Modern Chain 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.
1970s American Vintage Modern Chain Necklaces
Brass
2010s Dutch Modern Chain Necklaces
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Chain Necklaces
Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Chain Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
2010s American Modern Chain Necklaces
Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Dutch Modern Chain Necklaces
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Dutch Modern Chain Necklaces
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century European Modern Chain Necklaces
Gold Plate
20th Century Modern Chain Necklaces
14k Gold
2010s American Modern Chain Necklaces
Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Modern Chain Necklaces
14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Chain Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Australian Modern Chain Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold
2010s Italian Modern Chain Necklaces
24k Gold, Gold Plate, Silver
1860s Antique Modern Chain Necklaces
Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s American Vintage Modern Chain Necklaces
1980s American Vintage Modern Chain Necklaces
1960s Unknown Vintage Modern Chain Necklaces
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Chain Necklaces
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s American Vintage Modern Chain Necklaces
1960s British Vintage Modern Chain Necklaces
Gold
1980s American Vintage Modern Chain Necklaces
1980s Vintage Modern Chain Necklaces
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s American Vintage Modern Chain Necklaces
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Necklaces
Emerald, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s Vintage Modern Chain Necklaces
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Chain Necklaces
Yellow Gold, Gold, 18k Gold, 24k Gold
20th Century Modern Chain Necklaces
14k Gold
20th Century Modern Chain Necklaces
14k Gold
20th Century Italian Modern Chain Necklaces
Amethyst, Crystal, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Necklaces
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chain Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century French Modern Chain Necklaces
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Chain Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Necklaces
Emerald, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Chain Necklaces
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chain Necklaces
Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Necklaces
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Chain Necklaces
2010s Italian Modern Chain Necklaces
24k Gold, Gold Plate, Silver, Sterling Silver
1990s Unknown Modern Chain Necklaces
Sterling Silver
1960s French Vintage Modern Chain Necklaces
18k Gold
Early 2000s French Modern Chain Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
2010s Italian Modern Chain Necklaces
Carnelian, Citrine, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Necklaces
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chain Necklaces
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Necklaces
Diamond, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Chain Necklaces
Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Chain Necklaces
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Chain Necklaces
Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Necklaces
Emerald, Diamond, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Chain Necklaces
Emerald, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Modern Chain Necklaces
Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Chain Necklaces
Gold, 9k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Modern Chain Necklaces
14k Gold
2010s British Modern Chain Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Chain Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold, Platinum