Kramer History (USA, 1943 – 1979)
Founder Louis Kramer, later joined by his two brothers Maurice and Harry. Initially, Kramer Jewelry Creations is a small family business, but it shows great promise. Louis Kramer was the designer of most of his company’s products. Without their own production, the brothers used the factories of such large companies as DeLizza or Kassof Inc. (Fiorenza). In parallel with the creation of their own jewelry, they created jewelry for them.
Kramer products were designed for a wide range of customers. They produced jewelry not only from expensive materials, but also from emeralds and diamonds. They were not afraid to combine precious stones with inexpensive jewelry material. So, in 1948, on the cover of Vogue magazine, the model demonstrates Kramer jewelry, consisting of round emeralds and crystals.
When Christian Dior created his “New Look” in 1947, it revolutionized all areas of fashion, including costume jewelry. In 1950-1960, Kramer began to produce costume jewelry for Christian Dior.
In 1979, the Kramer company was forced to close. At this point, the costume jewelry market crisis reached its peak. Expensive exquisite Kramer jewelry has become less in demand against the backdrop of a shift in fashion trends towards mass, not very expensive, but not intricate jewelry in the “Parameters” section.
Jewelery Labeling
The company had several brands of its own: “KRAMER” is a brand that the company has been using since its foundation, since 1943. And the brand Kramer Pat.Pend appeared in 1948. In the 1950s, with the opening of a New York store on 5th Avenue, the company began using the new hallmarks on its Kramer New York jewelry.
Patented in 1948, The Diamond Look became the trademark for Kramer jewelry, which sparkled with stones cut like real diamonds.
GoldenLook (Gold image) became a logo in 1955, they were marked with golden Kramer costume jewelry. All Kramer jewelry created over the years is unique and much loved by collectors. Since 1962, Kramer pearl jewelry has been marked with the Per les de Lune logo, which means Pearls of the Moon.
But not always unique products were marked, which is very upsetting for collectors. Sometimes they were limited to paper labels with hand-written series.
Collectible vintage jewelry stamps
After the closure of the company, almost immediately, Kramer jewelry became a collector’s item. Which is not at all surprising, given the exceptional selection of materials, design and impeccable workmanship. These days, vintage Kramer jewelry is rare and highly sought after by experienced collectors of antique and vintage jewelry.
