Go Figure, Reja Costume Jewelry Dazzles Collectors

Some folks amass captivating collections of costume jewelry figurals that just boggle the mind with their creativity. I’ve never been one of them. Not that I haven’t thought about it, and I do have a few that fall into that category in my collection. But, by and large, I’ve always had a catch, enjoy for a while, and release policy when it comes to buying and selling these amazing little beauties. That’s how I’ve been able to further the hunt all these years.

As I was recently perusing photos of jewelry I’ve sold, I recalled that some of my all-time favorites have been Reja designs. It’s not a name you’ll hear often in comparison to Trifari or Coro, for instance. But when it comes to serious collecting, the pros indeed relish owning Reja designs. The company’s background is interesting, too, so I’ll fill you in on what I know about that before delving into more details about the costume jewelry made under this brand.

A Brief History of Reja

Let me preface the beginning of this short history lesson by saying that during the late 1930s and throughout the 1940s, costume jewelry companies in the U.S. were rivals. Some of these rivalries were friendlier than others, but there were more than a few lawsuits being filed when names were misleading, or designs were being copied. That’s not necessarily a good thing in general, but court filings, patents, advertisements and announcements in trade periodicals from back in the day help jewelry historians piece together the stories of long-defunct jewelry brands.

With that out of the way, we know that Solomon Finkelstein established Deja Costume Jewelry, Inc. in 1939. No, that’s not a typo; Reja originated as Deja. The firm based in New York City had a showroom on Fifth Avenue and a manufacturing facility on West 47th Street. Another company advanced collectors know well—Du Jay, Inc.—alleged the name of Finkelstein’s business was too much like theirs and a New York court agreed in October of 1940. Finkelstein changed the name of his firm from Deja to Reja and made a related announcement in Women’s Wear Daily in early 1941, as noted in American Costume Jewelry: Art & Industry, 1935-1950 by Carla Ginelli Brunialti and Roberto Brunialti.

So, if you run across Deja jewelry, you can accurately date it from 1939 to 1940. There was a period of overlap where preexisting Deja jewelry was re-struck with Reja marks in the months when the name transition was taking place, as also noted in the Brunialtis’ book, so there’s a chance you might run across that as well. What you’ll see most often, though, are Reja marked pieces made from 1941 through December 1953 when the firm announced its insolvency.

More on Deja Jewelry

The early pieces made by Finkelstein’s business marked Deja or Deja Original were brooches. Many of them depict flowers; some were even stamped Fleurs denoting the line name. They’re pretty enough, but not so different than gold plated and enameled pot metal flowers with rhinestone accents made by many other companies around 1940. One exception is a tussy mussy brooch that has a well that can hold water and a flower bud or two. That’s not something many companies marketed during this period, and finding one marked Deja is a truly rare accomplishment.

Other Deja pin designs vary from dancers to dogs and hands to birds. These small pieces can be nice enough, and are certainly collectible, but they’re not quite as appealing or well-known as the later designs marked Reja. In fact, some sellers will use both names in online listing titles to draw attention to them.

The Creative Designs Marked Reja

You could say that Finkelstein didn’t miss a beat when he took his business from Deja to Reja, but it might be more accurate to say that he upped his game. In my opinion, as the 1940s progressed so did Reja’s designs.

The “Africana” line is one of the most well-documented series of figural brooches and clips produced by the company, and they’re also coveted by collectors. The tricky part is that most of these pieces are what we think of as blackamoors in the jewelry community and many people in the general populace don’t see wearing them as politically correct anymore. They usually depict people of high tribal status, however, so I (and many of my collecting friends) don’t see them as derogatory. Several of Reja’s Africana designs including “Ubangi,” “Witch Doctor,” and “Nubian Head” were patented in 1946 and appeared in a magazine advertisement for the collection that same year. These are some of the most highly valued Reja designs and they don’t come on the market frequently.

Reja’s “Gardenesque” designs, another popular series, appeared in a Vogue advertisement in 1947. The tagline for the collection reads “poised in the poetry of jewels,” and features several different styles of vases holding elaborate flower arrangements decorated with faux gems. These lovely pieces were made of sterling silver, and some were gold washed with enameled accents. Matching earrings were available, but the earrings are generally harder to find than Gardenesque brooches and pin clips (also called fur clips by collectors).

Throughout the 1940s, sketches of clever Reja designs appeared in Women’s Wear Daily. Exotic birds, gazelles, masks, clowns and a “Man from Mars” king brooch were among them. Most of the other Reja pieces I’ve personally owned weren’t documented in this way that I’m aware of, but they’re just as delightful. I’m particularly fond of several sea life designs, including a whimsical mermaid, and a very fancy stork that came with matching earrings.

Not all the pieces of Reja I’ve had the pleasure of passing along to others were signed, however. I knew they were authentic Reja because one of the pieces in a suite provided that clue. In one instance, they weren’t figurals, but a matching necklace, bracelet, brooch, and earrings; only the brooch was marked. These were rhodium plated pieces embellished with unfoiled clear stones. The company produced other bracelet and necklace styles, even though figural brooches were always the firm’s bread and butter in terms of both production and creativity. 

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