I have a soft spot for jewelry ( I mean what girl does not?) and when it comes to German jewelry from the 30s and 40s I get really excited because its these little things that really enhance an impression. For this post I am looking at the photographic use and evidence of jewelry worn by German women in the 30 and 40s. The images that I am looking at are those in my own personal collection and some of the images I was able to tell pretty well the pieces they were wearing and find real life examples in my own collection! Woo hoo right! With that said I have paired with some of the photographs similar jewelry from my own collection again to give you a better idea at what I think we are looking at. Almost all the images I will be showing you are going to be of necklaces except for one image that looks like it may be a pin of some sort. I found a lot of evidence for the wearing of necklaces in my collection which I really like because I wear a lot of necklaces. Some of the necklaces that I noted looked like beaded pieces, those with a plain chain with an item suspended from it, and pearls on one.
To start, here is a photo with a lady sporting a beaded necklace. If you look closely, you can see the beads look like they start small at the back of the neck and get bigger towards the front . . Kind of normal for a beaded necklace. These are super common and I have more than one example of them here for you. I really like these because these are pretty easy to wear, make and even buy.
In addition to her beaded necklace, she even is sporting a wrist watch. The watch looks to have a plain round face and a plain band maybe a leather or a corded band. I am not a 40s watch expert so I am not sure. . but its a fun piece to note!
Here are some more beaded necklaces. I think these may have been popular!
Here is another beaded necklace image and note what is on her wrist. I think this may be a chunky bracelet as it looks too thick for a wrist watch. What are your thoughts??
Next is my favorite (so I'm a little biased . . . ) but its an edelweiss necklace on a chain that looks like it may be beaded (maybe?) or else on a ribbon as well. . Either way I think its a great piece and so very German as well. For my two examples I have one on a plain silver tone chain and one on a velvet band. Both are original pieces and both have real edelweiss pressed into the centers. The velvet band one is one I have worn and it is closest to the length in the photograph.
Up next is one I had a hard time with because I could not get as clear an image as I would have liked. I think that this is a plain chain piece with something on it like a small medallion like I have paired with it for reference. The gold filled medallion is a late 30s piece and is all original. I think the girl here in the vest and the one in the white blouse are wearing a necklace similar because I don't see a chain but I see an item that looks like it would sit at the end of a chain. I don't think they are buttons (they would be more consistent) nor a brooch (too low and the placing just looks awkward for that). What are your thoughts? I would love to know!
Pearls! I love pearls and these are so classic, easy to find and super period! Here is a German gal wearing a double strand and sometimes when I look at it maybe a triple strand. Just for reference I paired a set of original 1940s glass pearls with this image but they are not German pearls. These were my Great Grandmothers graduation pearls from 1940. Totally period though and that I would stand by.
Last but not least, one more set of photos of a gal wearing a sweater and may be wearing a brooch. Its kind of hard to tell what it is but I have a good feeling that that mark on her is a piece of jewelry rather than something built into the sweater. In these two images the brooch looks different but that could be just the angle the image was taken. To me it kind of looks like a bird. What do you think?
So there you have it! Another look at some German jewelry but this time with an analysis of photographs and some of my originals in my collection. I focused mostly on necklaces here as those were the pieces I was able to ID really well as well a some notes on wrist wear (a watch and a bracelet) . I could not make out earrings which I was a little bummed out about but oh well. I am happy with that I can make out. I would love to hear some of your thoughts!
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