Original Item: Only One Available. During WWII it was a common belief that series of wings were sold just across the border from many of the Texas training airfields and that they were made in Juarez, Mexico. These wings are distinctive by the upsweep of the wing tips. But this rumor was untrue. The wings were made in New Jersey by Walter Lampl. But to this day collect's still refer to them as "Juarez" wings.
This set of fantastic wings in sterling silver with a large wingspan of 3 1/2", the style is undeniable that of Walter Lampl. Ingeniously inserted in to the center recess of the wing is a watch which is marked on the face LAMPL and SWISS. The watch face is mounted upside down. Why? So the wearer could affix the wings to their chest then turn the wings up and read the time. These wings were designed for doctors and nurses to wear while treating patients so they could take a pulse and tell the time for medications and other medically important tasks. This is a unique and ingenious design by one of the most respected and creative costume jewelry makers of the Wold War Two era!
The history of costume jewelry is filled with mysteries. Companies came and went, records were not maintained, and collectors have often been left frustrated by gaps in their knowledge about favorite designers and manufacturers. One of these mystery companies has been that of Walter Lampl. In its day, this wholesale manufacturer of fine and costume jewelry was a powerhouse in the industry. From his offices and showroom on New York’s Fifth Avenue, Walter Lampl created finely crafted jewelry as unique as he was and a system for distributing it as big-hearted as himself.
Walter Lampl, Sr. was born to an impoverished family in New York City in 1895. From boyhood, Walter was ambitious. He wanted more and better. As a child he sold newspapers on the streets, and then in his teenage years discovered that it was more lucrative to buy lengths of chain, cut it to length, add findings to the ends, and sell watch chains. In 1921, at the age of 26, Walter became the sole owner and manager of a wholesale jewelry company named for himself. The offices and showroom were located on New York’s 47th Street.
Lampl’s jewelry was designed by women employees who produced drawings which were then approved by Walter. Two of these designers were Nat Block and June Redding. From the beginning, Lampl meant quality. The company’s jewelry often included semi-precious gemstones set in sterling or gold fill. Frequently used materials included jade, garnet, moonstone, coral, turquoise, pearl, ivory, amethyst, blue topaz, chrysoprase, aquamarine, zircon, citrine, and others. This same idea was adopted many years later by the Swoboda Company and enjoyed great popularity again, more than 30 years after Walter Lampl made his name with the same concept.
Family Ties
Walter Lampl was a business built on relationships. Joe Lampl, Walter’s brother, worked as a salesman for the firm. Employees came to stay. During the Depression years, when work was hard to find, Walter Lampl hired the grooms of his female employees if the men did not have other jobs when they married. Traveling the country on routes that took in all the major cities, Walter Lampl and his team of salesmen visited the buyers of major department stores across the nation, developing friendships and trading partnerships. Later, when his daughter Miriam married Jerome Ornsteen, Walter hired his new son-in-law as a salesman and gave him Walter’s own sales route. Walter’s kindness is legend among family members who recount how Walter would take pity on newsboys shivering on street corners during frigid New York winters and buy all their papers so they could go home to get out of the cold.
Walter promoted personal and business relationships in other ways, as well, always with an eye to forging bonds that would benefit all parties. He was a member of the Jewelry Publicity Board and the 24 Karat Club. Lampl also joined the Metropolis Country Club and the Masonic Order and became an active sponsor of the New York Guild for the Jewish Blind. His booth was a big attraction at the annual jewelry trade show at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where he announced his presence with 12 inch high letters spelling out his name, each letter completely inlaid with a dramatic mosaic of intricately carved jade, lapis, amethyst, carnelian, and coral.
