WHY WALTER LAMPL?
“Creators of the Unusual, As Usual”
Our fascination with Walter Lampl’s jewelry began with a single brooch. But what a brooch it was! Cheri spotted it in an online auction about 25 years ago. The seller’s description said the large sterling piece had “heartstopping blue stones.” At that time, Lampl jewelry had fallen into obscurity and the seller did not recognize the maker’s mark. Cheri decided to do some research and after some digging, she discovered that a script WL in a shield was one of the hallmarks used by the Walter Lampl company. The reference book said that he was known for using semiprecious gemstones in costume jewelry. Intrigued, Cheri looked again at the pictures of those amazing stones and wondered, “Could those be aquamarines?!?!” She bid, and she won. And sure enough, although the enormous stone in the center was glass, the other stones were not. They tested as blue topaz.
Walter Lampl 1940s Large Sterling & Blue Topaz Retro Style Brooch
Then our quest began… First, for more of this spectacular jewelry and then, inevitably, for more information about the company responsible for its creation. The more we learned, the more respect we developed for the man who made it all happen, Walter Lampl, Sr. We were fortunate to develop a relationship with members of Walter Lampl’s family and we were honored to be entrusted by them with personal facts and family photos. We made a pilgrimage to the New York Public Library and spent a memorable week in the Arts and Architecture Reading Room where we were able to access the two leading jewelry industry periodicals of that time, the Jeweler’s Circular and the Keystone magazines. We searched every issue of those magazines for all the years the Walter Lampl company existed - 1921 to 1959 - and were able to photograph all of the ads published by Lampl during those years and every article featuring the Lampl company. We found out that his company’s motto, “Creators of the Unusual, As Usual” could not have been more true. We discovered his commitment to delivering the highest possible quality product at every price point in a wide variety of materials. And everything we learned confirmed our impressions of not only Walter Lampl’s artistic vision and genius for business, but more importantly his remarkable kindness, integrity, and humanity.
Walter Lampl at home with Galley in 1941.
On this website, we will be offering for sale a wide selection of Lampl pieces. These will represent the amazing scope of his production, which ranged from intricately carved semiprecious gemstones imported from China during the 1920s and 1930s to delicate 1950s confections; from big sterling 1940s statement pieces to tiny charms for bracelets. We will be offering compacts and cigarette cases, Swiss watches integrated into jewelry, and patriotic pieces that supported defense efforts during World War II. And in this blog, we will share some of what we’ve learned about the man, his business, the American jewelry industry, and the historical context for these fabulous pieces of wearable art. We hope to engage all of you in conversation in the comments section. Be sure to ask questions and share your knowledge below!
