Modern Drop 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 American Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
Late 20th Century Modern Drop Necklaces
South Sea Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, Yellow Gold, Sterling Silver
2010s British Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, Diamond, White Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, Crystal, Quartz, Pyrite
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Drop Necklaces
Freshwater Pearl, Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, 9k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Drop Necklaces
Freshwater Pearl, Gold, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Drop Necklaces
South Sea Pearl, Gold, 9k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
2010s American Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, Rose Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
Freshwater Pearl, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s Hong Kong Modern Drop Necklaces
South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Drop Necklaces
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Pearl, White Gold, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, South Sea Pearl, Black Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Natural Pearl, 18k ...
2010s American Modern Drop Necklaces
South Sea Pearl, Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold, Silver
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Oriental Pearl, South Sea Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold...
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, 14k Gold, White Gold
Early 2000s Israeli Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Drop Necklaces
South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Natural Pearl, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, Whit...
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Gold
2010s British Modern Drop Necklaces
Cultured Pearl, Diamond, White Diamond, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, White...
2010s British Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, Diamond, White Gold, 14k Gold
2010s British Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Freshwater Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Drop Necklaces
Black Pearl, Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Drop Necklaces
Coral, Diamond, White Diamond, Onyx, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Freshwater P...
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Opal, Pearl, Rhodium, Sterling Silver
2010s American Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, South Sea Pearl, White Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Drop Necklaces
Freshwater Pearl, Sterling Silver
Early 2000s American Modern Drop Necklaces
Cultured Pearl, White Gold
2010s Unknown Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, Black Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold
2010s Italian Modern Drop Necklaces
Cultured Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire, South Sea Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Unknown Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
Yellow Diamond, Diamond, Oriental Pearl, Natural Pearl, Cultured Pearl, ...
2010s Hong Kong Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Freshwater Pearl, Sapphire, Rose Gold, Gold
2010s Hong Kong Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, Sapphire, Diamond, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, Freshwater Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Hong Kong Modern Drop Necklaces
Freshwater Pearl, Pink Sapphire, Diamond, Rose Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Italian Modern Drop Necklaces
Cultured Pearl, Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s American Vintage Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, Gold Plate
1990s Italian Modern Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, White Gold
1960s American Vintage Modern Drop Necklaces
Pearl, Peridot, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold