Beautiful 1950's Hattie Carnegie Emerald & rhinestones brooch

Hattie carnegie A native of Vienna, Austria, Henrietta Kanengeiser migrated to the United States in 1901. She settled with her family in a poverty-ridden area of New York looking for opportunity. Not long after, she changed her last name to Carnegie seeking a moniker that stood for success. As a teenager she worked for a number of millinery businesses in New York before moving to Macy’s where she garnered a position as a salesgirl. She then moved to the millinery department and learned even more about the hat trade. Along with know-how, she took the nickname “Hattie” with her when she left Macy’s to start “Carnegie – Carnegie added jewelry to go with her clothing designs in 1939. Some of the earliest pieces were made by Fallon & Kappel, a famed manufacturer who also supplied Eisenberg with jewelry. In collecting terms, these initial pieces are the most important and quite often the most valuable Carnegie designs.