the finely crafted ‘junk jewelry’ as it was called at the time. In 1931 the company moved to a locale on 5th Avenue in NYC where it remained until 1966. Later, during World War II because of the limited availability of importing glass and other components from European countries, the company was forced to look at products available within the U.S: Plastics replaced glass and crystal, silver replaced gold and gilded metals, wood and shell became a new statement among the costume jewelry world.
 Stylistically, Haskell jewelry took on a 3rd dimension that extends beyond the beaded strand. Using beads woven into filigree backings to create intricate and textural embroidered layers, the jewels of Miriam Haskell as easily recognizable whether they are signed or not. Because the company did not start stamping their jewelry until the late 1940’s, many of the company’s signature pieces do not bear the hallmark of Miriam Haskell.
Designer Frank Hess was hired by Ms. Haskell in 1926 and was instrumental in cultivating the Miriam Haskell signature style. Although Miriam herself was the final approval or disapproval for any prototypes, Hess took the company to a new level of success with his innovative designs. Later on, toward the late 1940’s Ms. Haskell’s mental health began to deteriorate with on-going bouts of depression, anxiety and food disorders. Ultimately the ownership of the company and management of the business affairs was signed over to her nephew, Joe Haskell who left much of the direction of the creative department still to Frank Hess while he attended to the business end of the company. Later, in 1955 the company was sold to Morris Kinzler who employed designer Robert Clark (later known as ‘Designs by Robert’ company) who eventually takes over as head designer for Frank Hess in 1960. Other head designers to come include Peter Raines, Larry Vrba, Camille Petronzio and others. Ownership passes from Kinzler in 1983 to Sandford Moss and then to Frank Fialkoff in 1989 who currently, as of the latest research owns the company today.
Because the company’s headquarters were centralized in New York, much of the raw materials, beads and components were stored there on 5th Avenue for years and years. At some point and as the company changed hands, much of this stock was liquidated either at auction, or sold off as job lots to warehouses and jewelry component middle-men throughout the New York and Rhode Island areas. Although it is now harder to find, much of this ‘dead-stock’ or uncirculated new stock is still in and around the New England area. Whether it’s sitting in the basements of NY or N.E. area designers who thought they’d stash some of these goodies away, or perhaps sitting ignored as part of an odd lot inheritance from someone’s grandmother who worked for so & so as a jewelry manufacturer in the 1950’s, the market for old “Miriam Haskell stock” has been diluted yet is still present and the goods can still be found. In fact, you can still find a limited availability of unused Haskell stock here at The Beadin’ Path. Although still in business today as “Haskell Jewels”, the company focuses on jewelry that is easier to mass produce and tends to stray away from the historical signature style started by Miriam Haskell.
 There are a few ways to determine if you are purchasing old Haskell stock when shopping the vintage bead and findings market. The first and most important is to know your dealer. Develop a relationship with your contact person and ask questions about the origin of the product and the material. In the bead business, many vendors are highly protective of their sources. However, in the vintage niche’ there is never one ultimate bead source. Generally vintage components like Haskell finds are found in small lots from private collectors or resellers like those listed above. Many dealers of vintage beads and findings are collectors and experts themselves and have done the research and have the knowledge from their experience in buying and from their simple love of what they sell.
Another way to recognize components that were used by the Miriam Haskell company is to do your own research. There is a fabulous book by Deanna Farnetti Cera called “The Jewels of Miriam Haskell” (insert link) that catalogues many, many early and later designs. Just by studying the photography in this book, you can identify many beads and findings that you’ll find here on our website, on ebay or wherever you may be trying to track them down. Ebay itself is a great resource for looking up Miriam Haskell jewelry. Try doing a search and see what finds you come up with and use them as a reference even if you’re not in the market to actually purchase or collect Haskell jewelry. Once you get to know the look of the signed pieces, you’ll have a better understanding of what to look for that might be unsigned. And you may even find yourself a bargain in an unsigned piece at auction that someone else was not able to recognize.
Heather DeSimone
*Bibliography:
The Jewels of Miriam Haskell by Dena Farnetti Cera, copyright 1997, Ida Books, Milan, ISBN #1 85149 264 1.
Various online sources.
Photos courtesy of The Beadin’ Path & private collection of Heather DeSimone. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 08 November 2007 )
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