Very large gilt metal and paste 'greedy dragon' brooch, Kenneth Jay Lane, 1960s
View Similar Items
Very large gilt metal and paste 'greedy dragon' brooch, Kenneth Jay Lane, 1960s
About the Item
- Creator:
- Metal:Gilt Metal
- Weight:64 g
- Dimensions:Width: 2.5 in (63.5 mm)Depth: 1 in (25.4 mm)Length: 4.25 in (107.95 mm)
- Place of Origin:United States
- Period:1960-1969
- Date of Manufacture:mid 1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Greyabbey, GB
- Reference Number:Seller: FB06441stDibs: LU30926766451
Kenneth Jay Lane
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.
- A Black Galalith, silver and clear paste clip, Mecan, France, 1930sLocated in Greyabbey, County DownA very stylish and rare jewel, high Art Deco in style and manufacture. This is a clip fitting, bold and strong, that would clip onto a clutch bag, a lapel, or on the edging of a low ...Category
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Brooches
MaterialsSilver
- Art Deco style paste and enamel brooch, Ciner, USA, 1990sBy CinerLocated in Greyabbey, County DownA large and dynamic brooch in high Art Deco style from Ciner, New York. Although made from base metal, enamel and paste, it echoes the wonderful designs of Cartier and Van Cleet and ...Category
1990s American Art Deco Brooches
MaterialsBase Metal
- A geometric coloured paste 'Christmas Tree' brooch, Weiss, USA, 1950sBy WeissLocated in Greyabbey, County DownA stylised and imaginative take on a Christmas Tree, this brooch is an iconic design, made by Weiss, and well known in vintage costume jewellery, for its unusual geometric, Art Deco ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Art Deco Brooches
MaterialsGilt Metal
- An iconic gilt metal 'Sun face' brooch, Yves Saint Laurent, France, 1980sBy Maison Goossens for Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Greyabbey, County DownAn iconic brooch from Yves Saint Laurent in the 1980s, a familiar and popular design justifiably so. Hand carved then cast in gilded metal by Maison Goossens for YSL...Category
Vintage 1980s French Brooches
MaterialsGilt Metal
- Carved wood and engraved brass 'moth' brooch, France, 1950sLocated in Greyabbey, County DownA stunning 'moth' brooch, very simple, sculpted and architectural in its design. The brass wings and ears are all one piece and engraved, the wood body, ca...Category
Vintage 1950s French Brooches
MaterialsBrass
- A beautiful gilt and clear paste 'grasshopper' brooch, Nettie Rosenstein, 1960s.By Nettie RosensteinLocated in Greyabbey, County DownAn exquisitely modelled three dimensional brooch in the form of a grasshopper, from mid century American fashion designer , Nettie Rosenstein. Of outstanding quality, this brooch dep...Category
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
MaterialsGilt Metal
- Vintage Diamond BroochLocated in New York, NYCommand attention in this exquisite diamond brooch from the Jewels Aficionado antique collection. Outfitted with a whopping 20.40 carats of diamonds set in platinum, the brooch mixes...Category
Vintage 1960s Brooches
MaterialsDiamond, Platinum
$153,000 - Georgian Diamond Brooch in Silver, circa 1750Located in London, GBGeorgian diamond brooch in silver. Set with twenty one cushion shape table cut diamonds in closed back cut down settings with an approximate com...Category
Antique 1750s Georgian Brooches
MaterialsDiamond, Silver
- Art deco diamond brooch, French, circa 1920.Located in London, GBArt deco diamond brooch. Set to centre with one round old cut diamond in an open back rubover setting with an approximate weight of 0.85 carats, surrounded by 45 round old cut diamon...Category
Vintage 1920s French Art Deco Brooches
MaterialsDiamond, Platinum
- Made in France Diamond and Ruby Detachable Brooch – Circa 1860’sLocated in Jacksonville, FLThis item is an antique 19th-century diamond crescent moon brooch with a detachable spray of rubies and diamonds. It is made in France, circa 1860. The brooch features an elegant dou...Category
Antique 19th Century French Neoclassical Brooches
MaterialsDiamond, Ruby
- Vintage flower brooch made of Lucite and cut wood from the 1930s USALocated in Stuttgart, DELoving flower brooch made in the 1930s USA. Window glass from the aircraft industry was used for this type of jewelry! . The flower was cut out of wood and placed on the Lucite leav...Category
Vintage 1930s American Artisan Brooches
- Huge Polished Gilded Gold Vermeil Hardware Set With Natural Amber PendantLocated in New York, NYThis wonderfully elegant huge polished gold vermeil hardware detailed with intricate sculpted Filigree frames a beautiful natural Amber. The height measures 3 1/2 inches. The...Category
Vintage 1980s Mexican Artisan Necklace Enhancers