Modern Chain Bracelets
Rooted in centuries of history of adornment dating back to the ancient world, modern jewelry reimagines traditional techniques, forms and materials for expressive new pieces. As opposed to contemporary jewelry, which responds to the moment in which it was created, modern jewelry often describes designs from the 20th to 21st centuries that reflect movements and trends in visual culture.
Modern jewelry emerged from the 19th-century shift away from jewelry indicating rank or social status. The Industrial Revolution allowed machine-made jewelry using electric gold plating, metal alloys and imitation stones, making beautiful jewelry widely accessible. Although mass production deemphasized the materials of the jewelry, the vision of the designer remained important, something that would be furthered in the 1960s with what’s known as the “critique of preciousness.”
A design fair called the “Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes” brought global attention to the Art Deco style in 1925 and gathered a mix of jewelry artists alongside master jewelers like Van Cleef & Arpels, Mauboussin and Boucheron. Art Deco designs from Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels unconventionally mixed gemstones like placing rock crystals next to diamonds while borrowing motifs from eclectic sources including Asian lacquer and Persian carpets. Among Cartier’s foremost design preoccupations at the time were high-contrast color combinations and crisp, geometric forms and patterns. In the early 20th century, modernist jewelers like Margaret De Patta and artists such as Alexander Calder — who is better known for his kinetic sculptures than his provocative jewelry — explored sculptural metalwork in which geometric shapes and lines were preferred over elaborate ornamentation.
Many of the innovations in modern jewelry were propelled by women designers such as Wendy Ramshaw, who used paper to craft her accessories in the 1960s. During the 1970s, Elsa Peretti created day-to-night pieces for Tiffany & Co. while designers like Lea Stein experimented with layering plastic, a material that had been employed in jewelry since the mid-19th century and had expanded into Bakelite, acrylics and other unique materials.
Find a collection of modern watches, bracelets, engagement rings, necklaces, earrings and other jewelry on 1stDibs.
2010s Modern Chain Bracelets
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Bracelets
Amethyst, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Bracelets
Garnet, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, White Gold, 14k Gold
20th Century American Modern Chain Bracelets
Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Chain Bracelets
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Bracelets
Peridot, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1960s Unknown Vintage Modern Chain Bracelets
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Chain Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Chain Bracelets
2010s Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, Gold, 14k Gold, Rose Gold
Late 20th Century Modern Chain Bracelets
18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Bracelets
Platinum
2010s Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Bracelets
Green Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Yellow Gold, 1...
2010s European Modern Chain Bracelets
Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary South African Modern Chain Bracelets
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Chain Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Chain Bracelets
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s European Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, Malachite, Rose Gold, Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Bracelets
Jade, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Chain Bracelets
Aquamarine, Gold, Platinum
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, Gold, 22k Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, White Gold
2010s Thai Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, White Gold
2010s French Modern Chain Bracelets
2010s British Modern Chain Bracelets
Vermeil
2010s British Modern Chain Bracelets
Sterling Silver
2010s British Modern Chain Bracelets
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold
1990s Italian Modern Chain Bracelets
Onyx, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Chain Bracelets
Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Chain Bracelets
14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Sterling Silver
2010s Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
Early 2000s European Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Bracelets
Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Chain Bracelets
Diamond, Sapphire, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Bracelets
Multi-gemstone, 22k Gold, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Bracelets
Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Zambian Modern Chain Bracelets
Emerald, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Bracelets
Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Chain Bracelets
Yellow Diamond, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Chain Bracelets
Yellow Diamond, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Chain Bracelets
14k Gold, Gold-filled