Christian Dior Vintage Large Gold White Knot Bow Crystals Omega Link Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large White Beige Enamel White Knot Bow Butterfly Ribbon Crystals Pendant Interlocked Omega Link Collar Choker Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Ver...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior 1980s Crystals Round Circle Openwork Filigree Domed Clip Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage Baroque Round Circle Openwork Whole Crystals Openwork Carved Dome Filigree Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Vintage an...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Blue Sapphire Crystals Water Drop Tear Gold Clip Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage Sapphire Navy Blue Crystals Tear Water Drop Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, barely noticeable. 100% Genuin...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Large Oval White Pearl Aurora Crystals Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large Oval Aurora White Pearl Rectangle Circle Crystals Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Marked 'Chr.Dior (C) '. 100% Genuine....
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Rare Wing Eye Glow Crystals Openwork Chunky Brooch
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage Unisex Glow Leaf Wing Eye Crystals Openwork Chunky Statement Elegant Modernist Brooch, Gold Tone Very good condition. Some light scratches, barely notic...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Gold Black Crystals Hoop Link Rare Set
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Textured Black Enamel Crystals Interlinked Choker Necklace Bracelet Dome Half Hoop Clip Earrings 3 Three Jewellery Set, Gold Tone Very excellent ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Rare White Oval Pearl Semi Circle Crystals Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Oval Pearl Double Semi Circle Shining Crystals Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss at back, ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Crystals Aqua Blue White Pendant Chunky Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Aqua Blue Crystals White Cream Enamel Triangle Large Pendant Chunky Statement Modernist Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Some light sc...
Gold Plate, Enamel
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Rare White Pearl Crystals Flower Mesh Omega Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Pearl Crystals Flower Mesh Woven Omega Chunky Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Not any scratches or colour loss, only small...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Crystals Black Enamel Gold Spiral Hoop Domed Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Crystals Black Enamel Spiral Domed Hoop Modernist Elegant Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Only very light scratches or colour loss ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Bow Cross White Pearl Crystals Water Drop Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Pearl Knot Bow Ribbon Cross Crystals Water Tear Drop Dangle Elegant Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or col...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Sunburst White Oval Pearls Crystals 2 Set
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Oval Flower Sunburst White Oval Pearls Crystals Pendant Gift Set Elegant Necklace Pierced Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Not any stones ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Trio Crystals Logo CD Monogram Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Iconic Logo CD Monogram Trio Crystals Elegant Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, barely noticeabl...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Textured Crescent Moon Circle Star Crystals Brooch
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Large Textured Crescent Moon Circle Star Crystals Chunky Statement Modernist Elegant Brooch, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or co...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage White Pearls Crystals Flower Double Leaf Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage Flower Double Leaf White Round Pearls Crystals Openwork Elegant Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Very beautiful. Vintage...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Lapis Crystals Cabochon Foil Triangle Clip Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Lapis Navy Blue Oval Cabochon Stones Whole Sparkling Crystals Foil Triangle Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Not any stones lost, light col...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Pearl Oval Shining Crystals Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Oval Pearl Shining Crystals Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Light scratches on faux pearl, barely noticeable. 100% Genu...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Large Knot Twist Swirl Rope Crystals Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large Knot Twist Swirl Rope Crystals Elegant Modernist Chunky Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. 100% Genuine. Very light scratches or colour...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Large White Double Crystals Gold Domed Hoop Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large White Double Row Crystals Dome Dome Half Hoop Chunky Elegant Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. Very new. Very beautiful...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Trio Row Crystals Satin Demi Domed Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Textured Trio Row Crystals Satin Demi Semi Dome Modernist Elegant Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. 100% genuine. Rare to find. ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Crystals Knot Bow Heart Love Drop Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Crystals Knot Bow Ribbon Dangle Drop Heart Love Openwork Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Rare to find. M...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Crystals Gift Present Ribbon Round Box Brooch
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s 3D Vivid Cute Gift Present Ribbon Round Box Crystals Dome Brooch, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. A unique piece. This is gold plat...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Iconic Gold Shell Crystals Black Enamel Openwork Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Shell Petal Crystal Black Enamel Pendant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Renowned for its timeless elegant designs, Christian Dior presents this ne...