The Patriot Pin
Disaster struck on December 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. While the nation was still reeling with horror and beginning to mobilize for war, the Lampl design team sprang into action. Only 22 days after the attack, on December 29, Walter Lampl filed a patent with the U.S. Patent Office for “The Patriot Pin.” This was a large enameled brooch depicting the earth, with a cultured pearl in the center of the Pacific Ocean representing Hawaii. An airplane was placed on a stem above the earth, headed for Hawaii. Behind the plane, streaming out from the earth, were enameled red, white, and blue banners, each with one word in raised gold letters, “REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR.” These pins retailed for $1.00 each, and Lampl donated 10% of the retail price to the Pearl Harbor Relief Fund at the Honolulu Community Chest. He promoted these pins widely. A picture of a woman wearing the pin appeared in 500 newspapers nationwide. Sixty-five radio stations broadcast information about this item, which was also advertised in the March 1942 Mademoiselle magazine and featured editorially in Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Glamour, Esquire, and Bride’s Magazine. Sales of the pin began early and continued briskly. In January of 1942 alone, Lampl contributed $1,630.80 to the Relief Fund, indicating sales of 16,380 pins in that first month. The pin was still being advertised a year later, when Saks Fifth Avenue at Rockefeller Center ran a newspaper ad reminding customers that the pin could be found on their Street Floor. Walter’s younger son, Burt, and daughter, Miriam, donated their Patriot Pin to the Naval Academy Museum at Annapolis in memory of their father in 1991, on the 50th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. It remains there on permanent display.
The war was personal to the Lampl family in other ways, as well. Walter’s oldest son, Walter, Jr., was a lieutenant, fighting the war in Europe. Fortunately, Walter, Sr. had helped members of Sylvia’s extended family, the relatives of her sister Helen’s husband, come to the United States from Germany during the 1930s, sparing them from the Shoah.
During the war years silver, other jewelry materials, and labor were scarce in the United States. Many of the major costume jewelry manufacturers moved their production to Mexico where skilled silversmiths abounded and materials were still cheap. Coro formed a relationship with Hector Aguilar. Silson jewelry was made by the William Spratling workshops. Walter Lampl went south during these years, as well. It is not known which Mexican artisans assisted in the production of his jewelry during this time, but it may have been someone in Mexico City, rather than Taxco. The evidence for this is the lovely tea service he brought home for Sylvia, with pieces made by Kimberley and Lilyan. Kimberley is known to have been an older silver house in Mexico City.
Lampl introduced two new jewelry lines in 1944: Toddle-Tot and Walburt. Toddle-Tot was a collection of baby jewelry. These necklaces, bracelets, rings, barrettes, lockets, and charms came in 14 karat gold, 10 karat gold, sterling silver, and gold fill. Walter’s first grandchild, Babs, was featured in the Toddle-Tot advertisements, wearing a locket necklace with her eyelet-trimmed dress. The Walburt line was named for Walter’s two sons, Walter, Jr. and Burton. The motto of the Walburt division was “Style Interpreted in Jewels.”
Nothing symbolizes a flying person more than his or her pair of wings, whether the wing be constructed from cloth, plastic or metal. A wing identifies a person as a individual trained in airmanship to a specific level of expertise, and is usually awarded to the trainee pilot on successful completion of their exams and first solo flight.
Most individuals awarded a pair of wings cherish them as they represent an accomplishment or milestone in the person's life. It's this human involvement and sense of accomplishment, encapsulating: adventure, excitement and romance that creates a portal into the golden years of aviation, that sparks an interest to collect aviation wings.
Aviator wings are symbolic of a specific job performed by an individual; the style of wing indicating which job. The US Army Airforce (USAAF or AAF) during the Second World War required wings to be produced for several standard aircrew functions: pilot, engineer, air gunner, navigator, bombardier and observer. Sub variants of these wings were also produced to be issued to: glider pilots, balloon pilots, liaison pilots, technical observers, flight nurses and flight surgeons.
This set is comprised of the following three wings:
PILOT WINGS
Classic WW2 pilot's wings with beautiful detail. These were issued to pilots in three grades. These wings measure 3" across are marked STERLING on the reverse. Pin back (pin back, hook close, complete).
AIR CREW WING
Anyone trained in flight operations was authorized to wear this badge, including pilots, bombardiers, navigators, flight engineers, radio men and gunners. The badge was also awarded to certain ground personnel at the discretion of their commanding officer. Non-crewmembers eligible for the badge were individuals with flying status such as aircraft maintenance supervisors and technical inspectors. These wings measure 3" across are marked STERLING on the reverse. Pin back (pin back, hook close, complete).
AERIAL GUNNER WING
Established 29 April 1943, this wing was awarded to individuals who had completed the 6 weeks aerial gunnery course. The center of the wing depicts a flying bullet with wings. These wings measure 3" across and are marked STERLING with a shield logo on the reverse (pin back, roller close, complete).
A great set of three WWII USAAF Bell Pattern Sterling silver wings. These are always hard to find on the market. Ready to display!
