Kjl Bow
20th Century American Brooches
21st Century and Contemporary American Brooches
2010s American Modern Dangle Earrings
22k Gold, Gold Plate, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Brooches
Crystal
1990s American Modern Clip-on Earrings
21st Century and Contemporary Drop Earrings
Crystal
1990s American Link Necklaces
Crystal, 22k Gold, Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Chain Necklaces
Crystal, 22k Gold, Gold Plate, Yellow Gold, Enamel
People Also Browsed
Vintage 1950s Unknown Modern Brooches
Vintage 1960s French Modernist Brooches
Diamond, 18k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Byzantine Dangle Earrings
Blue Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Pink Diamond, Black Diamond, Brown Diamond...
Vintage 1930s Unknown Brooches
Diamond, Platinum
Early 20th Century French Belle Époque More Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
Vintage 1980s Brooches
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modernist Brooches
Early 20th Century Unknown Art Deco Brooches
Silver, Enamel
Vintage 1970s Italian Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Unknown Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 14k Gold
Vintage 1980s Modern Brooches
Gold Plate
Vintage 1980s Clip-on Earrings
Vintage 1950s American Brooches
Vintage 1950s American Retro Brooches
Rhodium
Antique Early 1900s Edwardian Brooches
Diamond, Ruby, Gold
Recent Sales
2010s American Modern Link Necklaces
22k Gold, Gold Plate
1990s American Retro Brooches
Crystal, 22k Gold, Gold Plate, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Link Necklaces
Crystal
1990s American Link Necklaces
Crystal, 22k Gold, Gold Plate
1990s American Link Necklaces
Crystal, 22k Gold, Gold Plate
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.