The mysterious history of the costume jewelry brand is inextricably linked with the American artist Claire Falkenstein (1908-1997), whose career in the world of jewelry began with a hat pin created for a gala event in 1945.
In 1948, several of her works were presented at the Second National Exhibition of Modern Jewelry at the Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), and already in 1950, Falkenstein moved to the French City of Arts – Paris. There she continued her experiments, using available and non-standard materials: nickel wire, plastic beads.
During Claire’s life, her creations adorned museum exhibitions on both sides of the Atlantic, but a real breakthrough in recognition came only after a large-scale retrospective in 2004 – “Falkenstein Modernist Costume Jewelry” at the Long Beach Museum of Art (California).
A return to Venice, California, in 1963 marked a new phase: large commissions became the core of her work. Among the most significant were fifteen stained glass windows for St. Basil’s Catholic Church in Los Angeles (1969).
After Falkenstein’s death, friends and associates established the Claire Falkenstein Foundation to preserve her legacy and educational mission.
