Vintage Jakob Bengel Art Deco brickwork / mauerwerk machine age gold tone choker necklace, geometric design

Vintage Art Deco gold tone choker necklace produced in Germany in the 1930s by the Jakob Bengel factory. This is a classic example of their sought after brickwork / mauerwerk jewellery, which used chain construction previously used for watch chains in a new and innovative way for costume jewellery. I love the engineering that goes into these pieces - the necklace looks identical worn either way around - one side has a little bit of yellow discolouration on panels near the clasp, presumably where it has been in contact with the skin. It is hard to see this - I have included photos of both sides.

This is a classic Art Deco geometric design in the machine age style - to me it is simple and so chic. This piece is a short choker length at 16 inches and it fastens with a secure spring ring clasp. It is a fabulous quality necklace and it is in very good vintage condition. The last pictures show the necklace with the matching earrings are also on sale in this shop.

Jakob Bengel was a chain and costume jewellery factory, founded by Jakob Bengel in 1873 in Idar-Oberstein, Germany. Until 1920, the company specialised in the production of watch chains and chatelaines (pendants for pocket watches). In the 1920s and 1930s, it became one of the leading manufacturers of fashion jewellery in the Art Deco style. It was during the Bauhaus and Art Deco period that designers were looking to obtain new materials and inspiration to produce costume jewellery. Inspired by French Avant Garde and other fashion trendsetters such as Coco Chanel, Bengel started to produce experimental jewellery. The pieces, catalogued 1924-1939, combined brass and chrome with geometric shapes of coloured galalith.