Verdura Beads
Early 2000s American Beaded Bracelets
Coral, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Unknown Modern Beaded Necklaces
Citrine, Diamond, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Multi-Strand Necklaces
South Sea Pearl, Quartz, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Unknown Link Necklaces
Diamond, Black Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1930s French Byzantine Brooches
Amethyst, Pearl, Quartz, Gold, Gilt Metal, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Art Deco Clip-on Earrings
Spinel, Black Spinel, Brown Diamond, Silver
Vintage 1940s American Art Deco Brooches
Crystal, Pearl, Silver, Rhodium
People Also Browsed
Vintage 1980s American Brooches
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, Platinum
Antique 1840s Italian Classical Roman More Jewelry
Coral, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century French Modern Chain Necklaces
Coral, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Contemporary Stud Earrings
Diamond, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Contemporary Drop Earrings
Coral, Diamond, White Diamond, Multi-gemstone, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Wh...
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco More Bracelets
Diamond, Turquoise, Platinum
Vintage 1960s American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Chain Necklaces
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Artisan More Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
Late 20th Century Italian Artist Wrist Watches
Diamond, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artisan Cuff Bracelets
Coral, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s American Art Deco Stud Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
Antique Late 19th Century Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Enamel
2010s Australian Artist Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 22k Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Chain Necklaces
Carnelian, Tiger's Eye, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Engagement Rings
White Diamond, Platinum
Recent Sales
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Beaded Bracelets
Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Beaded Necklaces
Coral
21st Century and Contemporary Beaded Necklaces
Yellow Gold
Vintage 1950s Cuff Bracelets
Yellow Gold
Vintage 1950s American Beaded Bracelets
Cultured Pearl, Diamond, Platinum, White Gold
2010s Byzantine Beaded Necklaces
Amethyst, Turquoise, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Beaded Bracelets
Citrine, Peridot, 18k Gold
2010s American Beaded Necklaces
Amethyst, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Beaded Necklaces
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
American Beaded Bracelets
Vintage 1980s Contemporary Beaded Necklaces
Jasper, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s American Beaded Necklaces
Agate, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
Late 20th Century American Beaded Necklaces
Amethyst, Garnet, Pearl, Diamond, 14k Gold, 18k Gold
Early 2000s American Beaded Necklaces
Pearl, Diamond, Moonstone, Ruby, Tourmaline, Silver, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s American Beaded Necklaces
14k Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Beaded Necklaces
Lapis Lazuli, Turquoise, 18k Gold, Gold
1990s American Beaded Necklaces
Turquoise, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Beaded Necklaces
Carnelian, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Multi-Strand Necklaces
Chalcedony, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Multi-Strand Necklaces
Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
Coral, 18k Gold
1990s American Multi-Strand Necklaces
Chalcedony, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Link Necklaces
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Apatite, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Contemporary Multi-Strand Necklaces
Garnet, Pearl, Hessonite, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s American Link Necklaces
Onyx, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s American Clip-on Earrings
Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Multi-Strand Necklaces
Coral, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1950s French Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
2010s Italian Modern Beaded Necklaces
Coral, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Unknown Modern Beaded Bracelets
Crystal, Quartz, Rock Crystal, Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s American Beaded Necklaces
Agate, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s American Beaded Bracelets
Citrine, Peridot, 18k Gold
2010s Beaded Necklaces
Rock Crystal, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s American Beaded Necklaces
Amethyst, 18k Gold, Base Metal, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s American Beaded Necklaces
Amethyst, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s American Contemporary Beaded Necklaces
Emerald, 18k Gold
Early 2000s Contemporary Beaded Necklaces
Early 2000s American Beaded Necklaces
Peridot, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Beaded Bracelets
Citrine, Peridot, Tourmaline, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century American Beaded Necklaces
South Sea Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond, Emerald, Gold
Late 20th Century American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s Italian Cocktail Rings
Citrine, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Retro Clip-on Earrings
Jade, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s American Beaded Necklaces
Lapis Lazuli, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Beaded Necklaces
Agate, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Beaded Necklaces
Amethyst, 18k Gold
1990s American Beaded Necklaces
Jade, 18k Gold
1990s American Beaded Necklaces
Chrysophrase, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Beaded Bracelets
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Beaded Necklaces
Rock Crystal, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Beaded Bracelets
Lapis Lazuli, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Beaded Necklaces
Coral, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Beaded Necklaces
Tourmaline, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Contemporary Beaded Bracelets
Aquamarine, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Beaded Necklaces
Aquamarine
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Contemporary Beaded Bracelets
Aquamarine, Gold, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century American Beaded Bracelets
Citrine, Ruby, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Beaded Necklaces
Chalcedony, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Base Metal, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Beaded Necklaces
18k Gold
Verdura Beads For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much are Verdura Beads?
