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.
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl
Late 20th Century Asian Modern Choker Necklaces
Black Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold
2010s European Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Quartz, Vermeil
2010s Italian Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Turquoise, Vermeil
2010s French Modern Choker Necklaces
Cultured Pearl, Diamond, White Diamond, Opal, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Natural Pearl, Oriental Pearl, South Sea Pearl, G...
2010s Australian Modern Choker Necklaces
South Sea Pearl, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl
2010s French Modern Choker Necklaces
Cultured Pearl, Peridot, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Crystal, Quartz, Pyrite
1980s American Vintage Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Oriental Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Crystal, Pearl
Late 20th Century American Modern Choker Necklaces
Onyx, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Silver, Sterli...
2010s Japanese Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Choker Necklaces
South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Choker Necklaces
Emerald, Pearl, Vermeil
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Cultured Pearl, Yellow Diamond, Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Oriental Pearl...
2010s Polynesian Modern Choker Necklaces
Cultured Pearl, Base Metal
2010s Modern Choker Necklaces
Black Pearl, Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, Stainless Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Onyx, Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Ruby, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Italian Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Gold Plate
2010s Italian Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Diamond, White Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Natural Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s British Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, White...
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Natural Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Natural Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s British Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Gold, 9k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Black Pearl, Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Natural Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s French Modern Choker Necklaces
Crystal, Pearl, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Black Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Natural Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Natural Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Natural Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Natural Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, Black Pearl, Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, ...
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, South Sea Pearl, Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
20th Century American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s British Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, Gold, 9k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Choker Necklaces
Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold