Modern 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 Necklaces
Multi-gemstone, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow ...
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Gold, White Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Diamond, White Gold, Gold, 18k Gold
Early 2000s American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Gold, Enamel, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century American Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Green Sapphire,...
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, White Gold
2010s American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, White Gold
2010s Hong Kong Modern Necklaces
White Diamond, Black Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Tourmaline, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Necklaces
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, White Diamond, Diamond, Yellow Gold, White Gold...
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, White Diamond, Diamond, Yellow Gold, White Gold...
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, White Diamond, Diamond, Yellow Gold, White Gold...
2010s Australian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 9k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Italian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
1980s American Vintage Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Coral, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, Palla...
Early 2000s Italian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Opal, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Opal, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, 18k Gold, White ...
2010s Modern Necklaces
Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Modern Necklaces
Moonstone, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, White Gold, Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Necklaces
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Diamond, 14k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Australian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, ...
2010s Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold
2010s Swiss Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Topaz, Gold, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s German Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Multi-gemstone, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Yellow ...
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Sterling Silver
Early 2000s Italian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Unknown Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Green Sapphire,...
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s British Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Blue Sapphire, Pearl, Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Necklaces
Crystal, Black Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Necklaces
Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Tsavorite, Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 14k Go...
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Tsavorite, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Necklaces
White Diamond, Pearl, South Sea Pearl, Blue Sapphire, White Gold, Palladium
2010s American Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Opal, Black Pearl, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
