GLASS ET CETERA
Extremely rare 1960s Bijoux Cascio gold plated diamanté rectangle clip on earrings
3cmL, in good condition. 18K gold plated so very good for hard wearing.
Bijoux Cascio vintage costume jewelry
The history of the legendary Italian jewelry brand “Cascio” spans over half a century, when a hereditary jeweler and perfumer Gaetano Cascio started his family business in Florence in 1948. The company grew rapidly, having begun to make jewelry for prestigious Italian fashion houses, along with other well-known jewelry brands. Thanks to Giovanni Battista Giorgini, who organized the first fashion show in Florence on February 12, 1951, Bijoux Cascio decorations shone at the second show in July 1951.
The company, in which Riccardo, the son of the company’s founder, had worked since the 1960s, went through a change of ownership and renovation in 1970 and 1988. However, the business continued to expand with 21 new boutiques in Italy and 4 abroad (in 1970). The range of products expanded, and along with bracelets, brooches, cufflinks, necklaces and earrings, they produced key rings, lighter cases, eyeglass chains, money clips and other accessories.
Noteworthy, in 1988, Bijoux Cascio, LTD, was registered in the United States at 100 Park Avenue, New York, New York, 10017. This helped support the business in the late 90s, when everything changed to the worse for most jewelry companies. Thanks to a commercial agreements and a production license in the USA, Cascio remained on the market.
Unfortunately, the wonderful vintage jewelry created in the middle of the last century will not be repeated. This is not only due to globalization and the huge Chinese exports of dubious quality jewelry. According to Riccardo, the anthropological reason is no less important “when old jewelers die and, you can be sure, no robot will ever be able to replace them”. No doubt.