Tortolani Pewter Tennis Player Brooch

This playful pin was made by Tortolani in the 1970s.  It features a female tennis player as tennis was extremely popular during that time period.  Frank Tortolani, Italian immigrant and second generation jeweler created jewelry in hand-cast pewter from 1950-1976.  This piece is plated in Sterling silver and hand-polished like all Tortolani designs (some designs were plated in real gold rather than silver of course!).  

Tortolani Jewelry began as the Mastercraft Jewelry Company in Providence, Rhode Island.  After WWII, Mr. Tortolani moved his company to Los Angeles and changed the name to Tortolani Jewelry.  He won many awards for his exquisite work over the years and passed away in 1997 at the age of 90.
 
Feel free to contact me if you are interested in purchasing this piece.  Questions, comments, and additional information are always appreciated.  My online shop on www.rubylane.com is coming soon.

Thank you to the following website(s) for the historical content of this blog post:

Tortolani. Retrieved 4/20/2011 from http://tortolani.com/about.html