Sandor Jewelry Company History
Sandor jewelry is yet another company for which little information is available. We know it was founded by Sandor Goldberger in 1938 New York as a small costume jewelry company. Beatrice Grace McGowan was head designer until the late 1950s. The company ceased operations in 1972.
Sandor is most known for McGowan’s beautiful floral designs. Pieces were designed using base metals, sterling silver and/or gold plating. Embellishments included enamel, rhinestones, mother of pearl and faux pearls. It is believed Sandor’s sterling silver pieces were likely made in the early 1940s.
Collecting Sandor Jewelry
For the first few years, Sandor pieces were marked Sandor Goldberger in script. Thereafter, the mark simply became SANDOR or SANDOR CO. As with most costume jewelry, pieces manufactured after 1955 also had the copyright symbol next to the mark.
[note: In 1947, Congress expanded copyright laws to include art designs. In 1955, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that costume jewelry were considered art, and therefore should be protected by US copyright laws (Trifari, Krussman & Fishel, Inc. v. Charel Co., 134 F. Supp. 551 (S.D.N.Y. 1955)]
Sandor is highly collectible, especially the flower pieces, and commands a higher price than the average vintage piece. Sandor figurals are extremely rare so expect to pay a premium for those.