Gold Plate, Enamel
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Double Heart Love Crystals Chunky Drop Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large Double Heart Love Whole Shining Sparkling Crystals Black Enamel Drop Dangle Chunky Elegant Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Excellent condition....
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold White Cream Triangle Crystals Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Beige Cream White Triangle Bar Crystals Pendant Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. 100% genuine. Marked 'Chr.Dior (C) '. ...
Gold Plate, Enamel
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Large Camellia Crystal Layer Rose Chunky Brooch
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large Camellia Crystals Layer Rose Flower Chunky Statement Elegant Modernist Brooch, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. Maybe light scratches, barely n...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Crystals Bow Ribbon Logo CD Butterfly Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Iconic Classic Logo CD Crystals Knot Bow Ribbon Butterfly Openwork Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Light scratches or colour ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Large Water Lily Palm Leaf Crystals Brooch
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1970s Vintage Large Water Lily Palm Leaf Layers Crystals Exquisite Elegant Modernist Chunky Brooch, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. Very new. 100% genuine. A uni...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Crystals Water Drop Eye Shell Clip Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Tear Water Drop Eye Crystals Shell Triangle Elegant Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Excellent condition. Very new. 100% genuine. A very beaut...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Pearl Crystals White Round Flower Brooch Pin
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Vivid White Round Pearl Crystals Blossom Flower Elegant Modernist Pin Brooch, Gold Tone Very good condition. A unique piece. 100% genuine. This is go...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Textured Ribbon Crystals Knot Bow New Brooch
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage Textured Knot Bow Ribbon Crystals Elegant Modernist Brooch, Gold Tone, New. New, never used. Not any scratches or colour loss. 100% Genuine. A unique p...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Rope Gold Circle Crystals Hoop Drop Chunky Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Large Rope Circle Round Hoop Crystals Statement Chunky Modernist Drop Earrings, Gold Plated Very good condition. Very light scratches, very colou...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Large Gold Black White Pearl Crystals Oval Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Large White Pearl Crystals Oval Black Enamel Chunky Statement Modernist Elegant Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Very light scratche...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Gold Oval White Pearls Crystals Long Brooch
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Trio Oval White Pearls Crystals Long Bar Elegant Modernist Brooch, Gold Tone Renowned for its timeless elegant designs, Christian Dior presents t...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Blue Sapphire Clear Crystals Gold Water Drop Set
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Navy Blue Sapphire Crystals Water Tear Drop 2 Gift Jewellery Set Elegant Modernist Necklace Earrings, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. Not any scratc...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare 1980s White Pearl Water Drop Crystal Gold Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Pearl Water Tear Drop Shining Sparkling Cross Crystal Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Very beautiful. Not any colo...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Large Rope Knot Swirl Crystals Mesh Chunky Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large Rope Knot Swirl Twist Crystals Mesh Loop Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Some light scratches or colour loss, barely noticeable. 100...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Jelly Belly White Shell Frost Crystals Clip Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Jelly Belly Shell Frost Crystals Elegant Clip On Earrings, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. A very beautiful pair of earrings by...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Red Ruby Black Curved Crystals Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Black Ruby Red Clear Crystals Long Bar Pendant Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Very new. Not any scratches or c...
Gold Plate, Enamel
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold White Pearls Moon Fan Crystals Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Pearls Moon Fan Crystals Pendant Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Very light scratches or colour loss, barely noticeable. 100% Genuine. M...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Oval Crystal Button Omega Snake Mesh Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Swirl Oval Crystals Pendant Button Omega Snake Mesh Choker Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Light scratches or colour loss near th...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Matte White Shell Crystals Snake Omega Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Matte White Shell Cabochon Crystals Snake Mesh Woven Omega Chunky Statement Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Some lig...
Gold Plate
$280Sale Price / set|20% Off
1980s Rosenthal Crystal Champagne Glasses Coupe Bjorn Wiinblad
By Rosenthal
Located in Chula Vista, CA
1980s Rosenthal Crystal Champagne Glasses Coupe Bjorn Wiinblad Set of two glasses 6 h x 3.5 diameter Preowned vintage condition unrestored. Refer to images.
