Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
1960s American Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
1980s American Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Gilt Metal
1970s American Baroque Revival Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
1980s German Baroque Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Gold Plate
1990s American Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Gold Plate
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1950s French Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
White Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
1960s American Modernist Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Gold Plate
Late 20th Century American Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, Onyx, Sapphire, Platinum
20th Century Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Pearl
1970s American Art Deco Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Base Metal
1990s Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Silver Plate
1960s American Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Gilt Metal
1930s Art Deco Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
1980s German Art Nouveau Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Gold Plate
Late 20th Century American Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Zircon, 22k Gold, Gold Plate
1960s American Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
1980s American Modernist Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Gold Plate, Enamel
1980s American Artisan Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
2010s French Contemporary Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Yellow Sapphire, Multi-gemstone, Tourmaline, Sapphire, Ruby, Quartz, Whi...
1950s Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Recent Sales
1980s American Art Nouveau Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
1980s American Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Base Metal
1960s American Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Gold Plate
1980s American Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Crystal, Base Metal
20th Century Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Diamond, Yellow Gold
1980s American Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
1960s American Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
Base Metal
1980s American Contemporary Ruby Lane Vintage Earrings
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.