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.
Early 2000s Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, White Gold
Mid-20th Century American Modern Necklaces
Topaz
2010s American Modern Necklaces
Topaz, White Diamond, Blue Diamond, Diamond, 14k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Necklaces
Topaz, Blue Topaz, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, Blue Topaz, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Topaz, 14k Gold, Gold
2010s Italian Modern Necklaces
Aquamarine, Diamond, Topaz, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Topaz, Gold, 14k Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Necklaces
Amethyst, Citrine, Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Brown Diamond, Pearl, Quartz...
2010s Turkish Modern Necklaces
Topaz, 14k Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Topaz, Tsavorite, 14k Gold, Gold
2010s European Modern Necklaces
Emerald, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Topaz, Blue Topaz, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Necklaces
Topaz, Gold, White Gold, Silver, Sterling Silver
2010s Dutch Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Blue Topaz, White Diamond, Topaz, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, Tourmaline, Blue Topaz, White Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, Tourmaline, Blue Topaz, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Dutch Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Topaz, Blue Topaz, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, Blue Topaz, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Necklaces
Chalcedony, Topaz, Tourmaline, Blue Topaz, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Unknown Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, Blue Topaz, White Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Necklaces
Topaz, Gold, 14k Gold
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Necklaces
Topaz, Blue Topaz, Gold, Yellow Gold, 9k Gold
2010s European Modern Necklaces
Emerald, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Topaz, Blue Topaz, 14k Gold
2010s Spanish Modern Necklaces
Turquoise, Tsavorite, Topaz, Peridot, Garnet, Chalcedony, Carnelian, Ama...
1990s Unknown Modern Necklaces
Topaz, Sterling Silver
2010s Turkish Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, Gold, 14k Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Topaz, Gold, 14k Gold
2010s Indian Modern Necklaces
Opal, Topaz, Gold, Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Moonstone, Sapphire, Tanzanite, Topaz, 18k Gold, White Gold, Pl...
2010s European Modern Necklaces
Emerald, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Topaz, Blue Topaz, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Blue Topaz, Topaz, Diamond, Yellow Gold, White Gold, Rose Gold, 18k Gold...
2010s Turkish Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, Gold, 14k Gold
2010s Indian Modern Necklaces
Iolite, Topaz, Blue Topaz, 14k Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Topaz, Blue Topaz, 14k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Necklaces
Topaz, Blue Topaz, Silver, Sterling Silver
2010s Turkish Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Topaz, Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Necklaces
Topaz, Diamond, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Topaz, Tsavorite, Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Moonstone, Sapphire, Tanzanite, Topaz, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, Blue Topaz, 14k Gold, 18k Gold
1990s Thai Modern Necklaces
Pearl, Peridot, Topaz, Sterling Silver
2010s Turkish Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Necklaces
Topaz, Tourmaline, Blue Topaz, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
1990s Unknown Modern Necklaces
Amethyst, Iolite, Topaz, Tourmaline, 10k Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Onyx, Topaz, Gold, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, Blue Topaz, Gold, 18k Gold, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Necklaces
Chalcedony, Diamond, White Diamond, Topaz, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, ...
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Necklaces
Topaz, Mandarin Garnet, Diamond, Garnet, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
Late 20th Century American Modern Necklaces
Topaz, Blue Topaz, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Necklaces
Topaz, White Diamond, 14k Gold, Gold, White Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Tsavorite, Topaz, Gold, 14k Gold
2010s British Modern Necklaces
Chalcedony, Turquoise, Citrine, Other, Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, ...
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Quartz, Diamond, White Diamond, Topaz, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Necklaces
Ruby, Topaz, Diamond, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, Blue Topaz, White Gold, 14k Gold