Monet: The Master Jewelers
Monet Jewelers began manufacturing jewelry in the 1920s. Two brothers, Jay and Michael Chernow created a company they originally called Monocraft in 1927, the purpose of which was to manufacture gold plated initials which were attached to clutch purses (and other fashion accessories of the day). As I was told the history by Mitch Manning, my former boss at Monet, and a nephew of the Chernow brothers, buyers of the purses and handbags were surprised that the monogrammed initials usually lasted long after the purses they were designed to adorn wore out. In 1929, Monet Jewelers was born. The Chernows were so proud of the quality of their work that they decided that each piece would be individually marked Monet, thus, all authentic pieces of Monet are signed. Monet, was the first fashion jewelry company to mark every piece made.
The sales office for Monet Jewelers was located in mid-town Manhattan, at 16 East 34th Street, New York. At the time I worked for this company (from 1978 to 1987), there were three factories located in Providence, RI. I was fortunate enough to visit all three factories and to witness the jewelry being designed and hand crafted. Each piece of Monet jewelry was triple-gold electroplated to give the pieces a like-real look. The quality of Monet jewelry was exceptional. When I was a sales rep for the state of VA, I often told Monet customers about their guarantee: if any piece were to break or become tarnished, Monet would either repair or replace that piece free of charge! Returning a piece of Monet was rare.
Did you know that Monet made the Yves St. Laurent line of fashion jewelry in the 1980s? It was fabulous! He came to tour the showroom at least one time when I was there. What an honor to meet this famous designer.
Monet also made a line of what was then called "bridge" jewelry named Ciani in the 1970s and 80s. This line of jewelry was composed of sterling silver, 14 KT Gold and silver vermeil. Ciani jewelry was meant to be better quality than the electroplated Monet, and was designed to compete with fine jewelry departments and stores.
I am offering a number of pieces of Monet jewelry on my OLA Classic_Chloe web site. Here is a vintage store display plaque. These were made by Monet with the purpose of acting as a "silent salesman" to promote the Monet jewelry on display. There are not many of these left, as they were not not made for retail sale.
Above is one of Monet's signature pieces from the early 1980s. Gold electroplated findings filled with black enamel collar necklace (note the matching extender at the clasp) with matching pierced earrings.
I loved being a part of the Monet family. The quality of Monet cannot be beat.
Nice pieces of Monet can be found on OLA, and on other web sites. How can you tell an item is genuine? Remember: every piece of Monet was signed.
Happy Jewelry buying!
Chloe
