Kenneth Jay Lane Cz
2010s Contemporary Dangle Earrings
Zircon, Rhodium
2010s Contemporary Dangle Earrings
Zircon, Rhodium
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Stud Earrings
Zircon, Gold Plate, Yellow Gold
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Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Dangle Earrings
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary American Brooches
Crystal, Zircon
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Crystal
Vintage 1960s American Modernist Brooches
Gold Plate
2010s American Modern Bangles
Zircon
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Zircon
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Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary American Pendant Necklaces
Crystal, Gold Plate
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1990s Modernist Brooches
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Ruby, 14k Gold
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Coral, 18k Gold
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Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Gold, Yellow Gold
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Vintage 1970s German Art Deco Chain Necklaces
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Gold Plate
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Vintage 1980s American Contemporary Brooches
Gold Plate, Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Lever-Back Earrings
Zircon, Gold Plate, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Lever-Back Earrings
Zircon
21st Century and Contemporary American Dangle Earrings
Crystal, Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Zircon
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Stud Earrings
Zircon
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Zircon
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Zircon
Vintage 1980s American Modernist Brooches
Vintage 1980s American Modernist Brooches
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Brooches
Gold Plate
Vintage 1980s Modernist Cuff Bracelets
Gold Plate
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Crystal
Kenneth Jay Lane Cz For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Kenneth Jay Lane Cz?
Kenneth Jay Lane for sale on 1stDibs
The father of so-called “fabulous fakes,” Kenneth Jay Lane was a spirited innovator within the jewelry industry, designing elegant and luxurious pieces without the use of real jewels. And while Lane aspired to create classic designs for earrings, bracelets and necklaces intended for everyday wear, his pieces caught the attention of celebrities, royalty and socialites.
From a young age, the Detroit, Michigan-born Lane was a lover of fashion. He studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Michigan. He pursued a design career in New York City, and a failed start in the art department of Vogue magazine led to a decade of designing shoes for the likes of Delman and Christian Dior.
Lane would occasionally develop shoe designs for friends he had in the fashion world such as Bill Blass and Arnold Scaasi. A show for the latter afforded him the opportunity to beautify shoes with rhinestones and create bangles and earrings to pair with the footwear — he found plastic bracelets at discount variety store and had them embellished by craftspeople at a shoe factory.
A love for costume jewelry design emerged thereafter. Lane created his own collection and admirers such as Jackie Kennedy and Elizabeth Taylor showered him with praise. A pearl necklace he designed was worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. In the early 1960s, ready-to-wear pioneer Hattie Carnegie purchased Lane’s jewelry line. Lane was given the position of design director for Carnegie but he soon changed course, moving instead into a small studio and pursuing his own path.
Lane worked with milk glass, gilded silver hardware, faux coral and other materials, and sold pendant necklaces, dangle earrings and modern bracelets to private customers. He was fond of renowned fine jewelry houses Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels and designers such as Jean Schlumberger, and cited having found inspiration in Egyptian and Indian jewelry over the years as well as Art Deco jewelry. Lane’s designs, which he called “faque” and “junque,” became well-known for their distinctive color combinations and clever characteristics such as embroidery. By the time he purchased a small jewelry factory in Providence, Rhode Island, where his accessories would be made during the 1960s, Lane had secured relationships with top Manhattan boutiques and his work had caught the attention of fashion magazines.
Directed by the filmmaker Gisèle Roman, a 2018 documentary about Lane’s life and work called Fabulously Fake: The Real Life of Kenneth Jay Lane features interviews with legendary fashion designers Carolina Herrera, Tory Burch and Diane von Furstenberg.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Kenneth Jay Lane brooches, rings and other accessories.