JEWELRY DESIGNER INTERVIEWS

Carole Tanenbaum photo

Detail of a platinum, enamel and diamond necklace made for the Disney family in the thirties

Carole Tanenbaum on Disney fine jewelry

There is nothing Mickey Mouse about this platinum and diamond necklace

By Bernadette Morra

Mickey Mouse never looked so glam and, despite an astronomical price tag, jewelry fan Carole Tanenbaum couldn’t resist.

The Toronto vintage costume jewelry collector spotted the cartoon star - in diamonds and platinum - at the Palm Beach art and antique fair about five years ago.

Mickey was dangling along with Mini Mouse, Popeye, Daffy Duck and friends on a ‘30s necklace at the booth of Veronique Bamps Antique Jewelry from Brussels.

“It was instant love,” recalls Tanenbaum, who supplied the Victorian pin that Michelle Obama wore to her husband’s inauguration. “My husband and I collect vintage toys and we like folk art Americana which this piece is in its best sense.”

While she won’t disclose what she paid, Tanenbaum jokes that her husband, “mortgaged the house and the kids and bought it.”

The necklace features six Disney characters plus a Scottish figure in enamel, diamonds and platinum on a platinum chain.

The piece was made for a member of the Disney family to mark a major Disney moment in the ‘30s. The style of the characters are their early incarnations – Daffy Duck and Mickey both changed significantly through the years.

Though there is no signature on the necklace, the craftsmanship is outstanding, Tanenbaum says. “Each of the charms is less than half an inch so they are like miniatura. The detailing in them is spectacular, both front and back.”

Unlike the kitschy costume jewelry which is mass-produced for the Disney company, this handcrafted necklace has a refined appearance and substantial weight.

“When I wear it people really stop and look because it lays flat and there is no bulk to it,” Tanenbaum describes. “It has an elegance to it. If you think about it, this was a commemorative piece which was probably worn with a gown and high end accoutrements. There is a real sense of history and culture to it.”

But don’t some admirers assume it’s costume, just because of the subject matter?

“All of my real jewelry looks like my vintage costume jewelry because that’s the look I love,” Tanenbaum declares.