Frank Hess for Miriam Haskell Necklaces

Around 1930, Miriam Haskell's first designer Frank Hess designed this Russian-gilt brass ribbed-chain link bib necklace featuring 27 strands of varying length each wired to aqua faux-turquoise pressed glass beads with characteristic gold pronged-bell caps and thumbless spring-ring clasp. After the Great Depression began in the United States in 1929, to keep her popular European-style costume jewelry affordable among fashionable ladies, Haskell began using less expensive imported handcrafted glass beads, which included Czech and German pressed glass. Initially when she opened her handmade ready-to-wear costume-jewelry business in 1926 in New York City's downtown McAlpin Hotel, she had used only the finest Parisian glass beads and findings like French couturiers including Coco Chanel who soon became her competition. which Haskell promoted with the French name of her first boutique Le Bijou de L'Heure. If interested in assembling a suitable set of early Haskell-Hess pieces with similar aesthetics, please see our other listings for the aqua glass-and-enamel scalloped button clip earrings and the "peacock" coil arm-band bracelet with Parisian lampworked glass, faceted crystal, painted galalith beads, and cupped rose...

During the Art Deco period, Miriam Haskell's first designer Frank Hess designed this blue-and-white glass-beaded hand-sewn torsade set of dangle earrings and a choker necklace, whose knotted string is capped with their characteristic Russian-gilt brass flora filigree. Coinciding with the American Great Depression, to offer some less expensive costume jewelry than her initial ready-to-wear styles featuring Parisian hand-crafted materials found in French couture, Haskell reduced the cost of some of her findings by locally sourcing stamped metal and incorporating hand-pressed glass beads from Germany and Czechoslovakia. With a loop, the line from hand pressing the glass can only be found on the blue beads, while the white ones are coated in an organic material like authentic French faux pearls. The ends of the textured cords that string the beaded set were frayed to form a fuzzy opaque dome that hides the knots attached to the filigree caps. No Haskell jewelry was signed before 1947. The unsigned necklace...

Featuring a relatively heavy fringe of dangling Russian-gilt brass bars and contrasting French-blue textural hand-pressed glass beads topped with filigree caps to resemble flower bud...

Featuring the earliest white-swirled glass and enameled faux-pearl round beads handcrafted by Parisian lampwork-master Louis Rousselet for American entrepreneur Miriam Haskell and he...

In the late 1920s during the Art-Deco period, this Miriam Haskell white mostly glass-beaded sautoir was created in New York City by her first designer Frank Hess. This uniquely hand-...

Beautiful three piece parure (wraparound necklace with jewelled terminals, wraparound bracelet and matching earrings), a iconic design from the 1930s by Miriam Haskell. In soft cranb...

A splendid necklace deigned by the earliest and leading designer for Miriam Haskell, Frank Hess. Made from gilt metal and rose montes (clear flatback pastes individually set), it is classic vintage...

A very interesting necklace by Miriam Haskell from the early 1950s. Consisting of larger and smaller agate balls and smaller glass balls. In the middle the...

Miriam Haskell jewellery is some of the most prized and beautiful costume jewellery from the 20th century. The intricate designs coupled with their novel colours and materials have ...

A very nice set by Miriam Haskell necklace and ear clips from the 50s USA. It consists of a chain with ivory colored 1 cm glass beads. A grape hanging from the same pearls as the nec...

Miriam Haskell jewellery is some of the most prized and beautiful costume jewellery from the 20th century. The intricate designs coupled with their novel colours and materials have made Haskell jewellery hugely coveted by collectors, with the most elaborate pieces fetching many hundreds of pounds. Miriam began her fashion career in New York city working as a milliner but pivoted to jewellery in 1926 when she opened her first shop, named Le Bijou...

A very decorative and important necklace by Miriam Haskell, shown in "Miriam Haskell Jewelry" by Cathy Gordon & Sheila Pamfiloff page 110. It consists of 1.5 cm large yellow cut glass balls, small yellow flowers and small balls. The main chain are faux baroque pearls from 1.5 cm to 0.5 cm in size. An additional M. Haskell pearl necklace...

An early and very unusual three piece set (or parure) by Miriam Haskell. Designed by the most cherished of house designers, Frank Hess, it is a subtle mix of soft coral beads and 'ro...