Kenneth Jay Lane Coral Colored Brooch and Earring Set 1960s
View Similar Items
Kenneth Jay Lane Coral Colored Brooch and Earring Set 1960s
About the Item
- Creator:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU43031764043
Kenneth Jay Lane
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.
- Vintage 1950's Miriam Haskell Earrings & Brooch Demi-Parure SetBy Miriam HaskellLocated in Cheltenham, GBThis incredible 1950's Miriam Haskell brooch and earring demi-parure set, made up of statement hand worked milk glass and a leaf filigree design are rare pieces to behold. The pende...Category
Vintage 1950s Clip-on Earrings
MaterialsBrass
- Vintage Brooch and matching ear clips set rhodium and rhinestones 1940s USALocated in Stuttgart, DEAn early set, brooch and ear clip from the 1940s USA unsigned. Flower and leaves are all set with small rhinestones. In the bloom a cut red rhinestone. During this time the flower wa...Category
Vintage 1940s American Artisan Brooches
$567 Sale Price / set24% OffFree Shipping - Yves Saint Laurent YSL Vintage Amethyst Earring and Brooch SetBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Nice, FRYVES SAINT LAURENT vintage earring and brooch set featuring a faux amethyst stone in an abstract textured gold tone setting. All...Category
20th Century French Clip-on Earrings
- Deep ruby paste 'cruxiform' brooch and earrings, Warner, USA, 1950sBy WarnerLocated in Greyabbey, County DownA glorious deep ruby red gives this eye catching brooch and earrings its charm and allure. Set in black lacquered metal with teardop and round pastes, in a very three dimensional design, this is a very wearable set, either together or individually. Only the brooch is signed. Founded by Joseph Warner...Category
Vintage 1950s American Clip-on Earrings
MaterialsBase Metal
- Gilt metal, fuschia and amethyst paste brooch/earrings, Christian Dior, c. 1954By Mitchel Maer for Christian DiorLocated in Greyabbey, County DownAn unusual brooch and earrings from Christian Dior by Mitchel Maer, made of articulated twisted gilt rings of various sizes, highlighted with amethyst, light amethyst and fuschia pas...Category
Vintage 1950s British Brooches
MaterialsGilt Metal
- A mirrored glass and alousel brooch and earrings, Line Vautrin, France, 1960sBy Line VautrinLocated in Greyabbey, County DownThis Talousel and mirrored glass brooch and earrings is a fine example of the later work of Line Vautrin from the 1960s. A most beautiful and unusual colour, each piece is truly artisan, made and assembled by hand. The delicate mirrored and resin elements are stacked or jumbled, on top of each other, to create an utterly delightful and original design, highly typical of this magical designer. An astounding artist, the truly individual Line Vautrin was named a ‘poetess in metal’ by Vogue magazine in 1948, starting her career in such prestigious surroundings, making buttons for Schiaparelli. She went on create some of the most extraordinary and individual jewellery, artists’ jewellery in very poetic and clever designs. These included necklace, brooches, bracelets and earrings, as well as boxes and other objets de vertu...Category
Vintage 1960s French Brooches
MaterialsBase Metal