The Beginning
Blanche Viano was a young housewife who wanted to earn a little money to help support her family, but being a housewife and mother meant that going out to work was not an easy task.
With little cash on hand, she took a gamble in 1949 and started her own company from her home in Illinois.
Blanchette Corporation soon became a reality, and with her husband Aldo Viano joining as General Manager, they established a home sales style business in Chicago, Illinois. It was around 1949 that Sarah Coventry started selling jewelry in a home party style, so it was probably a popular style at the time.
Hostesses who sold Judy Lee jewelry were called Queens and were issued a points system called "Diamonds for Datings" that could be used to purchase jewelry based on their sales .
Judy Lee jewelry was also given to contestants in the Miss America beauty pageant. California As the official jeweler of the competition, they will provide the winner's crown and special jewelry for each contestant. I was in charge of the ensemble.
A 1965 advertisement headline read, " Judy Lee Jewelry is Worn and Prized by America's Most Beautiful Women."
The black and hot pink box captivated many American women at the time.
Judy Lee offers pearls, evening wear, We also enthusiastically created summer jewelry and unique brooches.
Wallet-friendly prices and the convenience of shopping in the privacy of your own home quickly established the company in the Midwest And thousands of fashion Stylist Queen sold the products from their homes.
Customers were also given a 60- day warranty and free replacement of any lost stones.
For example, if you lost one earring, you could exchange it for half the price of the pair.
Blanche Viano is a housewife and always seemed to treat her customers with a housewife's perspective.
Even when looking at these pieces today, they are of very good quality and many are in good condition, which is testament to their quality.
The company seems to have continued to exist until around 1972 , but was later acquired and jewelry sales ceased.
Some Judy Lee jewelry is engraved, but much of it is not, and the way to tell it apart is by its distinctive riveted stone settings, or the filigree attached to the back of metal fittings on brooches, etc.
There are also many different colors of the same design, and there are a few catalogs published in 1965 that you can find there as well .
Here is a link to the catalogue.
Most of the jewellery is named after Sarah Coventry.
The designs were generally Victorian in style, and in later periods they also incorporated gunmetal (a metal with a blackish plate rather than gold or silver), which was popular at the time.