Vintage 1940s Reinad Brooch Marcel Boucher Gryphon Costume Jewelry Copy

This is an intriguing piece for the costume jewelry collector who is interested in costume jewelry history.  It is a copy of the Marcel Boucher Gryphon brooch, design 129,843, filed for patent on Sept 6, 1941.  The piece is signed “Reinad”, which was a New York based company.  There’s an interesting essay by Robin Deutsch for the Costume Jewelry Collectors International that discusses Reinad.  It had been thought that Reinad was a contract manufacturer for some of the high end costume jewelry makers, including Chanel, Eisenberg, DeRosa, Hattie Carnegie and Boucher, but Deutsch argues that Reinad was not a contractor, but rather would buy an original, remove the rhinestones, make a mold from the piece and immediately copy it, cashing in on the new design by the well known jewelry makers.  Although, in some cases, Reinad would produce decent quality, invariably the quality was always less than that of the original.

This is quite the striking piece, but obviously not of the same quality as the Boucher original.  In addition, probably half of the rhinestones are missing and there is some wear to the gold tone finish, although this is not pronounced.  A jewelry repair service would be able to replace the rhinestones, however, and once done, this would make a very attractive brooch.  

The brooch is quite large, measuring 3 1/4” square.  It is stamped “Reinad” on the back.  My understanding is that Reinad pieces are not that plentiful and this copy of the Boucher Gryphon is probably quite rare.  It is being sold “as is” due to the condition problems.