The family of Schreiner Jewelry Post

[beekeeper_42]

The family of Schreiner Jewelry are still alive and kicking.  Mom, Terry, is 89, and can't believe how my parents, and grandfathers creations have become so collectable.  My dad's , Ambros, famous ruffle pin retailed for $7.50 in the mid 1950ss.  It now often sells for over $750.00.  She is also very unhappy of crooked dealers claiming they have unsigned Schreiner, when it's not even close to anything we produced.  I have written a dealer in Cal. several times to remove things that are clearly not Schreiner.  She accused me of being another dealer trying to make her look bad... really!  Buyers beware of anything unsigned unless you have experience identifing Schreiner pieces, and don't believe them if they claimed it's verrified.  Sometimes I will post on a piece if it is clearly a Schreiner piece, and allow the seller to use my post.  Many books have poor information about my family's business.  One dealer claimed Sphinx is a hallmark of Schreiner, and listed some book from the 70ss, that stated it.  Schreiner Jewelry was only made in NYC, not in Europe, or any place else.  We did design for many of the best ready-to-wear, designers of the 30ss- 70ss, that was sold to them unsigned, but only made by us in NYC.  These pieces were sold with the garment.  Hope this helps new collectors, and best of luck to you!

SOME POSTS IN THIS THREAD HAVE BEEN EDITED.  ALL EDITES WILL BE IN CAPS AND IN RED. - SANDY, BOARD MODERATOR.

[beekeeper_42]

Hard to tell. I never saw that piece, but it may be my Grandfather's. He died before I was born.

[wessleysbest]

Thank you!

[old.crows.nest]

Thank you for you input. It has been greatly appreciated. I will continue my search 🙂

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wrote:
I hate to tell, but it's not one of ours, sorry!

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[beekeeper_42]

Since there seems to be an interest in my family's business, I will add to my last posts.    We never produced anything using real gemstones.  All stones were glass, or starting in the late 60ss high quality Lucite.  Older early plastic would scratch badly, so we did not use it.  The Lucite we used was produced in Germany, and was very scratch resistant.  That is why the turtle pin, and beltfront are found in great condition after 50+ years, today.  Lucite was also used in necklaces, pins, and braceletts.  We also started using lucite drops, to make pieces lighter, and to meet demand, since jewelry was starting to take on a folksy look, in the late 60ss.

Our large pearls, and glass drops were made in NYC by an Eastern European refugee named Cleao.  He made the highest quality, real looking pearls.  The only thing we have found, was that the coating he used reacted to the brass wire causing a green tarnish to develope, but this took years to show up, so it was unknown at the time, of production.  The green tarnish cleans up with an old toothbrush, and warm soapy water.  Chemical cleaning of our jewelry is not recomended.  Some pieces were treated with a thin coating of thinned black model paint.  This was done to tone down the new plateing.  Let me know if you folks want more info.  SDA

[thirry]

I'm enjoying the discussion. Thanks for sharing with us. Hearing these details from a family member brings the jewelry to new life!

[lucille.b]

Also enjoy hearing these stories from a Schreiner family member.   Never thought I'd have that chance! Thank you! 

Schreiner has to be one of my all time favorite maker/designers.   The quality is just over-the-top outstanding.

[beekeeper_42]

Both Henry, and by dad, Ambros, were literally "right off the boat" from Germany. Henry did his apprenticeship to be a blacksmith in Germany before WW I, so he brought that standard of only making high quality products. Dad was happy to continue that standard, since he was studying to be a mechanical engineer, before being drafted into Hitler's tank corps. I think, since both saw the horrors of war, they enjoyed making things of beauty, since they both came home alive. We are surprised there is still such an interest in our jewelry, after all these years.

[lucille.b]

Thanks for sharing more of the history.   I love the idea of that they "enjoyed making things of beauty" following that horrid war.  And beauty they did make.

Great art stands the test of time ...and appreciates!

One only has to look at the selling price of some of those Schreiner ruffle pins.  More popular than ever.

I have a little story to tell -- maybe later.  About what I believe is a Schreiner pin and how I came to purchase it.

[theshoppingmom2]

Thank you so much for sharing  all of these amazing details!.

The fact that they wanted to create beautiful things after seeing the horrors of the war is just so moving to me.

[dream*peddler]

I also appreciate your time and sharing your family history.  I've been fortunate to own several pieces of Schreiner in the past and must say your family's jewelry is among my favorite.  Would you expand a bit on the use of inverted stones and gun metal gray findings used in some of your jewelry?  Thanks so much!

[1940fc]

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wrote:
...............We are surprised there is still such an interest in our jewelry, after all these years.

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Shoot..if I could afford to begin collecting  jewelry again..it would defintely be Schreiner.  People can have all the D&E or Eisenberg, or whoever else they want  lol . 

After seeing so many awesome pieces of Schreiner..I will own at least 1 piece some day! 

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[beekeeper_42]

Omar Kiam, from the design house of Ben Reigg, (sorry about the spelling butcher jobs on their names) introduced my grandfather to gun-metal plating from a trip to France, right after the war. It was done using a solution containing cyanide. We did our own plating until only one, or two years before dad got sick, and they decided to close the business. Our gun-metal was very flat looking, so it's an older piece, if you look at two side, by side, since there was no metal added to the solution.

[beekeeper_42]

The inverted stone story... Henry bought a large order of stones in Germany, right before WWII, from the Cz. craftsmen living in Germany. By the time they were ready to be shipped, we were at war with Germany, so he had them shipped to my Uncles farm, who stored them in his barn, until after the war. Henry never did much with them and they sat in the storeroom. When my dad took over he found that the stones were never used, for several reasons. The glass was in great shape, but the mirror backing was starting to peal. The remainder of the foil was removed with acid. When they first started setting them they realized they would pick up the color of the fabric underneath, if set point up.

[beekeeper_42]

I think one reason for all the unusual pieces was that neither my dad, or grandfather "trained" to go into the jewelry business. They made what they liked, or what the dress-houses wanted. So they were not bound by other peoples ideas of normal jewelry. Mom said my grandfather was humbled that other jewelry houses wanted to copy his designs, and it never bothered him, or my dad.

[beekeeper_42]

It's ironic that so much Schreiner is going to Russia. Ambros spent the better part of WW II there, being sent home from the Russian front 5 times with life threatening wounds. He used to say, the time he was shot in the head was the luckiest day of his life. The bullet went under the skin, but over the skull and out the back. The next day his tank column went into a battle, and no one returned, and he only survived since he was in the hospital. Later in the war, My grandmother was sent a picture of his burned out tank listing him as killed in action, not realizing he was in a hospital. His legs were full of shrapnel, and he lost several toes from that adventure. Mom said for years he would have shrapnel work their way out through his skin, and scalp. He died with a Russian bullet lodged against his heart, being too close to remove it. I guess he was meant to design jewelry that would go into the history books. Go figure!