KJL?

I found these super cute earrings and brooch at an antique store yesterday. They were a good price! Couldn't wait to get them up in the shop. I always do a little browsing on Etsy when I put up new pieces just to see if there are already the same things out there, and to compare prices. I searched "black gold bow earrings" in the vintage section and found not only another pair of my same ones, but four pair of the same ones! I got nervous at first. Then I looked into it some more. On the back of my pair, the words "KJL for Avon" are stamped on the back. I didn't think much of it. I have a ton of old Avon jewelry. Come to find out, Kenneth Jay Lane for Avon is a bigger deal than I was expecting. And by "big deal" I mean in the $30-$70 category, not the $15 one.
Here's what I learned about KJL: (taken from this listing on Ruby Plaza)1. My brooch isn't a brooch, it's a necklace enhancer. ooo la la2. Kenneth Jay Lane, who won the prestigious Coty Award, has as his trademark “Jeweler to the World’s Most Admired Women”. His designs are displayed in the finest stores in Paris, London, Tokyo, and New York. He incorporated shiny gold-tone and silver-tone, studded with sparkling rhinestones and crystals in a rainbow of glorious colors. He began at the Art Department of New York Vogue in 1954 and decided to head out on his own in 1963. He came to Avon in 1986 with the Society Collection. He continues to produce for Avon today. Most of his jewelry is big, bold and dramatic with the use of fine stones that he personally developed with his sources in Germany.Kenneth Lane signed his pieces “KJL for Avon” from 1986 through 1995. In 2000, he began to sign his pieces simply “KJL”.

Oh, fancy.

So here's the result of all of this: 1. I've got a cool pair of bow earrings and a pretty bow necklace enhancer.2. People are charging a lot more than $15 for their sets. (examples 1 2 3 4 5 6 and 7)3. Mine are going to stay $15 and I'm still going to be thrilled when they sell.

The end.