Milky Way Jewels Juliana/Delizza & Elster

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JULIANA/DELIZZA & ELSTER
De Lizza & Elster (D&E) began in about 1947. The founding partners were Harold Elster and William De Lizza, later joined by William's sons Frank and Anthony. Originally the company made jewelry, buttons, and buckles, all hand-set with rhinestones in soldered settings. This company quickly became a major manufacturer of costume jewelry, contracting with over 800 customers in the U.S. and abroad. They made jewelry for such well-known companies as Weiss, Alice Caviness, Ballet, Celebrity, Hobe, Hattie Carnegie, Kenneth J. Lane, Kramer, Karu, and many others. William DeLizza was the primary designer for this manufacturing firm throughout its long production. Harold Elster was with the company until his death in 1964.

In addition to the jewelry they manufactured for other wholesalers, by 1953 the company was making the complex multi-colored, multi-layered jewelry line that it is best known for today. These pieces were never marked, but in 1967 the partners decided to create name recognition for this "house product" by placing hangtags with the "Juliana" trademark on some of these pieces. This name was only used for about 2 years, but has become the name by which the entire jewelry line is popularly known, as some of these hangtagged pieces were discovered by ardent collectors who sought out these unsigned pieces and treasured them for their complexity and extravagant use of color and design. Although the original DeLizza & Elster manufacturing plant closed in the late 1990s, Frank DeLizza is currently producing copies of a few of his old designs through a contractor in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The true origins of "Juliana" jewelry were unknown to the collecting community until the Spring 2003 issue of Vintage Fashion & Costume Jewelry magazine revealed that Frank DeLizza had been identified as the creator of this jewelry. Mr. DeLizza is now graciously working with collectors and dealers to explain the origins of the Juliana line and identify D&E pieces. There is an active and lively debate among collectors and dealers about whether all of the D&E pieces produced in this distinctive style over the 40 year time frame before, during, and after the Juliana hang tags were used should continue to be called "Juliana." Mr. DeLizza prefers that his jewelry be known as DeLizza & Elster, but at present "Juliana" remains the name most familiar to collectors.

Discovering Juliana Jewelry is an online group dedicated to researching, discussing, and archiving DeLizza & Elster jewelry.