Verdura for sale on 1stDibs
Fulco di Verdura (1898–1978) is not exactly a household name, except for those who know a thing or two about highly original, often eccentric handcrafted jewelry and, even more so, for those fortunate enough to own some. In that exclusive group, Verdura is regarded as the most gifted and coveted designer of his time.
Verdura was born in Sicily in 1898, the scion of a noble family related to the Lampedusas. (His cousin, Giuseppe di Lampedusa, wrote the great Italian saga The Leopard). His life was charmed from birth. Raised in his family’s villa, he grew up during a time when Sicily, and Palermo in particular, were meccas for well-born and highly cultured European travelers.
A bona fide duke with no clear ambitions but creative leanings aplenty (he could draw and paint), the young Verdura was part of the wandering social circuit — the so-called beau monde — that went from capital to capital, resort to resort.
Verdura, though small in stature, had that indefinable quality called charm. As a result, he was the life of every party he attended. When he finally started designing jewelry under Coco Chanel in the late 1920s, many of his friends became his clients (or received the pieces as gifts). Elsa Maxwell took him under her ample wing when she was hired to do public relations for the Lido in Venice and introduced him to the local and visiting cognoscenti. Chanel, whom he met in Venice, hired him to work in the textiles division of her fashion house. But it was his flair for jewelry that soon caught Coco’s eye. Eventually, he rose to become her personal designer of fine jewelry.
In 2002’s Verdura: The Life and Work of a Master Jeweler (Thames & Hudson), Vanity Fair’s Amy Fine Collins describes the sensation of wearing pieces by Verdura, who drew inspiration from nature for his signature gem-studded seashell brooches and honeybee earrings. “They were ingeniously calculated to flatter the wearer,” writes Collins. “Earrings undulated to complement the convolutions of an earlobe, rings seductively followed the phalanges of a finger, and necklaces gracefully traced the anatomy of the throat.”
In 1934, Verdura left Chanel and together with two friends, aspiring actress Princess Natalia Pavlovna Paley and Baron Nicholas de Gunzburg, moved to the U.S. After several stops, he found a job through Diana Vreeland in Hollywood with Paul Flato, then the “jeweler to the stars.” Soon he was signing his work and helping Flato cultivate the crème de la creme of the silver screen — those both on it and behind it.
Verdura left Los Angeles for New York and opened his own salon, first on Fifth Avenue in 1939, just as World War II was beginning in Europe. His backers were Vincent Astor and Cole Porter, for whom he made bejeweled boxes and cigarette cases — gifts from Porter’s wife, Linda — to commemorate the opening nights of several musicals. Verdura began to expand both his repertoire — he became much more daring and flamboyant — and his clientele. The Duchess of Windsor, Daisy Fellowes, Greta Garbo and others routinely gave him commissions. In 1941, Verdura collaborated on a collection of six pieces with Salvador Dalí to accompany a Dalí exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. Verdura retired in 1972 and left the care of the company to his partner, Joseph Alfano. He later moved to London, where he died in 1978 at the age of 79.
Among the most prized pieces on display in a 2014 Verdura jewelry exhibition in New York were Greta Garbo’s curb-link bracelet watch, which Verdura designed for her in 1939; Coco Chanel’s pair of Maltese Cross cuff bracelets (she wore one on each wrist); and Diana Vreeland’s duo of Byzantine brooches.
Find a range of authentic Verdura jewelry today on 1stDibs.