Gustave Sherman

Guatave Sherman ("Gus") (19101984) was a Canadian costume jewellery maker who started Sherman & Company Ltd. (1949-1980). In time, his costume jewellery was sold across Canada and the United States. "Sherman is the most recognized and collectible costume jewellery in Canada," wrote a long-time collector.

Biography Sherman was born in Montreal to Jewish parents from Lithuania. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force as a navigator he began Sherman & Company Ltd. in Outremont,

Sherman made his business part of the growing market for costume jewellery, but used Swarovski crystals, new and different cuts and colours, and superior findings and plating methods by contrast with most other jewellery makers. The company's primary stone supplier was GH Ashley in Toronto. Eventually he was forced to end production of his jewelry in 1980 after having converted his production plant to use precious matterials like gold whose price had just risen to over 300 Dollars a pound.

Sherman's jewellery has been praised for its artistic use of colour, sense of movement, three-dimensional effect, and extensive branding, which many say result in it having a sense of sophistication and elegance about it.

Around four decades after having ended production, the brand was revived by Gustave Sherman's granddaughter Genna Sherman.

Selected public collections Sherman jewellery is in the collections of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (92 objects) and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Legacy In 2024, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick held an exhibition titled Gustave Sherman – Jewels of Elegance, organized by the Andrew and Laura McCain Art Gallery in Florenceville, NB.