Costume Jewelry maker
Weiss marks
Albert Weiss worked for Coro in the 1930s and set up his own firm, Albert Weiss & Co., in New York in 1942.
- Active
- 1942–1971
- Based in
- New York, New York, United States
- Marks listed
- 9
- Typical pieces
- brooches, earrings, bracelets, necklaces
The marks, by date
Each mark’s wording is written out as a transcription: the words and line breaks, not a picture of the mark. Where a source describes a mark instead of quoting it, the description is shown in italics.
Where: back of piece
RCJ gives first use 1947; one collector source calls it the earliest Weiss mark
Where: back of piece
listed by RCJ without its own date
Where: back of piece
cited among the early Albert Weiss marks
Where: back of piece
Where: back of piece / hang tag
enlarged W topped with a crown
Where: display card / hang tag
Where: back of piece, often on an oval cartouche
RCJ gives first use 1951
Where: back of piece
Where: back of piece
Weiss Mexico silver; RCJ says the center carries SIII or 1115
History
The company bought much of its line from outside suppliers rather than making it; Hollycraft, for example, produced some Weiss Christmas-tree pins. Weiss passed the business to his son in 1969 and it closed in 1971.
Dating clues
- A © symbol points to about 1955 or later; a © on a piece built like 1940s work is a warning sign.
- Between 1951 and 1955 both Albert Weiss and Rudolph Weiss used WEISS in a cartouche, so that mark alone does not settle the maker for those years.
- Some pieces carry both TOP and Weiss marks.
Look-alikes and reproductions
- Rudolph Weiss also used a WEISS cartouche mark (1951–1955).
- A later company bought the Albert Weiss name and sells modern designs marked Albert Weiss Co. in script with an ® mark; these are unrelated to the vintage firm.
- Collectors report fake Weiss pieces with inferior stones, textured fake finishes and cheap-looking backs.
Other names on the marks
Albert Weiss & Co., Inc.; Albert Weiss; Weissco; A.W.Co.
Where sources disagree: Early mark dates differ: RCJ says Weiss was first used 1951 and Weissco 1947, while some collector guides say WEISS in block or script letters appeared from 1942. The Weiss-fakes note comes from search-result summaries, not a page I opened.
Sources
Marks help identify a maker and a date range, but they can’t prove a piece is genuine. Reproductions and later reissues can carry old marks. This entry isn’t an appraisal.