For many people the term “Forbidden Fruit” brings to mind religious or naughty connotations. In the jewelry world, however, the term refers to rhinestone encrusted fruit, vegetables, mushrooms, beehives, butterflies and caterpillars. These are lovely designs that are without much of history behind them; not because it isn’t there but because it just isn’t known.

Most Forbidden Fruit pieces are very sought after by collectors despite a lack of knowledge to their origins. Some pieces have been found over the years with little cards stating the name “Forbidden Fruit” and offering the tidbit “Austrian Jewels hand set”. Many collectors believe that the line began somewhere in the 1950s because of the findings, but no one is positive.

The Forbidden Fruit line offers amazing shape and color combinations in exquisite detail. Fruits include apples, pears, grapes, lemons, limes, oranges, pineapples, cherries, strawberries, peaches, and watermelon.  Vegetables included corn, radishes, pumpkins, carrots, eggplant, tomatoes, bell peppers, and some unidentifiable melon shaped vegetables/fruit(?). All of these carefully crafted designs came with wonderful matching colored rhinestones.

Some of the pieces are completely encrusted with rhinestones while other are smattered with them to accommodate personal styles. There rarest piece being the beehive, the most common and less desirable pieces are the butterflies.

Forbidden Fruit jewelry can, on occasion command upwards of $200 for certain pieces, although the average ranges between $50 and $125. Sets have the ability to generate more than $125. Of course, pieces offered through auctions can obtain a greater range of prices depending on how badly the buyer desires the piece.