Brief
Weiss History
Weiss Jewelry, founded
by Albert Weiss, was not as big a company as some of the other jewelry retailers, but like them, Weiss Jewelry *sold
different lines for different pocket-books.
They sold
some very high end beautiful jewelry and accessories, paying great attention to detail.
Albert Weiss, a native New Yorker, started his company in 1942, on Fifth Avenue in
N.Y., after having worked for Coro and Marvella Jewelry.
Mr. Weiss worked primarily in clear and colored rhinestones and was very well known for his creations of butterflies,
bugs and flowers.
The first mark used was
"WEISS" in block letters, then "Weiss" in script. Also "Albert Weiss" and A W Co.
This last mark was started sometime in
1951.
You can put you cursor over the marks
at the left to see more.
Albert Weiss was president of his company and retired in 1969.
One of Albert's sons, Michael, continued
the business for a short time but finally Weiss Jewelry closed it's doors in 1971.
Weiss jewelry, compared to other companies of the times, was in business for a relatively short period of
time. This means there is less Weiss jewelry to collect and it is a little harder to find.
Albert Weiss has left us some wonderful collectible treasures!
*It is a common misconception that these
various jewelry companies, like Weiss, made their jewelry; not always true: Some did, some didn't. Like the clothing industry, most retail jewelry companies shopped at the
various manufacturer's showrooms, picked out their lines for the seasons, and had their own paper labels/hang tags or
imprinted stamped marks put on the jewelry they wished to sell under their brand name.
These jewelry companies would also often have their own in-house designers and have the
manufacturers make up their designer’s creations.
Hang tags, brand marked boxes, or attached
paper tags were often tossed out or lost when jewelry was purchased, leaving many of us wondering about those unmarked pieces
of jewelry: To whom should we attribute them? That's a whole other discussion. 
