Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Triangle Crystals Marquise Pendant Chain Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Triangle Whole Crystals Marquise Pendant Chain Elegant Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Very good price. 100% Genuine. Signed at the bac...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1970s Arrow Crystals Square Triangle Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1970s Unisex Crystals Square Circle Arrow Triangle Pendant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. Not any stones lost. Marked 'Chr.Dior (C) '...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Ruby Crystals Interlocked Ribbed Omega Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Ruby Red Square Cube Clear Round Crystals Interlocked Bow Ribbed Omega Chunky Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. Very new. Very rare to find....
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Sapphire Ruby Emerald Octagon Crystals Omega Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage Sapphire Ruby Emerald Blue Navy Red Green Clear Octagon Rectangle Crystals Adjustable Ribbed Omega Choker Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Very light ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Diamond Gripoix Sapphire Emerald Ruby Crystals Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Sapphire Emerald Ruby Gripoix Crystals Diamond Triangle Pendant Openwork Ribbed Snake Omega Choker Adjustable Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Ton...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gripoix Emerald Diamond Black Crystals Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gripoix Emerald Green Diamond Black Enamel Whole Crystals Pendant Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Some light colour loss or scratches, barely n...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior by Henkel & Grosse' 1967 Silver & Gold 10 Strand Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in New York, NY
This striking vintage necklace from Christian Dior, crafted by the esteemed Henkel & Grosse of Germany, features 10 fluid strands of twisted rope links in alternating gold and silver...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Crystals Black Enamel Triangle Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Black Enamel Crystal Triangle Arrow Geometric Pendant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Not any colour loss. 100% genuine. Ren...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Rare Adjustable Omega Ribbed Snake Choker Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Classic Iconic Omega Ribbed Adjustable Snake Collar Choker Modernist Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Maybe light scratches or colour l...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold White Pearl Crystals Water Drop Elegant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Crystals Double Fan White Pearl Water Drop Dangle Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Constructed from polished...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gold Flower White Pearl Crystals Clover Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Flower White Pearl Crystals Pendant Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Constructed from polished gold plat...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gold White Pearl Crystals Flower Sunburst Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Flower Sunburst Crystals White Round Pearl Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Marked 'Chr.Dior (C) '. Rare to...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare White Circle Round Beads Pearls Choker Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex White Circle Round Beads Pearls Elegant Necklace, Silver Plated Very good condition. 100% Genuine. Marked 'Chr.Dior (C) '. Rare to find. Materia...
Silver Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Blue Sapphire Crystals Omega Mesh Gold Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Sapphire Navy Blue Peacock Feather Tear Water Drop Crystals Triangle Openwork Pendant Omega Mesh Woven Collar Choker Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Black Crystals Arrow Triangle Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1970s Unisex Black Enamel Crystals Arrow Triangle Pendant Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. 100% Genuine. Marked 'Chr.Dior (C) ' It is around 50 years...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Large White Round Pearls Crystals Logo Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large White Round Pearls Logo CD Crystals Necklace, Silver Plated Very good condition. Light scratches, barely noticeable. 100% Genuine. Marked 'Chr.Di...
Silver Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gripoix Green Emerald Gold Water Drop Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage Gripoix Emerald Marble Green Tear Water Drop Black Enamel Crystals Pendant Openwork Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Maybe light scratc...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Interlocked Cross X Crystals Omega Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Interlocked Knot Cross Crystals Pendant Adjustable Omega Collar Choker Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Not any stones lost. Marke...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare White Pearls Round Beads Triangle Crystals Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1970s White Round Pearls Beads Triangle Crystals Pendant Choker Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Not any colour loss or scratches. 100%...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Crystals Bib Omega Snake Interlinked Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Interlinked Crystals Trio Bar Bib Pendant Omega Snake Link Omega Collar Choker Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Very new. Marked '...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Large Blue Aqua Crystals Omega Interlocked Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Large Aqua Blue Oval Crystals Pendant Interlocked Link Omega Choker Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. Maybe light s...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Amethyst Purple Crystals Water Drop Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Textured Amethyst Purple Asymmetric Crystals Tear Water Drop Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. 100% Genuine. Light scratches, ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Crystals Frost Leaf Matte Flower Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1970s White Matte Frost Leaf Flowers Crystals Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Very light scratches or colour loss, barely noticeable. 100% ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Crystals Crescent Curved Hoop Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Crescent Curved Bar Crystals Hoop Pendant Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. Not any stones lost or colour loss. 100...
