Modern Choker 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.
1990s French Modern Choker Necklaces
Crystal, Base Metal
Late 20th Century French Modern Choker Necklaces
Yellow Gold
20th Century American Modern Choker Necklaces
Crystal, Diamond, Rock Crystal, Sapphire, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, White Gold
20th Century American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Purple Sapphire, Gold, ...
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
White Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
1980s Asian Vintage Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Aquamarine, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Modern Choker Necklaces
Zircon, 18k Gold, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Choker Necklaces
Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Choker Necklaces
South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Choker Necklaces
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, White Gold, 14k Gold
20th Century American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, 14k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, White Gold, Gold, 14k Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Choker Necklaces
Amethyst, Pink Sapphire, 14k Gold
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Gold Plate, Brass
2010s Japanese Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Gold
1990s Italian Modern Choker Necklaces
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Choker Necklaces
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s American Vintage Modern Choker Necklaces
Mixed Metal
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Gold, Yellow Gold, 10k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Choker Necklaces
White Diamond, Sapphire, Purple Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Platinum
2010s Modern Choker Necklaces
Sapphire, Aquamarine, Silver
1990s French Modern Choker Necklaces
Gilt Metal
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Platinum
2010s Italian Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Choker Necklaces
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, White Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
20th Century American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, Yellow Gold, Platinum, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Platinum
2010s Portuguese Modern Choker Necklaces
Gold
2010s Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century American Modern Choker Necklaces
Onyx, Silver, Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
1980s French Vintage Modern Choker Necklaces
Mixed Metal
1970s Vintage Modern Choker Necklaces
Sterling Silver
20th Century French Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s American Vintage Modern Choker Necklaces
Mixed Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, White Gold, 14k Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Rose Gold
1980s American Vintage Modern Choker Necklaces
Brass