Christian Dior Vintage Gold Curved Yellow Crystals Omega Interlocked Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Curved Bar Custard Yellow Enamel Pendant Crystals Omega Interlocked Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Good condition. Light scratches or colour loss,...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Symmetric Long Double Crystals Interlocked Brooch
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage Symmetric Long Bar Double Clip Crystals Interlocked Modernist Brooch, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches, barely noticeable. 100% Genuine. ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Unisex Long Crystals Crescent Silver Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Large Long Whole Sparkling Crystals Crescent Pendant Modernist Necklace, Silver Tone Very good condition. Not any stones loss. Very light scratch...
Silver Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Pearl Radiant Crystals Flower Snowflake Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Radiant Flower Snowflake White Pearl Crystals Elegant Clip Earrings, Gold Plated Very good condition. Some light scratches and colour loss, barely notic...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gold Unisex Rectangle Sparkling Crystals Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Rectangle Whole Crystals Elegant Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Not any stones lost. 100% Genuine. A very beautiful pai...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Rectangle Triangle Crystals Domed Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Glow Rectangle Triangle Crystal Domed Elegant Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Some very light scratches and colour loss. 100% ge...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Green Emerald Gripoix Crystals Octagon Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gripoix Emerald Green Crystals Octagon Rectangle Pendant Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, barely noticeable. 100...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Triangle Crystals Marquise Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Triangle Whole Crystals Marquise Pendant Chain Elegant Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Very good price. 100% Genuine. Signed at the bac...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage GROSSE Black Crystals Radiant Triangle Chunky Earrings
By Henkel and Grosse for Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior GROSSE 1980s Vintage Unisex Massive Large Black Enamel Sparkling Crystals Radiant Sun Burst Triangle Modernist Clip Earrings, Silver Tone Very good condition. Not any...
Silver Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Purple Amethyst Crystal Triangle Chunky Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Amethyst Purple Crystal Heart Triangle Oval Chunky Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, barely noticeable. 100%...
Gold Plate
$396Sale Price|20% Off
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Asymmetric Purple Amethyst Crystals Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Asymmetric Amethyst Purple Crystals Tear Water Drop Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Good condition. Some light scratches, barely noticeable. Some spots at back...
Gold Plate
$396Sale Price|20% Off
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Purple Amethyst Crystals Rectangle Octagon Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Amethyst Purple Crystals Octagonal Rectangle Elegant Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very excellent condition and very new. 100% Genuine. A very bea...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Large Silver Crystals Interlocked Chunky Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Large Whole Crystals Interlocked Knot Elegant Modernist Chunky Statement Clip Earrings, Silver Plated Very good condition. Not any stones lost, l...
Silver Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Bamboo Amethyst Octagon Crystals Statement Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Amethyst Purple Octagon Rectangle Crystals Bamboo Knot Statement Chunky Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. 100% Genuine. Very beautiful....
Gold Plate
Classic Rosenthal Horizon Lead Crystal Glass Candle Holder Catchall Vide Poche
By Rosenthal
Located in Miami, FL
Striking original Rosenthal Space Age Lead crystal glass horizon pillar candle holder, vide poche, catchall, bowl made in Germany. To me it looks like the shape of an eye and will l...
Crystal
$396Sale Price|20% Off
Pearl, Crystal and Ruby Statement Earrings By Grossé For Christian Dior, 1980s
By Henkel and Grosse for Christian Dior
Located in McKinney, TX
Pure couture decadence from the golden age of Dior glamour. These 1980s Grossé for Christian Dior earrings showcase the maison’s signature opulence — radiant ruby-red glass cabochons...
Christian Dior Vintage Gold White Round Pearls Crystals Trio Cluster Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980 White Round Pearls Crystals Trio Cluster Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Very beautiful. Not any stones lost. 100% genuin...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Sparkling Crystals Marquise Circle Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Sparkling Crystals Oval Triangle V Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Signed at the back. Marked 'Chr.D...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Blue Sapphire Peacock Feather Crystals Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Sapphire Navy Peacock Feather Triangle Crystals Water Tear Drop Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, barely not...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold White Enamel Triangle Crystals Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Beige White Enamel Diamond Triangle Crystals Chunky Pendant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. Marked 'Chr.Dior (C) '. 100% genuine...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold White Pearl Triangle Openwork Crystals Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Triangle Openwork White Round Circle Pearl Crystals Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, light p...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Blue Oval Sapphire Crystals Openwork Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980 Double Oval Sapphire Navy Blue Crystals Openwork Elegant Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Tone One earring is in excellent condition. other one is some colo...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Unisex Rare Silver Large Crystals Hoop Domed Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Whole Large Sparkling Crystals Circle Round Sparkling Crystals Hoop Dome Chunky Statement Elegant Modernist Clip Earrings, Silver Tone Very good conditi...