Gold Plate
Vintage CHRISTIAN DIOR gold plated chain crystals faux pearl runway necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Palos Hills, IL
DETAILS • signed CHRISTIAN DIOR • gold plated with crystals and faux pearl • vintage designer runway necklace MEASUREMENTS • CONDITION • excellent vintage condition with ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Oval White Pearl Rectangle Circle Crystals Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large Oval White Pearl Rectangle Circle Crystals Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Marked 'Chr.Dior (C) '. 100% Genuine. It is...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold White Pearl Crystals Round Marquise Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Classic Iconic. White Pearl Crystals Flower Round Circle Marquise Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Good condition. Not any peel off at faux pearl, ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Ruby Heart White Pearls Crystals Cabochon Gold Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Ruby Red Heart Love White Beads Pearls Rectangle Circle Crystals Cabochon Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Not any stones...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Crystals Moon Long Crescent Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1970s Unisex Crystals Long Crescent Moon Pendant Pendant Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, barely n...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Omega Collar Shining Crystals Square Chunky Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Omega Collar Shining Crystals Square Pendant Adjustable Choker Collar Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Without damage or noteworthy wear....
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Interlocked Link Omega Choker Collar Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Iconic Textured Interlocked Link Omega Choker Collar Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, barely n...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Oval Crystals Amethyst Heart Openwork Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large Oval Crystals Amethyst Purple Cabochon Heart Openwork Pendant Choker Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Light scratches or...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Black Crystals Gold Openwork Diamond Swirl Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980 Black Enamel Crystals Double Diamond Style Swirl Openwork Pendant Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. 100% genuine. Renowned for its timeless...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gold Shell Crystals Black Enamel Openwork Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Shell Petal Crystal Black Enamel Pendant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Renowned for its timeless elegant designs, Christian Dior presents this ne...
Gold Plate, Enamel
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gold Oval White Pearl Flower Crystals Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Oval Pearl Flower Crystals Pendant Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition and very new. Not any scratches or colour loss. 100%...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Black Gold Crystal Ribbed Interlocked Omega Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Black Enamel Crystals Interlocked Pendant Omega Ribbed Choker Modernist Elegant Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. 100% genuine. A unique p...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1990s Gold Monogram Logo Trotter Lariat Long Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1990s Unisex Long Monogram Logo Trotter Lariat Rectangle Pendant tassel Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Rare to find. Marked 'C...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gripoix Gold Green Emerald Crystals Diamond Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Gripoix Emerald Green Marble Sparkling Crystals Diamond Chunky Pendant Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. 100% genui...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Ruby Citrine Topaz Openwork Flower Crystal Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1970s Baroque Oval Ruby Red Citrine Topaz Yellow Orange Amber Openwork Flower Crystals Row Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. Very new. 1...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Gripoix Green Emerald Crystals Marble Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Gripoix Emerald Marble Green Eye Oval Pendant Crystals Elegant Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Some light colour loss or scratches, barely noti...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Large Heart Love Crystals Pendant Chain Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage Unisex 1980s Large Heart Clear Crystals Pendant Chain Elegant Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. Light scratches of colour loss, barely noticeable....
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Green Emerald Crystals Square Layers Silver Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1970s Vintage Emerald Green Marble Circle Round Whole Crystals Square V Pendant Double Layer Chain Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. Not...
Silver Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Crystals Aqua Blue White Pendant Chunky Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Aqua Blue Crystals White Cream Enamel Triangle Large Pendant Chunky Statement Modernist Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Some light sc...
Gold Plate, Enamel
Christian Dior Vintage 1980 Unisex Gold Crystals Triangle Arrow Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Whole Crystals Triangle Arrow Pendant Choker Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. 100% Genuine. Rare to find. This is a very stylish and rar...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Red Ruby Cube Circle Crystals Triangle Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Ruby Red Cube Circle Crystals Triangle Pendant Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss. 100% Genuine...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Large Gold Crystals White Oval Pearl Elegant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large White Oval Pearl Crystals Pendant Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Marked 'Chr.Dior (C) '. It is a...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980 Gold Diamond Crystals White Triangle Chunky Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Diamond Crystals Beige Cream White Enamel Triangle Arrow Large Pendant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Marked 'Chr.Dior (C) '....
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Classic Interlocked Glow Link Choker Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Iconic Classic Interlocked Glow Link Modernist Omega Collar Choker Necklace, Gold Tone Very excellent condition. 100% genuine. A unique piece. ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Large Oval White Pearl Crystals Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large Oval White Pearl Curled Bar Crystals Drop Pendant Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Rare to find. Marked 'Chr....
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Gold Lapis Blue Crystals Wide Ribbed Omega Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Lapis Navy Stones Cabochon Crystals Beige Extra Wide Ribbed Adjustable Omega Chunky Choker Collar Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. 100% Genuin...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Large Round White Pearl Crystals Gold Elegant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Large Round Circle White Pearl Crystals Drop Modernist Elegant Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Very beautiful. Very light scratches and peel ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage Baroque Crystals Gold Heart Openwork Love Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1980s Vintage Baroque Crystals Heart Love Openwork Pendant Elegant Modenrist Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss, barely noticea...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold White Pearls Crystals Strands Elegant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Double Layers Strands Openwork Flower Crystals White Beads Round Pearls Choker Collar Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Tone Very good condition. Not any...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1970s Crystals Frost Leaf Flowers Cluster Woven Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1970s Frost White Leaf Flowers Cluster Crystals Pendant Woven Mesh Elegant Choker Collar Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. Not any stones lost. Light...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1966 Gripoix 3D Emerald Sapphire Lilac Pinecone Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1966 Large 3D Gripoix Emerald Sapphire Light Blue Navy Lilac Pinecone Six Layers Flower Chunky Openwork Crystals Cabochon Pendant Charm Elegant Long Necklace, ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Water Drop White Pearl Crystals Gold Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s White Pearl Crystals Water Tear Drop Pendant Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Plated Very good condition. 100% Genuine. Rare to find. Marked 'Chr.Dior (...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Crystals Bow Pearl Teardrop Gold Pendant Necklace
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Crystals Bow White Pearl Teardrop Water Drop Pendant Elegant Modernist Necklace, Gold Plated Very excellent condition. 100% Genuine. Constructed from p...
Gold Plate
When Christian Dior launched his couture house, in 1946, he wanted nothing less than to make “an elegant woman more beautiful and a beautiful woman more elegant.” He succeeded, and in doing so the visionary designer altered the landscape of 20th century fashion. Vintage Dior bags, shoes, evening dresses, shirts and other garments and accessories are known today for their feminine and sophisticated sensibility.
Dior was born in Granville, on the Normandy coast, in 1905. His prosperous haute bourgeois parents wanted him to become a diplomat despite his interest in art and architecture. However, they agreed to bankroll an art gallery, which Dior opened in 1928 in Paris with a friend.
This was the start of Dior’s rise in the city’s creative milieu, where he befriended Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau. After seven years as an art dealer, Dior retrained as a fashion illustrator, eventually landing a job as a fashion designer for Robert Piguet, and in 1941, following a year of military service, he joined the house of Lucien Lelong. Just five years later, with the backing of industrialist Marcel Boussac, the ascendant Dior established his own fashion house, at 30 avenue Montaigne in Paris.
