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.
1980s American Vintage Modern Necklaces
Silver Plate
2010s Dutch Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s French Modern Necklaces
Early 2000s Italian Modern Necklaces
Late 20th Century American Modern Necklaces
Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Tourmaline, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Ruby, Gold
1980s Unknown Vintage Modern Necklaces
Enamel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Necklaces
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Opal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Enamel
1970s American Vintage Modern Necklaces
Brass
1990s Dutch Modern Necklaces
Coral, Emerald, Pearl, 18k Gold
2010s African Modern Necklaces
Aquamarine, Sterling Silver
2010s Dutch Modern Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Italian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, White Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
2010s Dutch Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Necklaces
18k Gold
2010s Dutch Modern Necklaces
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Turquoise, Diamond, Ruby, 14k Gold
2010s Italian Modern Necklaces
Black Diamond, Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Necklaces
Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, Sterling Silver
Early 2000s Italian Modern Necklaces
2010s Dutch Modern Necklaces
Turquoise, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Japanese Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Dutch Modern Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s African Modern Necklaces
Blue Sapphire, Zircon, Platinum, Silver
Early 2000s Italian Modern Necklaces
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
20th Century Italian Modern Necklaces
Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Necklaces
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Necklaces
Ruby, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Ruby, Gold
2010s Italian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Turquoise, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Dutch Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, 14k Gold
2010s Italian Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
Early 2000s American Modern Necklaces
18k Gold, White Gold, Enamel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Necklaces
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Opal, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Necklaces
Sapphire, Tsavorite, Citrine, Yellow Gold, White Gold, Rose Gold, 14k Go...
2010s Dutch Modern Necklaces
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Necklaces
Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Enamel
2010s Turkish Modern Necklaces
Diamond, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Necklaces
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Dutch Modern Necklaces
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Vintage Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Necklaces
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Necklaces
1990s American Modern Necklaces
Gold Plate