Original Jem/Jerrica Hong Kong vs China-made doll differences |
The original Jem/Jerrica doll
that was available throughout the world (except for the Spanish and Mexican-made dolls; they have their own locally-made dolls) went through various changes in her run. She was available to retailers
throughout the entire run of the
dolls, not just limited to 1986. That adds up to a whole lot of
Jem/Jerrica dolls! The following is a listing of dolls I've had personally, most of them were acquired loose and nude so I don't have much information about their origin or which boxes they came from unless noted. This is the culmination of many years of cataloguing the differences in the back stamps and face paint, as well as lots of long discussions with other Jem collectors with the ultimate purpose of identifying Jem dolls more thoroughly. That said, I wouldn't be surprised of there are other dolls out there and I'd be happy to hear about any new finds! Here is a sample of the different back stamps and face molds that accompanied them that I've found over the years. As to dating them, it's very difficult as they are all marked 1985. However, the China-made non-Star Capped Jem/Jerrica had instructions included with her that were dated 1985, whereas the Hong Kong and Star Capped Jem/Jerricas I have came with instructions dated 1986. My guess is that one form of the Hong Kong dolls (wide font maybe?) and the non-Star Capped China made Jem/Jerricas were among the first, then various Hong Kong dolls, then finally the Chinese made Star Capped Jem Jerricas. |
The
side panels of the boxes of a few of the US-issued dolls shown above.
The third doll in the table above came in the 1st Hong Kong/H44
box, the Star-Capped Jem (5th doll in table above) came in the Made in
China H22 box. The Assembled in China/Packed in Hong Kong H22
yielded a non-star Capped Jem doll (4th in the table above). None of these are "Audition Contest" boxes. |