This Red Bead Necklace (beads and chain links) was crafted from Bakelitecellulose acetate, with a metal clasp, and attributed to an unknown American designer. In the twentieth century, plastic manufacturing transformed the American jewelry industry and allowed for the production of fashionable yet affordable pieces. This chain link and cube bead necklace represents a style that was especially popular during the Depression era and the early 1940s.
Photographed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.
This matching Bracelet and Brooch are composed of a vibrant rainbow of resin Lipsticks that humorously assert the decorative nature of cosmetic products. While both by Karl Lagerfeld and the jewelry designer Ugo Correani were known for their postmodern sampling of objects and ideas, the tendency to inflate scale in order to invest drama was a particular strength of Correani. Continue reading Eye On Design: Lipstick Bracelet and Brooch By Karl Lagerfeld→
The first of dozens of boxes Joseph Cornell made in honor of famous ballerinas, Taglioni’s Jewel Casket (year) pays homage to Marie Taglioni, an acclaimed 19th-century Italian dancer. According to legend, Taglioni kept an imitation ice cube in her jewelry box to commemorate dancing in the snow at the behest of a Russian highwayman (a traveling thief). The box is infused with erotic undertones — both in the tactile nature of the materials (glass cubes, velvet, and a rhinestone necklace purchased at a Woolworth’s dime store in New York) and in the incident itself, in which Taglioni reportedly performed on an animal skin placed across the snowy road. Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Joseph Cornell, Taglioni’s Jewel Casket→
One of the enduring legacies of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was her elevation of costume jewelry to high fashion. Maison Gripoix, a house that has serviced the couture industry since its founding in 1869, was among her earliest and most frequent collaborators. The company’s specialized pate de verre (glass paste) technique was developed by the founder, Augustine Gripoix, and passed down generationally. Instead of the kiln method employed by other manufacturers, the house pours molten glass directly into the sophisticated metal settings that frame its designs. Continue reading Eye On Design: Glass Flower Necklace By House of Chanel→
“You find beauty in the ugliest places,” maverick fashion designer Alexander McQueen assured jeweler Shaun Leane. Modern jewelry does not always aim to flatter. Some of the most spectacular examples assert mastery over the female body. This is jewelry on the edge; designed to push the limits of glamour, courting danger and even pain. Continue reading Eye On Design: Bejeweled Armoured Yashmak By Shaun Leane for Alexander McQueen→