Silver Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gripoix Emerald Green Crystals Octagon Marble Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Classic Gripoix Emerald Octagon Rectangle Marble Green Crystals Pendant Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. 100% Genu...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Amethyst Octagon Crystals Statement Choker Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Amethyst Purple Rectangle Octagon Crystals Statement Choker Collar Chunky Statement Modernist Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Iconic Gold White Pearl Sunburst Crystals Snake Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Round Circle Pearl Sunburst Crystals Snake Chain Pendant Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Very beautiful. Not any...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Iconic White Pearl Aurora Oval Gold Crystals Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Aurora Oval Pearl Crystals Elegant Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Plated Very good condition. Maybe very light scratches or colour loss, barely not...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Textured Crystals Swirl Twist Circle Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Textured Swirl Twist Crystals Circle Round Modernist Elegant Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, barely notice...
Gold Plate
$1,171Sale Price|29% Off
Heavy Crystal Glass and Brass Lamp by Nachtmann
By Nachtmann
Located in Munich, DE
The company nachtmann is famous for it's glasses, but most people don't know, that they made some really high quality lamps in the last century. Here is one - quite heavy.
Crystal, Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Purple Amethyst Crystal Square Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Amethyst Purple Crystal Square Cube Pendant Modenist Elegant Necklace, Gold Tone Good condition. Colour loss at back of pendant and chain. Still ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Silver Whole Crystals Square Rectangle Pierced Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Whole Crystals Square Rectangle Modenrist Elegant Pierced Earrings, Silver Tone Very excellent condition. Not any stones lost. Only Light colour ...
Silver Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Iconic Gold White Pearl Crystals Water Drop Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Crystals Double Fan White Pearl Water Drop Dangle Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Constructed from polished...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Iconic Topaz Citrine Crystals Water Drop Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large Triangle Topaz Citrine Yellow Crystals Tear Water Drop Pendant Elegant Modenist Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Marke...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Unisex Gold White Triangle Crystals Beige Domed Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Beige Cream White Enamel Triangle Geometric Crystals Hoop Dome Elegant Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Very light scratches or c...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Rare Circle Rectangle CD Crystals Openwork Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Iconic Logo Circle Round CD Crystals Rectangle Openwork Pendant Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, barely...
Gold Plate
$396Sale Price|20% Off
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Amethyst Rectangle Crystals Purple Clip Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Amethyst Purple Rectangle Crystals Elegant Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition, crystals are perfect, light scratches or colour loss...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Large Flower Crystals Shining Clip Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large Whole Shining Crystals Flourish Blossom Flower Elegant Chunky Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss. Very r...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior 1983 Vintage White Pearls Crystals Tassel Layers Choker Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1983 Vintage Three Trio Layers Tassel White Beads Round Pearls Water Drop Crystals Strands Choker Modernist Elegant Chunky Statement Necklace, Gold Plated Very excell...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Iconic Gripoix Ruby Triangle Crystals Domed Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gripoix Ruby Red Black Enamel Crystals Hoop Dome Elegant Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Rare to find. 100% genuine. A very bea...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Iconic Gold White Pearl Oval Crystals Pierced Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage Oval White Pearl Crystals Flower Elegant Modernist Pierced Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Not any stones lost, Light peel off at faux pearl, b...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Unisex Gold Double Curled Leaf Crystals Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Vivid Textured Double Curled Leaf Crystals Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Rare to find. Very beaut...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Iconic Gold Pearls Crystals White Moon Fan Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Pearls Balls Circle Round Moon Fan Crystals Pendant Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Very light scratches or colour loss...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Iconic Gold Sapphire Crystals Pendant Water Drop Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Sapphire Navy Blue Crystals Water Tear Drop Pendant Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, barely noticeable. 100% Gen...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Long Ball Sphere Openwork Crystals Snake Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Round Ball Sphere Openwork Crystals Pendant Long Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Rare to find. 100% Genuine. Marked 'Chr.Dior (...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold White Flower Oval Pearl Sparking Crystals Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Flower Oval Pearl Clear Sparking Crystals Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, barely noticeable. 100% Ge...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Unisex Crystals Long Link Necklace Bracelet Silver 2 Set
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Versatile Crystals Long Link Bar Modernist Choker Long Necklace Bracelet 2 Jewellery Gift Set, Silver Tone Very good condition, light verdigris o...
