PASSIONS

r

Go
Faux

One expert and collector has helped make
vintage costume jewelry a hot commodity.

BY DONNA PACE

S

arah Jessica Parker does it.
So do Gwyneth Paltrow
and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Go faux, that is.
These glittering icons of style and
screen shimmer a bit more brightly
with the help of Carole Tanenbaum, a
longtime vintage costume jewelry col-
lector and curator. And now the rest of
us can take advantage of her expertise
as well.
In her new book, Fabulous Fakes:
A Passion for Vintage Costume Jeweh y
(Artisan; $35), Tanenbaum has
gathered the results of her years of
passionate education — as well as
gorgeous photos of 800 exquisite
pieces from her own collection
— and offers them as an extensive,
insightful historical journey to fire
our own passion for vintage.
A former consultant and fine
art dealer, Tanenbaum was first
introduced to vintage costume

-

jewelry in the 1970s, when she and
her husband viewed a collection in
London. "They were objects of art to
me," explains Tanenbaum, who pur-
chased 20 items on the spot.
Over the years, these 20 pieces
evolved into a privately owned col-
lection numbering more than 3,500
examples — plus an additional 8,000
retail pieces she sells in shops such as
Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman
and Barneys and to private clients
around the world.

CAROLE TANENBAUM

A Passion for
Vintage
Costume
Jewelry

Maison Gripoix was
known in the 1990s for its
poured-glass, or pate de
verre, seen in this open-
work necklace.

14 • MAY 2006 • JNPLATINUM