About

Just

Jewelry

 

In 1992, my knowledge of antiques and collectibles was absolutely nill. My husband, Larry, was an avid collector of Anheuser-Busch pre-prohibition breweriana, but I had little or no interest in learning about "old bottles and glasses" and pre-prohibition brewers. He would drag me to shows, flea markets, and antique shops. After 20 minutes I had "seen everything" and was ready to go to lunch!

My interest in jewelry somewhat matched my interest in antiques. I had a few pieces of "good" jewelry, most of which Larry had bought me as gifts for special occasions. I wore these occasionally. I owned almost no costume jewelry. I had always considered it an extravagance, so I seldom felt at ease spending extra money for jewelry to match an outfit.

It was in this context that I found myself unprepared for the small gift Larry brought home from work late one day in September, 1992. It was a Trifari necklace, circa 1950 (pictured above). He had purchased it from a friend at work who did estate sales. The friend brought boxes of costume jewelry to work to sell to the women who worked there. I had never seen anything like it before. We showed it to my mother-in-law, and I can remember asking, "They made jewelry like this?" She said, "Yes. I had a whole set at one time. We bought it at the jewelers. It was expensive, even then. People often bought rhinestone jewelry as gifts. It's collectible now. I have a book on it. You can look at it." She came back with the first edition of Harrice Miller's Official Indentification and Price Guide to COSTUME JEWELRY, 1990. As I paged through it, I was awestruck. I asked my husband if his friend had any more. He said, "Yes, boxes of it." I said, "Let's go!" I ended up buying almost everything he had left, and Just Jewelry was born. Since then, our business has grown by leaps and bounds. We are now one of the largest costume jewelry dealers in the St. Louis area. We have an extensive and varied inventory of reasonably-priced items, and we specialize in signed designer pieces. My husband is my business partner and the primary buyer. He still loves "shopping the malls" more than I do. Hardly a day goes by when he does not come home with a small bag of "treasure," as he calls it. I love to do the selling, and I have enjoyed the friendships I have made in the process. My interest in jewelry--well, it's certainly changed. I no longer consider costume jewelry an extravagance. I wouldn't be without it!

Kim Cummins, Just Jewelry
April l, 1997

The Just Jewelry Logo

The above story of the inception of Just Jewelry was written almost a year ago as I was preparing the pages for this site. After almost a year of doing business on the internet, Just Jewelry has grown beyond any of my expectations. I have made many wonderful cyber friendships in the process. Most of those friendships have developed as a result of my membership in Jewelcollect, an interactive email forum for vintage costume jewelry enthusiasts. It was through my membership in JC that I met the two people responsible for designing my business logo and bringing it to life.

I had been on the web just a few short months when I got the idea to ask fellow JC member Nancy Hathaway to design a logo for my web site. I was in dire need of business stationery and new business cards and was looking for something that would reflect my website design/colors. After discovering that Nancy did this type of work in her "real" life, I told her what colors I wanted and asked her to come up with a logo. I couldn't have been more pleased with the result. She did a wonderful job and created a regal-looking crown over two elongated "J"s for Just Jewelry. I was thrilled with my new cards and stationery, and I have received many compliments on them. Nancy Hathaway is the owner of  Elegance at a Glance,, another Jewelcollect Member Website featuring vintage costume jewelry. In addition to doing design and printing, Nancy also does website design. One need only look at her own site to see the great talent she has.

The person responsible for bringing my logo to life in the form of a fantastic crown pin is a jeweler from Florida named John Leonard Catalano. I first became aware of John Catalano and his outstanding talent through my membership in Jewelcollect, During the summer of 1997, his name frequently appeared in JCemail posts related to repair and restoration of vintage costume jewelry. I soon learned that he was exclusively authorized by The Eisenberg Jewelry Company to repair and restore their jewelry. I was impressed by the comments I was reading from others who had sent things to him for repair. I had recently attended a local estate sale where I had purchased a 1920s 10Kt white gold filigree ring.The setting was cracked and misshapen, and the synthetic stone was beyond redemption. I decided to see what he could do with it. His estimate was extremely reasonable, so I mailed it off. Two weeks later, he called to say the ring was finished and on its way home. Instead of replacing the damaged stone with a similar one, he had used a synthetic alexandrite, and hoped I would like it. I can't tell you how thrilled I was when I opened the box and saw how beautiful it was. The ring was too beautiful to sell and happened to be my mother's birthstone. I just had to give it to her for Christmas. I was so enthusiastic about the work he had done on the ring, that I gathered up a number of other vintage pieces that needed resurrecting and sent them off as well. They, too, returned to begin a new life.

The idea to commission John to design something for me had been growing since the day I saw that alexandrite winking at me. I knew that John designed his own jewlery and had seen a number of examples of his work.  I was eager to have him design something for me. I decided to ask John to make a replica of the logo Nancy designed in the form of a pin. I sent him a picture of the logo, and he went to work, designing and fashioning the whole thing by hand. I think he was as excited about the project as I was--even more so. As you can see, it is gorgeous. I knew that it would be. I now have a representation of my logo that I can wear everywhere, and I consider myself fortunate to have my own John Catalano Original!  As Just Jewelry enters its second year of internet sales, it is my sincere desire to make the world of vintage costume jewelry a reality for as many people as possible by continuing to offer a quality product and excellent service at an affordable price.

Kim Cummins, Just Jewelry
March 6, 1998

Just Jewelry Searches For....

Much has happened in the three years I have been on the Internet. The market has changed considerably with more and more people, both buyers and sellers, discovering the excitement of buying and selling on-line. Throughout it all, I have continued to strive toward meeting my primary goals of offering a quality product and excellent service at an affordable price. I have also tried to make Just Jewelry a web site that stands apart--a place where those with an interest in vintage costume jewelry can come for information and entertainment as well as for merchandise. Just Jewelry is not just an on-line store, but an expression of my personality and my love of writing. As an educator and life-long academic, I have always thrived on research and acquiring knowledge of subjects that interest me. As a collector, I continue to research the pieces I collect and the designers and manufacturers that made the pieces a reality. The Internet has provided a great opportunity for finding specific pieces I am looking for. It is this combination of circumstances that led me to create the most recent feature on my site, Just Jewelry Searches For......The feature showcases specific pieces I am searching for with information on the designer or manufacturer that produced those pieces.  As my collecting tastes continue to change and broaden, and my knowledge of the history of vintage costume jewelry continues to increase, I hope to add many new pieces to my own collection and share what I have learned with those who are interested in discovering more about this fascinating subject.

Kim Cummins, Just Jewelry
April 6, 2000

To order, click Ordering Information. If you have questions or comments, e-mail us at kdcllc@peaknet.net or call (618) 398-2173. JC members receive 10% discount on orders totaling $100 or more.