G. Sherman & Company Ltd.

Gus Sherman (1910-1984), sometimes identified as “Gustave Sherman,” was born in Montreal to Lithuanian-Jewish immigrant parents who had fled persecution in their home country at the start of the 20^th century. Gus was a gifted boxer and basketball player as a teenager, and left Canada at age 17 to join the US Army. He later served with the RCAF during WWII, where he was a divisional boxing champion. After the war, he returned to Montreal, buying and selling gold jewellery at Mendelson’s pawnshop in the Old Port before founding G. Sherman & Company Ltd. in 1949.

G. Sherman was the only Canadian costume jewellery manufacturer to exclusively use Swarovski crystals in its designs.

All jewellery was customizable in terms of the colour and type of rhinestones used, as well as the metal finishing. G. Sherman pieces were prized for their superior metal finishes: the brand’s rhodium plated, gold plated, and japanned metals were guaranteed for life, and did not tarnish or fade.

Necklace and earrings, G. Sherman & Company Ltd., about 1955. Gift of Breanda Bisiker, M999.15.1.1-3, McCord Stewart Museum

The women’s rhinestone jewellery collections were marketed under the brand name Jewels of Elegance by Sherman, with a line of men’s cufflinks, tie clips and tacks sold under the Senator name. By the 1970s, as rhinestone jewellery was falling out of fashion, G. Sherman began producing collections of gold plated jewellery and birthstone rings. At one point in the company’s history, G. Sherman manufactured tiaras for the Miss Canada pageant.

At its height during the 1950s and 1960s, the Montreal-based manufacturer employed 50 people at its Outremont factory. The company embraced progressive business practices, allowing female staff with young children the flexibility of working from home on piecework. There was no designer on staff. Instead, Gus Sherman would travel to New York and Paris to study trends in fine jewellery and then adapt the designs he found inspiring for mass production.

Sherman jewellery was sold across Canada in boutiques and department stores such as The Bay, Simpson’s, Eaton’s and Birks.

G. Sherman & Company ceased operations in 1982. Today, vintage Sherman costume jewellery is widely collected throughout North America, prized for both its high style and excellent quality. In 2008, Evelyn Yallen and Sandra Caldwell published a book on the brand, Sherman Jewellery: The Masterpiece Collection. Genna Sherman, Gus’ granddaughter, relaunched the company in 2019 under the name G. Sherman Jewels, drawing design inspiration from her family’s rich and extensive jewellery archive.