Just two years after the end of World War II, the fashion crowd and the moribund haute couture industry were yearning, comme tout Paris, for security and prosperity, desperate to discard the drab, sexless, utilitarian garb imposed by wartime deprivation. They needed to dream anew.
And Dior delivered: He designed a collection for a bright, optimistic future. “It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian!” exclaimed Carmel Snow, the prescient American editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, famously proclaiming, “Your dresses have such a new look.” The press ran with the description, christening Dior’s debut Spring/Summer haute couture collection the New Look. “God help those who bought before they saw Dior,” said Snow. “This changes everything.”
Dior’s collection definitively declared that opulence, luxury and femininity were in. His skirts could have 40-meter-circumference hems, and outfits could weigh up to 60 pounds. They were cut and shaped like architecture, on strong foundations that molded women and “freed them from nature,” Dior said. Rather than rationing, his ladies wanted reams of fabric and 19-inch waists enforced by wire corsets, and the fashion world concurred. The debut got a standing ovation.
In the subsequent decade, Paris ruled as the undisputed fashion capital of the world, and Christian Dior reigned as its king. With the luxuriously full skirts of his New Look, suits and his drop-dead gorgeous couture dresses and ball gowns worthy of any princess, Dior gave women the gift of glamour they’d lost in the miserable years of war.
On 1stDibs, find an exquisite range of vintage Christian Dior clothing, jewelry, handbags and other items.
Gold is the feel-good metal, the serotonin of jewelry. Wear vintage and antique gold necklaces, watches, gold bracelets or gold rings and you feel happy, you feel dressed, you feel, well, yourself.
Gold, especially yellow gold, with its rich patina and ancient pedigree going back thousands of years, is the steady standby, the well-mannered metal of choice. Any discussion of this lustrous metal comes down to a basic truth: Gold is elementary, my dear. Gold jewelry that couples the mystique of the metal with superb design and craftsmanship achieves the status of an enduring classic. Many luxury houses have given us some of our most treasured and lasting examples of gold jewelry over the years.
Since its founding, in 1837, Tiffany & Co. has built its reputation on its company jewelry as well as its coterie of boutique designers, which has included Jean Schlumberger, Donald Claflin, Angela Cummings and Elsa Peretti. There are numerous gold Tiffany classics worth citing. Some are accented with gemstones, but all stand out for their design and the workmanship displayed.
For the woman who prefers a minimalist look, the Tiffany & Co. twist bangle (thin, slightly ovoid) is stylishly simple. For Cummings devotees, signature pieces feature hard stone inlay, such as her pairs of gold ear clips inlaid with black jade (a play on the classic Chanel black and tan), or bangles whose design recalls ocean waves, with undulating lines of lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl. And just about any design by the great Jean Schlumberger is by definition a classic.
Even had he eschewed stones and diamonds, Southern-born David Webb would be hailed for the vast arsenal of heavy gold jewelry he designed. Gold, usually hammered or textured in some manner, defines great David Webb jewelry. The self-taught jeweler made very au courant pieces while drawing inspiration from ancient and out-of-the-way sources — East meets West in the commanding gold necklaces made by Webb in the early 1970s. The same could be said for his endlessly varied gold cuffs.
In Europe, many houses have given us gold jewelry that sets the highest standard for excellence, pieces that were highly sought after when they were made and continue to be so.
Numerous designs from Cartier are homages to gold. There are the classic Trinity rings, necklaces and bracelets — trifectas of yellow, white and rose gold. As a testament to the power of love, consider the endurance of the Cartier Love bracelet.
Aldo Cipullo, Cartier’s top in-house designer from the late 1960s into the early ’70s, made history in 1969 with the Love bracelet. Cipullo frequently said that the Love bracelet was born of a sleepless night contemplating a love affair gone wrong and his realization that “the only remnants he possessed of the romance were memories.” He distilled the urge to keep a loved one close into a slim 18-karat gold bangle.
