Late 1950s Napier Art Deco Bakelite Beaded Pendant Necklace

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 ...

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...

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...

The start of plastic jewellery was seen in the middle of the 19th century and it became very popular in the 1920's and 30's. Celluloid was the first quality of plastics which was used, then followed Bakelite and Catalin. The invention of Bakelite took place in 1909. Sometime later Catalin was produced. Catalin was easy for mass production and at the same time affordable. Du Pont is the pioneer in the field of Lucite and made it popular in the 1930’s as an alternative to Bakelite which was an expensive grade of plastic. Because of its versatility it became a popular choice for costume jewellery and became even more popular in 1950s for its Jelly Belly Jewellery...

Impressive 1930s Bakelite necklace made up of multicoloured beads in various shades of dark green, mustard, orange, tan, red, brown and black - colours which were given food-related names such as Creamed Corn, Butterscotch, Egg Yolk, and Salmon. Each bead is reminiscent of a chess piece, with rounded lines that very much echo the art deco styles of the era. Originally used for industrial purposes thanks to its ability to withstand heat, moulded Bakelite and its cast cousin, Catalin, made the jump to costume jewellery in the 1920s and had their heyday in the 1930s and 1940s with this necklace being one of the more decadent examples. When worn, the piece makes an impressive statement thanks to its substantial size and colourful appearance. Its generous length makes it possible to slip easily on and off overhead or it can be worn looped over. Truly a rare find which belongs in a serious collection. Condition wise, this is verging on extraordinary given the complexity of the carving and the shear number of individuals beads. We count very close to 250 hand carved beads...

French Art Deco bakelite link necklace in varied shades of brown with chrome link stations. Necklace terminating in a large, floral carved bak...

Beautiful old bakelite cherry bead necklace. This is an exceptionally large model with beautiful thick beads. The color is dark red, there i...

Vintage bakelite necklance realized in 1940s. Good condition.