Modern Beaded Necklaces
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 British Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Blue Sapphire, Pearl, Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s British Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, Freshwater Pearl, Natural Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Beaded Necklaces
White Diamond, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
2010s American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Beaded Necklaces
Cultured Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Black Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
1950s Unknown Vintage Modern Beaded Necklaces
1950s American Vintage Modern Beaded Necklaces
Gold Plate
2010s French Modern Beaded Necklaces
1950s American Vintage Modern Beaded Necklaces
21st Century and Contemporary Polynesian Modern Beaded Necklaces
Black Pearl
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Quartz, Pearl, Amethyst, Citrine, Cultured Pearl, Silver, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Coral, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, Palla...
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Agate, Jade
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Black Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, Gold, White Gold
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s British Vintage Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Pearl, Sapphire
2010s American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Tanzanite, Platinum
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Beaded Necklaces
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Pearl, Black Pearl, Cultured Pearl
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 14k Gold, White Gold
1960s American Vintage Modern Beaded Necklaces
2010s British Modern Beaded Necklaces
Cultured Pearl
2010s American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Turquoise, 18k Gold, Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Beaded Necklaces
Silver, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Yellow Diamond, Diamond, Oriental Pearl, Natural Pearl, Cultured Pearl, ...
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Cultured Pearl, Pearl, Silver, Sterling Silver
2010s American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Hong Kong Vintage Modern Beaded Necklaces
Pearl, 9k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Beaded Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Gold
Early 2000s Swiss Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Beaded Necklaces
Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Moonstone
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Beaded Necklaces
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Pearl, South Sea Pearl, Quartz, Topaz, 14k Gold, Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Cultured Pearl, Pearl, 14k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Beaded Necklaces
Yellow Gold
2010s Modern Beaded Necklaces
Pearl, 14k Gold
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Beaded Necklaces
Amethyst, Malachite, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Beaded Necklaces
Gold Plate, Bronze, Enamel, Gilt Metal
2010s Italian Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Pearl, 14k Gold, Gold, White Gold
1980s French Vintage Modern Beaded Necklaces
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Beaded Necklaces
Tanzanite, Emerald, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s Unknown Vintage Modern Beaded Necklaces
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Beaded Necklaces
Ruby, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century French Modern Beaded Necklaces
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Italian Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Pearl, 14k Gold, White Gold