Vintage Jakob Bengel Art Deco brickwork / mauerwerk machine age shiny chrome necklace, classic geometric design with textured panels

Vintage Art Deco chrome silver 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.

This is an interesting example with the crenellated / bunting style shape and also some engraved , geometric textures on sections of the brickwork. Please use the zoom tool for close-up examination. I love the engineering that goes into these pieces - the necklace looks identical worn either way around. This is a classic Art Deco geometric design in the machine age style - to me it is simple and so chic.

This piece has a length of about 17 inches and it fastens with a secure spring ring clasp. One of the jump rings near the clasp has the word 'guarantie' stamped on it - this is often found in Bengel pieces, perhaps because the pieces were due to go on sale in France, or perhaps just to sound more chic!

It is a fabulous quality necklace and it is in good vintage condition. The final photo shows a small repair where the end of one of the rods has had a little solder attached to the end to replace one of the tiny rings that must have been lost. The silver coloured chrome plating is pretty good - there may once have been coloured enamel hand-painted on some of the panels, but sometimes this wears off over the years. The lighting in some of the photos gives a golden glow or sheen in places, but the actual appearance of the surfaces is all shiny silver coloured.

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.