Silver
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Large Blossom Floral Shining Crystals Chunky Brooch
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large Whole Shining Crystals Flourish Flower Chunky Elegant Brooch, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. Not any colour loss or scratches. Rare to find...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Pearl Square Crystals Button Mesh Omega Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Pearl Square Round Crystals Pendant Button Omega Snake Mesh Choker Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Only light colour loss near the...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Wide Chunky Crystals Woven Omega Mesh Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Shining Crystals Pendant Wide Chunky Woven Mesh Omega Collar Choker Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Not any stones and colour los...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Amethyst Crystals Leaf Tear Water Drop Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Amethyst Purple Crystals Leaf Water Tear Drop Clip Elegant Modernist Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Some light scratches or colour loss...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Iconic Gold Gripoix Ruby Red Diamond Crystals Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Marble Gripoix Ruby Red Diamond Crystals Geometric Elegant Modernist Clip On Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Some light scratches, light colour...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Matte Frost White Shell Crystals Cabochon Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Symmetric Matte Frost White Shell Cabochon Shining Crystals Chunky Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Marked 'Chr.Dio...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold White Beads Pearls Crystals Pendant Chain Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Beads Pearls Crystals Pendant Chain Modernist Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Very beautiful. Not any stones lost. 100% ge...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Iconic Gold Large Oval White Pearl Crystals Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large Oval White Pearl Rectangle Circle Crystals Elegant Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Plated Very good condition. Some light scratches or colour loss, ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold White Oval Pearl Crystals Linked Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Symmetric White Oval Pearl Crystals Interlocked Linked Pendant Elegant Modenrist Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Maybe very light scratc...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gripoix Gold Blue Oval Crystals Hoop Domed Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gripoix Blue Navy Oval Crystals Circle Rectangle Hoop Domed Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, bare...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Purple Amethyst Oval Clear Crystals Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Amethyst Purple Oval Trio Crystals Elegant Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition, maybe very light scratches or colour loss, barely noticeable. 1...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Iconic Gold White Custard Shield Crystals Chunky Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Custard Beige Shield Crystals Chunky Pendant Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, barely noticeable. 100% gen...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Crystals Braided Cluster Flower Openwork Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Symmetric Crystals Cluster Flower Leaf Openwork Braided Elegant Pendant Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Not any stones lost. Only some light co...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Oval White Pearl Whole Shining Crystals Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Oval White Pearl Shining Crystals Clip On Elegant Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Not any stones loss. Light scratches or colour loss. Good pri...
Gold Plate
When Christian Dior launched his couture house, in 1946, he wanted nothing less than to make “an elegant woman more beautiful and a beautiful woman more elegant.” He succeeded, and in doing so the visionary designer altered the landscape of 20th century fashion. Vintage Dior bags, shoes, evening dresses, shirts and other garments and accessories are known today for their feminine and sophisticated sensibility.
Dior was born in Granville, on the Normandy coast, in 1905. His prosperous haute bourgeois parents wanted him to become a diplomat despite his interest in art and architecture. However, they agreed to bankroll an art gallery, which Dior opened in 1928 in Paris with a friend.
This was the start of Dior’s rise in the city’s creative milieu, where he befriended Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau. After seven years as an art dealer, Dior retrained as a fashion illustrator, eventually landing a job as a fashion designer for Robert Piguet, and in 1941, following a year of military service, he joined the house of Lucien Lelong. Just five years later, with the backing of industrialist Marcel Boussac, the ascendant Dior established his own fashion house, at 30 avenue Montaigne in Paris.
Just two years after the end of World War II, the fashion crowd and the moribund haute couture industry were yearning, comme tout Paris, for security and prosperity, desperate to discard the drab, sexless, utilitarian garb imposed by wartime deprivation. They needed to dream anew.
And Dior delivered: He designed a collection for a bright, optimistic future. “It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian!” exclaimed Carmel Snow, the prescient American editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, famously proclaiming, “Your dresses have such a new look.” The press ran with the description, christening Dior’s debut Spring/Summer haute couture collection the New Look. “God help those who bought before they saw Dior,” said Snow. “This changes everything.”
Dior’s collection definitively declared that opulence, luxury and femininity were in. His skirts could have 40-meter-circumference hems, and outfits could weigh up to 60 pounds. They were cut and shaped like architecture, on strong foundations that molded women and “freed them from nature,” Dior said. Rather than rationing, his ladies wanted reams of fabric and 19-inch waists enforced by wire corsets, and the fashion world concurred. The debut got a standing ovation.
In the subsequent decade, Paris ruled as the undisputed fashion capital of the world, and Christian Dior reigned as its king. With the luxuriously full skirts of his New Look, suits and his drop-dead gorgeous couture dresses and ball gowns worthy of any princess, Dior gave women the gift of glamour they’d lost in the miserable years of war.
On 1stDibs, find an exquisite range of vintage Christian Dior clothing, jewelry, handbags and other items.
Gold is the feel-good metal, the serotonin of jewelry. Wear vintage and antique gold necklaces, watches, gold bracelets or gold rings and you feel happy, you feel dressed, you feel, well, yourself.
Gold, especially yellow gold, with its rich patina and ancient pedigree going back thousands of years, is the steady standby, the well-mannered metal of choice. Any discussion of this lustrous metal comes down to a basic truth: Gold is elementary, my dear. Gold jewelry that couples the mystique of the metal with superb design and craftsmanship achieves the status of an enduring classic. Many luxury houses have given us some of our most treasured and lasting examples of gold jewelry over the years.
Since its founding, in 1837, Tiffany & Co. has built its reputation on its company jewelry as well as its coterie of boutique designers, which has included Jean Schlumberger, Donald Claflin, Angela Cummings and Elsa Peretti. There are numerous gold Tiffany classics worth citing. Some are accented with gemstones, but all stand out for their design and the workmanship displayed.
For the woman who prefers a minimalist look, the Tiffany & Co. twist bangle (thin, slightly ovoid) is stylishly simple. For Cummings devotees, signature pieces feature hard stone inlay, such as her pairs of gold ear clips inlaid with black jade (a play on the classic Chanel black and tan), or bangles whose design recalls ocean waves, with undulating lines of lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl. And just about any design by the great Jean Schlumberger is by definition a classic.
Even had he eschewed stones and diamonds, Southern-born David Webb would be hailed for the vast arsenal of heavy gold jewelry he designed. Gold, usually hammered or textured in some manner, defines great David Webb jewelry. The self-taught jeweler made very au courant pieces while drawing inspiration from ancient and out-of-the-way sources — East meets West in the commanding gold necklaces made by Webb in the early 1970s. The same could be said for his endlessly varied gold cuffs.
In Europe, many houses have given us gold jewelry that sets the highest standard for excellence, pieces that were highly sought after when they were made and continue to be so.
Numerous designs from Cartier are homages to gold. There are the classic Trinity rings, necklaces and bracelets — trifectas of yellow, white and rose gold. As a testament to the power of love, consider the endurance of the Cartier Love bracelet.
Aldo Cipullo, Cartier’s top in-house designer from the late 1960s into the early ’70s, made history in 1969 with the Love bracelet. Cipullo frequently said that the Love bracelet was born of a sleepless night contemplating a love affair gone wrong and his realization that “the only remnants he possessed of the romance were memories.” He distilled the urge to keep a loved one close into a slim 18-karat gold bangle.
BVLGARI and its coin jewelry, gemme nummarie, hit the jackpot when the line launched in the 1960s. The line has been perennially popular. BVLGARI coin jewelry features ancient Greek and Roman coins embedded in striking gold mounts, usually hung on thick link necklaces of varying lengths. In the 1970s, BVLGARI introduced the Tubogas line, most often made in yellow gold. The Tubogas watches are classics, and then there is the Serpenti, the house's outstanding snake-themed watches and bracelets.
A collection called Monete that incorporated the gold coins is one of several iconic BVLGARI lines that debuted in the 1970s and ’80s, catering to a new generation of empowered women. Just as designers like Halston and Yves Saint Laurent were popularizing fuss-free ready-to-wear fashion for women on the go, BVLGARI offered jewels to be lived in.
Since Van Cleef & Arpels opened its Place Vendôme doors in 1906, collection after collection of jewelry classics have enchanted the public. As predominantly expressed in a honeycomb of gold, there is the Ludo watch and accessories, circa the 1920s, and the golden Zip necklace, 1951, whose ingenious transformation of the traditional zipper was originally proposed by the Duchess of Windsor. Van Cleef's Alhambra, with its Moroccan motif, was introduced in 1968 and from the start its popularity pivoted on royalty and celebrity status. It remains one of VCA’s most popular and collected styles.
Mention must be made of Buccellati, whose name is synonymous with gold so finely spun that it suggests tapestry. The house’s many gold bracelets, typically embellished with a few or many diamonds, signified taste and distinction and are always in favor on the secondary market. Other important mid-20th-century houses known for their gold-themed jewelry include Hermès and Ilias Lalaounis.
Find a stunning collection of vintage and antique gold jewelry on 1stDibs.
Andy Warhol and the fashion house’s first collections were among the creative director’s inspirations.
There's a renewed appreciation for the era's aesthetic, perhaps most notably among millennials seeking authentic, easy style.
When the name of a bag is as well-known as its brand, you know it's a classic.
Ballrooms, Bar Suits and British royals — in a sweeping exhibition, the London museum looks back on 70 years of the French fashion house, as well as its illustrious founder and his fondness for the United Kingdom.
Makeup and astrology expert Linda Mason dispenses fashion advice for every zodiac sign. Does your wardrobe match your horoscope?
Test your understanding of the man behind the legendary French fashion house with our 13-question quiz.