BVLGARI and its coin jewelry, gemme nummarie, hit the jackpot when the line launched in the 1960s. The line has been perennially popular. BVLGARI coin jewelry features ancient Greek and Roman coins embedded in striking gold mounts, usually hung on thick link necklaces of varying lengths. In the 1970s, BVLGARI introduced the Tubogas line, most often made in yellow gold. The Tubogas watches are classics, and then there is the Serpenti, the house's outstanding snake-themed watches and bracelets.
A collection called Monete that incorporated the gold coins is one of several iconic BVLGARI lines that debuted in the 1970s and ’80s, catering to a new generation of empowered women. Just as designers like Halston and Yves Saint Laurent were popularizing fuss-free ready-to-wear fashion for women on the go, BVLGARI offered jewels to be lived in.
Since Van Cleef & Arpels opened its Place Vendôme doors in 1906, collection after collection of jewelry classics have enchanted the public. As predominantly expressed in a honeycomb of gold, there is the Ludo watch and accessories, circa the 1920s, and the golden Zip necklace, 1951, whose ingenious transformation of the traditional zipper was originally proposed by the Duchess of Windsor. Van Cleef's Alhambra, with its Moroccan motif, was introduced in 1968 and from the start its popularity pivoted on royalty and celebrity status. It remains one of VCA’s most popular and collected styles.
Mention must be made of Buccellati, whose name is synonymous with gold so finely spun that it suggests tapestry. The house’s many gold bracelets, typically embellished with a few or many diamonds, signified taste and distinction and are always in favor on the secondary market. Other important mid-20th-century houses known for their gold-themed jewelry include Hermès and Ilias Lalaounis.
Find a stunning collection of vintage and antique gold jewelry on 1stDibs.
We are fortunate to know much of the world’s long and dazzling history of necklaces, as this type of jewelry was so treasured that it was frequently buried with its owners. Today, Van Cleef necklaces, Tiffany necklaces and Cartier necklaces are some of the most popularly searched designer necklaces on 1stDibs.
Lapis lazuli beads adorned necklaces unearthed from the royal graves at the ancient Iraqi civilization of Sumer, while the excavation of King Tut’s burial chamber revealed a sense of style that led to a frenzy of Art Deco designs, with artisans of the 1920s seeking to emulate the elegant work crafted by Ancient Egypt’s goldsmiths and jewelry makers.
In ancient times, pendant necklaces worn by royalty and nobles conferred wealth and prestige. Today, wearing jewelry is about personal expression: Luxury diamond necklaces exude confidence and can symbolize the celebratory nature of a deep romantic relationship, while paper-clip chain-link necklaces designed by the likes of goldsmith Faye Kim are firmly planted in the past as well as the present. Kim works exclusively with eco-friendly gold, and these fashionable, fun accessories owe to the design of 19th-century watch fobs.
For some, necklaces are thought of as being a solely feminine piece, but this widely loved accessory has been gender-neutral for eons. In fact, just as women rarely took to wearing a single necklace during the Renaissance, men of the era layered chains and valuable pendants atop their bejeweled clothing. In modern times, the free-spirited hippie and counterculture movements of the 1960s saw costume-jewelry designers celebrating self-expression through colorful multistrand necklaces and no shortage of beads, which were worn by anyone and everyone.
Even after all of these years, the necklace remains an irrefutable staple of any complete outfit. Although new trends in jewelry are constantly emerging, the glamour and beauty of the past continue to inform modern styles and designs. In a way, the cyclical history of the necklace differs little from its familiar looped form: The celebrated French jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels found much inspiration in King Tut, and, now, their Alhambra collection is a go-to for modern royals. Vintage David Webb necklaces — whose work landed him on the cover of Vogue in 1950, two years after opening his Manhattan shop — were likely inspired by the ornamental styles of ancient Greece, Mesopotamia and Egypt.
On 1stDibs, browse top designers like Dior, Chanel and Bulgari, or shop by your favorite style, from eye-catching choker necklaces to understated links to pearl necklaces and more.