Contemporary Austrian Crystal Pin
Christmas pins are a hot collectible according to the December 2003 issue of Country Living Magazine. The origins of Christmas pins can be traced to the simple corsages of paper or cardboard and enhanced with lightweight holiday accents. But in the 1940s, the pins emerged as a separate category when fashion costume jewelry designers began to produce rhinestone pins in Christmas themes.
Christmas pins became popular in the 50’s. Eisenberg, Weiss, Hobe, ART, Coro, Benedict, Hollycraft, Made in Austria, Beatrix, Trifari, Carolee, Monet, Stanley Hagler , Bauer and B.J. were designers whose unique creations became todays collectibles. Many of these companies are no longer in production and therefore are scarce and will command a higher price. Many pins were sold unstamped with just a tag or label which usually was discarded making it impossible to identify the designer.
Since there is such a wide variety of themes and styles in Christmas pins, many collectors specialize in a niche. The most popular niche is Christmas Tree pins. However, some collectors collect by the manufacturer, or some other form like reindeer, or candles.
One doesn’t need to look only for vintage Christmas pins. Eisenberg, Gerry’s and J.J. are a few of the manufacturers who are still in production today. In addition, collectors flock to Swarovski, Liz Claiborne,Gerrys, Cristobal and Wendy Gell.
Click on the image to review these books on collecting vintage Christmas jewelry.
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