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The Hollywood Jewelry Manufacturing Company, maker of designer costume jewelry, opened for business in 1938 located in New York City. There were three founders: Joseph Chorbajian, an Armenian immigrant; a cousin of Chorbajian whose name has since been lost; and Jack Hazard.

The Hollycraft Jewelry name
The Hollywood Jewelry Manufacturing Company started using the Hollycraft name in 1948, perhaps because of customer confusion between Hollywood Jewelry Manufacturing’s jewelry and jewelry produced by Joseph of Hollywood. Hanging tags with Hollycraft on one side and “Created by Hollywood Jewelry Mfg. New York” on the flip side originated during that same year.

Hollycraft costume jewelry of the 1950s
The heyday for many Hollycraft collectors is jewelry produced during the 1950s. For one thing, Hollywood Jewelry Manufacturing started marking dates on Hollycraft costume jewelry around 1950, making the jewelry easier to identify. In fact, because of the dating process, and the addition the © sign to Hollycraft costume jewelry after 1955, many collectors choose to collect Hollycraft vintage jewelry by the year.

The look of Hollycraft vintage jewelry
There are two interlocking Hollycraft jewelry signatures to look for. First, Hollycraft vintage jewelry is prized for its beautiful designs using rich, pastel-colored rhinestones. Some designs used a single color, while others used several sparkly colors.