Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Finding Nemo: Signed Dog Jewelry

Nemo pointer back and mark
Nemo Signed Pointer Pin


Nemo was a brand name for Brier Manufacturing Company of Providence, RI which operated from about 1910 until 1978. Nemo brand dog jewelry dates after 1955 and was most likely manufactured in the sixties and seventies. The Nemo dog jewelry in The Dog Jewelry Museum are realistic representations of various dog breeds.

Each Nemo dog is a smaller pin, around 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches square, in a gold tone finish with clear rhinestone collar and red rhinestone eyes. Breeds represented by Nemo include the Boxer, Collie, German Shepherd dog, Borzoi, Pekingese, Spaniel, Pointer and Terrier. Other breeds may be out there, these are the ones we've seen. Below are some examples from the Museum:

Nemo terrier pin

Nemo Terrier Pin (A gift of Terry Matuszyk of Pink Chapeau Vintage Jewelry.)


Nemo GSD pin

Nemo German Shepherd Dog pin.


Nemo Collie pin

Nemo Collie pin.


Nemo Pointer pin

Nemo Pointer pin.


Other brand names were made by the Brier company. One of the rarer brands was Little Nemo (LN/25). LN/25 jewelry is reminiscent of Czech jewelry and often used a variety of rich, royal colored rhinestones. The Dog Jewelry Museum has one example of LN/25, this delightful Borzoi (Russian Wolfhound) brooch:


LN/25 Borzois brooch.




LN/25 mark


The quality of LN/25 is superior to that of the Nemo pieces, but LN/25 tends to be quite a bit more expensive. Caution is advised when buying Nemo dogs as the gold tone finish tends to be worn on the high points and some of the rhinestones may not be well set. Still, these small breed pins are endearing and inexpensive to collect.

More information

Brier Manufacturing Company


To see the complete Nemo and LN/25 dog jewelry collections type Nemo (or LN/25) in the search box at The Dog Jewelry Museum.

Finding Nemo
Nemo dogs can occasionally be found on Ebay, Ecrater, Ruby Lane, and individual jewelry sale sites. Expect to pay $10-15 for Nemo and $50 to $150 or more for LN/25 dogs.

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