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Current 50 Years Ago Page

Fifty Years Ago in Lapidary Journal

The July/August 1954 issue was 6-1/2" x 9-3/4", unlike today's dimensions of 8-1/4" x 10-3/4". It was not until 1960 that the size changed for the first time. It was a bi-monthly magazine and the newsstand price was $0.50 per copy.

Advertisement for the Las Angeles show.

The Big Los Angeles Show
by unknown author

This article was not so much about the Second Annual Gem & Mineral Show in L.A. as it was about "Wee Willy" Petersen-Fagerstam -- "far and away the motion picture industry's most talented and prolific 'fraud'." He earned his nickname because of his short stature (about five feet tall) and his reputation by being one of cinema's top jewelry reproduction specialists in the business.

Petersen-Fagerstam was born in Copenhagen in 1897 and grew up surrounded by jewelry arts. "As far back as history records, his family had been engaged in this profession, and Willy himself from the age of 14 was working 11 hours a day in his father's store. At night, he attended the University of Copenhagen from 6 to 10, studying the techniques and historical background of jewels and jewelry-making."

He was discovered in a Hollywood jewelry shop when a scout was searching for someone to duplicate the crown jewels of Louis XIV for a Paramount film. "He was the ideal man to create the desired crown -- and in the ensuing years, he proved to be the one man the studios could count on to produce accurate reproductions of famed jewels. In a single year, Willy has created as much as 200 billion dollars worth of jewelry -- that is, the jewelry would be worth this much if it were genuine."

The article goes on to list some of the pieces of Petersen-Fagerstam's that were going to be exhibited at the Los Angeles show (including original designs), mentioning a handful of displays from other artists. He was a frequent contributor to Lapidary Journal from 1952 to 1961, submitting how-to articles on original jewelry designs, covering everything from tie clips to gem spoons to, naturally, costume jewelry.

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More highlights from our archives coming next month from the July/August 1954 Lapidary Journal.

Visit the most recent "50 Years Ago in LJ"

Costume jewelry used in the motion picture Anna and the King of Siam, adapted from the book of the same name and from which the play The King and I was derived. All jewelry designed and made by Willy Petersen-Fagerstam.

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