Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1980s American Art Deco Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Gilt Metal
1980s American Modern Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Pearl, Gold Plate
20th Century Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Pearl
1980s American Modern Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1990s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Crystal, 22k Gold, Gold Plate
1980s American Baroque Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Gilt Metal
1970s French Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Recent Sales
1980s Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1980s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1980s American Art Deco Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Crystal, Base Metal
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1990s Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1990s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1990s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Crystal, Gold Plate
1990s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Crystal, 22k Gold, Gold Plate
1970s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Moonstone, Pearl, Turquoise
1980s Italian Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Gilt Metal
1990s Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1980s American Baroque Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1990s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Crystal, Gold Plate
1990s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Crystal, Gold Plate
1990s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Crystal, 22k Gold, Gold Plate
1990s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Crystal, 22k Gold, Gold Plate
Late 20th Century American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1990s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1970s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1950s American Modern Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1990s Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1980s American Byzantine Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Gilt Metal
1970s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1970s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1970s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1990s American Byzantine Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Gold Plate, Base Metal, Mixed Metal
1970s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Late 20th Century American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1970s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Crystal, Base Metal
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1980s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1990s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1980s American Etruscan Revival Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Gilt Metal
1970s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1970s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Base Metal
20th Century American Contemporary Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Gold Plate
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1970s American Contemporary Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Pearl, Gold Plate
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1970s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Base Metal
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1970s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1970s British Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
1960s American Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, Sterling Silver
1980s Brazilian Artisan Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Diamond, Rubelite, Tourmaline, 18k Gold, Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Taiwanese Contemporary Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Tourmaline, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
Early 2000s Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s Renaissance Revival Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Diamond, 18k Gold
1980s American Modern Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Mixed Metal
1980s French Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Bronze, Gilt Metal
1950s French Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Late 20th Century French Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Crystal, Gilt Metal
Late 20th Century French Artist Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Diamond, Pearl
1950s Unknown Modern Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
21st Century and Contemporary Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
21st Century and Contemporary American Artisan Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Pearl, Rhodium, Silver
Early 2000s Italian Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
20th Century Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace
Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Vintage Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl Necklace?
Kenneth Jay Lane for sale on 1stDibs
The father of so-called “fabulous fakes,” Kenneth Jay Lane was a spirited innovator within the jewelry industry, designing elegant and luxurious pieces without the use of real jewels. And while Lane aspired to create classic designs for earrings, bracelets and necklaces intended for everyday wear, his pieces caught the attention of celebrities, royalty and socialites.
From a young age, the Detroit, Michigan-born Lane was a lover of fashion. He studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Michigan. He pursued a design career in New York City, and a failed start in the art department of Vogue magazine led to a decade of designing shoes for the likes of Delman and Christian Dior.
Lane would occasionally develop shoe designs for friends he had in the fashion world such as Bill Blass and Arnold Scaasi. A show for the latter afforded him the opportunity to beautify shoes with rhinestones and create bangles and earrings to pair with the footwear — he found plastic bracelets at discount variety store and had them embellished by craftspeople at a shoe factory.
A love for costume jewelry design emerged thereafter. Lane created his own collection and admirers such as Jackie Kennedy and Elizabeth Taylor showered him with praise. A pearl necklace he designed was worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. In the early 1960s, ready-to-wear pioneer Hattie Carnegie purchased Lane’s jewelry line. Lane was given the position of design director for Carnegie but he soon changed course, moving instead into a small studio and pursuing his own path.
Lane worked with milk glass, gilded silver hardware, faux coral and other materials, and sold pendant necklaces, dangle earrings and modern bracelets to private customers. He was fond of renowned fine jewelry houses Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels and designers such as Jean Schlumberger, and cited having found inspiration in Egyptian and Indian jewelry over the years as well as Art Deco jewelry. Lane’s designs, which he called “faque” and “junque,” became well-known for their distinctive color combinations and clever characteristics such as embroidery. By the time he purchased a small jewelry factory in Providence, Rhode Island, where his accessories would be made during the 1960s, Lane had secured relationships with top Manhattan boutiques and his work had caught the attention of fashion magazines.
Directed by the filmmaker Gisèle Roman, a 2018 documentary about Lane’s life and work called Fabulously Fake: The Real Life of Kenneth Jay Lane features interviews with legendary fashion designers Carolina Herrera, Tory Burch and Diane von Furstenberg.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Kenneth Jay Lane brooches, rings and other accessories.