Art Glass
Christian Dior 1980s Gold Orange Reef Shell Pearl Crystals Chunky Cuff Bracelet
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1980s Asymmetric Fluorescent Orange Coral Reef Shell Torch White Pearl Crystals Chunky Statement Cuff Modernist Elegant Bracelet, Gold Plated Very excellent condition...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Large Gold Circle Crystals Navy Blue White Pearl Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Large Circle Round Crystals Navy Blue Enamel White Pearl Modernist Elegant Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Vinta...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold White Enamel Crystals Openwork Chunky Cuban 2 Set
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Enamel Crystals Spiral Openwork Elegant Chunky Pendant Cuban Chain Necklace Long Pierced Earrings 2 Jewellery Gift Set, Gold Tone Very good condit...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gold Red Ruby Crystals Half Hoop Domed Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Four Ruby Red Rectangle Clear Crystals Half Hoop Dome Elegant Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Very light scratches or colour los...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gripoix Blue Sapphire Crystals Octagon White Pearls 2 Set
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gripoix Sapphire Navy Blue Crystals Octagon White Round Beads Pearls Exquisite Elegant Modernist Necklace Clip Earrings 2 Gift Jewellery Set, Gold Tone ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Iconic Gold Crystals Logo CD Monogram Clip Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Iconic Classic Crystals Logo CD Monogram Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss. 100% Genuine. A very beau...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage Gold Large Vivid Wavy Leaf Row Crystals Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage Large Vivid Textured Wavy Leaf Row Crystals Chunky Statement Clip Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Maybe light scratches or colour loss, barely ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gold Crystals Lock Long Bar Twist Chunky Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Crystals Lock Long Bar Twist Pendant Chunky Modernist Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Colour loss at the clasp. Marked 'Chr.Dior (C)...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gold Double Crystals Chain Interlocked Linked 2 Set
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Double Whole Crystals Chain Interlocked Linked Choker Collar Necklace Bracelet 2 Gift Jewellery Set, Gold Tone Very good condition. Maybe some li...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage White Pearl Gold Flower Sunburst Snowflake Crystals 2 Set
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage Sunburst Radiant White Round Pearl Flower Snowflake Sparkling Crystals Pierced Earrings Pendant Necklace 2 Elegant Jewellery Gift Set, Gold Tone Very good con...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Silver Gold Shell Double Crystals Chunky Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Shell Double Row Crystals Silver Gold Patchwork Chunky Statement Modernist Clip Earrings Very good condition. Not any stones lost. 100% genuine. ...
Gold Plate, Silver Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Black Gold Crystals Winding Domed Clip Earrings
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Black Enamel Crystals Winding Half Dome Modernist Clip Earrings, Gold Plated Renowned for its timeless elegant designs, Christian Dior presents t...
Gold Plate, Enamel
Christian Dior Vintage Unisex Iconic Gold Black Ribbon Crystals Knot Bow Brooch
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Black Enamel Crystals Wave Knot Bow Ribbon Elegant Modenrist Brooch, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. Light scratches, barely noticeable. 100%...
Gold Plate, Enamel
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage Large Gold Ribbon Knot Bow Openwork Crystals Brooch
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage Large Glow Knot Bow Ribbon Openwork Crystals Elegant Modernist Brooch, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches, barely noticeable. 100% Genuine. ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage Large Gold Vivid Wavy Leaf Crystals Chunky Brooch
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage Unisex Large Vivid Wavy Leaf Crystals Statement Chunky Modernist Elegant Brooch, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches, imperfect on the top po...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Large Semicircle Circle Crystals Drop Gold Elegant 2 Set
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large Semicircle Crystals Drop Pendant Elegant 2 Jewellery Gift Set Necklace Earrings, Gold Tone Very good condition. Some of light scratches or colour ...
Gold Plate
$313Sale Price|20% Off
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gold White Enamel Crystals Ribbed Horn Shell Brooch
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex White Enamel Crystals Ribbed Horn Shell Modernist Brooch, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, barely noticeable. Not a...
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.