Vintage Joseff of Hollywood jewellery has appeared in over 1,000 films — including the brooch on Bette Davis in All About Eve, Vivien Leigh’s amethyst and diamond necklace in Gone with the Wind, and Marilyn Monroe’s filigree sphere earrings in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Chances are, if you’ve watched a classic Hollywood film from the 1930s through the 1960s, you’ve already seen it — you just didn’t know it yet.
In this blog, we will explore the history, signature style, and enduring collectibility of vintage Joseff of Hollywood jewelry, from Eugene Joseff’s remarkable rise as the premier costume jeweler of Old Hollywood’s Golden Age, through to the retail pieces that collectors seek today. We’ll also cover how to read a Joseff mark, what authentication red flags to watch for, and why this is one of the most compelling areas of the vintage costume jewellery market.
There is no other influential costume jewellery brand quite like it. Joseff of Hollywood pieces don’t just have provenance — they have credits.
Eugene Joseff: From Chicago Advertising Man to Jeweler to the Stars
Eugene Joseff was born in Chicago in 1905 and spent the early part of his career as a commercial artist at an advertising agency. Jewellery design began as a spare-time pursuit, pursued alongside a foundry apprenticeship that would prove essential to everything that followed. In the late 1920s, drawn by the energy of the motion picture industry, he moved to Los Angeles — and quickly struck up a friendship that would change the course of his life.
That friendship was with Walter Plunkett, already an established costume designer at RKO. When Joseff criticised a film in which the costumes were historically accurate but the jewellery was entirely wrong for the period, Plunkett issued a direct challenge: “Well, if you’re so smart, let’s see what you can do.” Joseff took him up on it. From that moment, authenticity became the foundation of everything he built.
Working initially in the garage of his Sunset Boulevard home, Joseff developed two innovations that would define the company. The first was a proprietary semi-matte metal finish — known as Russian gold — a copper-gold alloy developed specifically to reduce glare from powerful studio lighting. The second was an exceptional research library covering jewellery history across centuries and cultures, which he opened to costume designers across competing studios, making himself an indispensable resource to Hollywood’s creative community. Before long, Eugene Joseff was known simply as “the Jeweler to the Stars.”
Vintage Joseff of Hollywood Jewellery The Business Model That Changed Everything
One of Eugene Joseff’s most consequential decisions was also one of his earliest: he chose to rent his pieces to studios rather than sell them. This gave him the capital to continue creating while retaining ownership of an extraordinary archive of film jewellery that would accumulate over decades. It also meant that when studios were slow to return pieces, Joan Castle Joseff — who became his wife in 1942 and his business partner throughout — had a memorable method of recovery: sending invoices for $10,000 to productions when jewelry wasn’t returned promptly. The pieces invariably reappeared.
By the late 1930s, Joseff had recognised another opportunity. Actresses who wore his pieces on set were requesting to wear them off-screen as well, and audiences wanted a piece of the glamour they saw on screen. Encouraged by the jewelry manager at Bullock’s department store in Los Angeles, Joseff launched a retail line of reproductions, selling through high-end department stores across the United States. The public responded immediately.
During World War II, the company’s foundry capabilities attracted the attention of the U.S. Government, and Joseff began casting aircraft parts alongside jewellery — a crossover the company famously described as “from jewelry to jets.” The aerospace division continued long after the war, sustaining the business through decades of change and operating until 2018.
Vintage Joseff of Hollywood Jewellery on Screen
Vintage Joseff of Hollywood jewellery has appeared in over 1,000 films. For collectors and classic film lovers alike, the connections between specific pieces and specific performances are part of what makes this brand so compelling.
In Gone with the Wind (1939), Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara wore a tiered multi-strand necklace with bezel-set simulated diamonds and amethysts in the New Orleans honeymoon scene, as well as a coral-coloured floret necklace with a suspended teardrop in multiple other scenes. Clark Gable carried a Joseff gold-and-silver-plated cigar case with a horse-head plaque, which he placed in a basket during the benefit ball war-effort scene.
For Cleopatra (1963), Elizabeth Taylor wore Joseff pieces, including a gold-plated rope belt with a coiled snake and a hammered cuff bracelet with six snake accents in relief.
Marilyn Monroe wore gold-plated filigree sphere earrings accented with simulated diamonds in publicity photographs for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). Grace Kelly wore Josephine Chandelier earrings in a publicity still for High Society (1956). Greta Garbo wore a star necklace and matching earrings in Camille (1936).
In 2017, Julien’s Auctions offered 600 lots from the Joseff studio archive —vintage Joseff of Hollywood jewellery that Joan Castle Joseff had preserved for decades after they were worn on screen. The sale generated significant collector interest and brought renewed attention to the brand’s extraordinary film heritage.
The Joseff legacy continues on screen today. AVintage Joseff of Hollywood tasseled collar necklace and bracelet set originally worn by Lucille Ball was borrowed from the Joseff archive for Nicole Kidman to wear, portraying Ball in Being the Ricardos. Joseff pieces have also appeared in recent productions of Westworld on HBO and Hollywood on Netflix.
Joan Castle Joseff Keeps the Legacy Alive
When Eugene Joseff died in a plane crash on September 18, 1948, at the age of 43, he left behind an infant son, a thriving business, and a wife who had been advised by friends to sell up and move on. Joan Castle Joseff did neither.
