The History of Ricarde of Hollywood Jewelry:

Hollywood Jewelry Products, Inc. was launched in 1939 by Richard C. Baxt. The company became known as 'Ricarde of Hollywood' and specialized in producing beautiful costume jewelry reproductions that were inspired by famous movies of the time, such as the Bette Davis movie, Juarez (1939) and THE most famous movie of the day, "Gone With The Wind." Ricarde is known to have duplicated a five different sets of jewelry from GWTW, with much of it being worn by Belle Watling.
The Gone With the Wind items included premiums that were made in 1939-40 for the Lux soap company which were available for 15c and a box top from Lux Soap. The most commonly found of these premium items are the plastic Cameo Brooch (as worn by Scarlett) and the faux Turquoise and Pearl Brooch (worn by Mammy). Other pieces were also made to match the brooches including; necklaces, rings, pendant, earrings and bracelets, and since the materials used were not made to last, these pieces are now very rare and hard to find in good condition.

                                                          The History of Joseff of Hollywood Jewelry:

Jewelry designer Eugene Joseff created jewelry as glamorous as the era in which he lived and worked - early Hollywood. He made his name during the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's by supplying jewelry to blockbuster films of the era including "Gone With The Wind" and "Around the World in Eighty Days." His career started when he saw Constance Bennett wearing a 19th-century gown with 20th-century jewelry in a period movie. He then convinced the studio that they needed his jewelry expertise, which led to him establishing a new practice; leasing jewelry to the studios rather than selling it. At one point in the 30's and 40's, Joseff was the only wardrobe supplier working for all the major studios simultaneously, with 90% of the jewelry used in movies during the 'Golden Age of Hollywood' being supplied by him. The other 10% is said to have come from the star's own jewelry chests.

In 1939 Joseff worked with Walter Plunkett, the famous costume designer who designed the beautiful costumes for Gone with the Wind, to create jewelry especially for the movie. With his eye for details, Joseff wanted his jewelry that was used in period movies to have a basis in historical fact and acurate to the time period. And since the requirements of the movie industry was known to be very high, the combination of the studios standards and Joseff's creative genius resulted in some of the most amazing jewelry ever made, including the rhinestone necklace Scarlett wore with the 'Bird Dress" in the New Orleans Honeymoon dinner scene, when she and Rhett are sitting at a table eating dinner.

After the death of Mr. Joseff  in a 1948 airplane crash, his widow Joan Castle Joseff took control of the Joseff jewelry company. In the 1950's, Joan Joseff started supplying Joseff jewelry for TV stars and expanded into the retail market, namely Bullock's Department Stores.

Joseff of Hollywood jewelry can be seen in the following movies: Gone with the wind (1939)The Three Musketeers (1948)Marie Antoinette (1938) The Hunch back of Notre Dame (1939) Bedtime Story (1941)Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966) Wizard of Oz (1939). Some of the more recent TV shows and movies movies which used the Joseff Jewelry: Barnaby Jones, Batman, Beauty and the Beast, Columbo, Danny Thomas show, Dynasty, Hitchcock Presents, I love Lucy, Knots Landing, Kojak, Mission Impossible, Murder She Wrote, Queen for the Day, Twilight Zone, Zorro and many more.   Our researched information and pictures displayed on our web site are courtesy of: the Joseff of Hollywood Company, Ms. Joanne Dubbs Ball "Jewelry of the Stars" book, Ms. Lillian Baker "Twentieth Century Fashionable Plastic Jewelry" book, Ms. Nancy Schiffer "Fun Jewelry" and Ms. Nancy Schiffer "the Bakelite Collection".