BELT BUCKLE MANUFACTURERS AND ARTISTS (I-R)

M&A I-R: Text

INDIANA METAL CRAFT

Status: Active

Indiana Metal Craft began producing belt buckles in 1975 and is still active today. More information is available on the company's website (linked below).

Many artists worked or produced buckles with IMC. Artist Leoma Lovegrove created some of the wildlife themed designs which are still in production today. The Omega series is also still in production in solid bronze and it can be difficult to distinguish original castings from new products. Other IMC-artist collaborations include Jesse Mcleod, Rainbow Jewelry, Dege Designs, and Wm Taylor.

IMC has manufactured a variety of retail and corporate designs in solid pewter, solid bronze, pewter plating, and brass plating. The solid bronze versions are always marked (example hallmarks shown in photographs on the left side). Plated buckles are by far the most common, but the newly manufactured buckles are all solid pewter and solid bronze.

To my knowledge, the oldest buckles feature a hallmark with a woman's face making a hand gesture. Over the years a huge variety of different markings were used. The photo below is not exclusive and represents a few examples.

Company Website

Indiana Metal Craft

ODEN

Status: Defunct
Location: Phillipsburg, NJ

Oden was most likely a distributor of belt buckles, having created designs in conjunction with several major manufacturers in the 70s and 80s. Many different materials and construction methods were used. The most common were plastic or plastic/powdered metal blends that were plated in brass. The photograph below shows an example from the name series.

There are other examples of solid pewter and solid brass castings. The buckles were produced in several "series" each from a different manufacturer. For example, the Designer Series featured solid pewter casting with turquoise and coral inlay that bears a strong resemblance to early Indiana Metal Craft designs (bottom row photos). Designer Series Two (not pictured) featured solid brass buckles.

Suspected affiliate companies: BTS, Indiana Metal Craft

Oden