At under five feet tall, Joan Castle Joseff took over as president of a company operating across jewellery, film studio rentals, and aerospace manufacturing — at a time when very few women ran companies of any kind. She expanded the jewellery rental operation to television productions through the 1950s, maintained the studio archive, continued the retail line, and oversaw the aerospace division that supplied parts to Lockheed, Boeing, and General Electric for decades. She became a fixture of the Hollywood social scene, famous for her annual Christmas parties where the centrepiece was a tree decorated with jewels from the studio archive.
Joan Castle Joseff passed away in 2010 at the age of 97. Her daughter-in-law Tina Joseff, subsequently took the reins as president, and the company remains family-run today, with Jeff Joseff Jr. and Kristin Joseff continuing the work across jewellery design and operations.
Russian Gold & Vintage Joseff of Hollywood Jewelry
The most distinctive characteristic of vintage Joseff of Hollywood jewellery is its Russian gold finish — a proprietary semi-matte copper-gold alloy plating developed by Eugene Joseff to solve a specific problem. Under the powerful lighting of film sets, highly polished gold created unwanted glare and reflections. Russian gold’s softer, warmer tone eliminated the problem while giving pieces an authentic, antique quality that suited the historical films Joseff was dressing.
The formula remains proprietary and in use today. All retail pieces — including those assembled from original components warehoused by Eugene Joseff in the 1930s and 1940s — are finished using the same plating technique.
For collectors, Russian gold patina is one of the most important authentication indicators. Genuine vintage Joseff pieces develop a characteristic dark patina over time. A piece with bright, highly polished gold plating should be approached with caution — polishing destroys both the finish and the value. As one collector reference notes, the value of a polished Joseff piece drops significantly, and the piece becomes very difficult to authenticate with confidence.
Top Vintage Joseff of Hollywood Jewelry Designs Collectors Look For
Vintage Joseff of Hollywood jewellery design vocabulary was broad — drawing on historical jewellery, mythology, astrology, nature, and the visual demands of the silver screen. Several designs have become particularly iconic among collectors:
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The Sun God brooch — Joseff’s most celebrated design, originally created in 18-karat gold with diamond eyes as a gift for Joan Castle Joseff. Gold-plated versions with rhinestone eyes were produced for the retail line and remain among the most sought-after Joseff pieces
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Zodiac series — a collection of Signs of the Zodiac pins and earrings inspired by the American fascination with astrology during the Depression era; all twelve signs were produced, and the series remains perennially popular
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Figural animals — bees, cats, roosters, dogs, elephants, and horses appear throughout the Joseff catalogue; these pieces are both wearable and immediately eye-catching
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Bib and collar necklaces — large-scale, dramatic Joseff of Hollywood necklaces designed to read clearly on screen; the Moon God bib necklace with dangling rhinestone eyes is among the most iconic retail designs alongside the Sun God, and both translate beautifully as statement pieces for the collector
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Egyptian revival pieces — informed by Joseff’s historical research library; designs inspired by his work on Egyptian-themed films, including hinged bracelets with cabochon stones, are among the most recognisable in the catalogue and have unfortunately been subject to forgery
How to Read a Joseff of Hollywood Mark
The Joseff mark timeline is relatively straightforward, though the overlap between periods means marks alone cannot date a piece precisely:
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"JOSEFF HOLLYWOOD" in block capitals (larger Joseff over Hollywood) — earliest mark, used primarily on studio rental pieces from the late 1920s through 1948; often accompanied by a rental inventory number on a separate tag or scratched into the metal
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"JOSEFF HOLLYWOOD" in uniform block capitals — earliest retail tag, introduced with the launch of the retail line in the 1930s; both Joseff and Hollywood appear in matching block lettering
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Script "Joseff" mark — introduced from the 1950s onward; appears on a round plaque or stamped directly into the piece; script mark varies slightly between mid-century pieces and more recent production — patina and wear are the most reliable dating indicators
What Collectors Look For in Vintage Joseff of Hollywood Jewelry
All Joseff of Hollywood jewellery is considered collectible — including contemporary pieces made from original components — and values remain strong across the range. That said, certain factors consistently drive premium collector interest:
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Era — pieces from the 1930s and 1940s are the most coveted; these represent Eugene Joseff’s peak creative period and the height of Hollywood’s Golden Age
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Film provenance — pieces with documented connections to specific films or stars carry significant additional value; the 2017 Julien’s auction demonstrated clearly how strongly the market responds to authenticated film provenance
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Condition of the Russian gold finish — natural patina is desirable and authentic; any sign of polishing significantly reduces both value and authenticity confidence
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Iconic designs — the Sun God, Zodiac series, Egyptian revival pieces, and large-scale figurals consistently command the strongest collector interest
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Original tags and packaging — original Joseff retail cards and tags, where present, add meaningful collectible value and assist with dating
Vintage Costume Jewellery at Around the Block
At Around the Block, our CPPAG-accredited appraisers assess vintage costume jewellery with the rigour that serious collecting demands. When a Joseff piece comes through our doors, we examine the finish, the mark, and the construction carefully before it reaches the floor.
Explore our selection of marked costume jewelry at Around the Block in Toronto online or in our Lesmill Road showroom. For over 14 years, we’ve been the go-to destination for high-end costume jewellery on consignment from all the top brands, including Sherman, Kenneth Jay Lane, Christian Dior, Schiaparelli, Eisenberg, Miriam Haskell ,and more. Come and see our entire collection and discover an extraordinary piece for your jewellery collection.
