Vintage Jakob Bengel Art Deco brickwork / mauerwerk machine age shiny chrome silver tone necklace, red enamel embellishments

Vintage Art Deco chrome 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 necklace is a simple silver tone shiny chrome. On one side there is a pattern of bright red cold-painted enamel in rows. I love the engineering that goes into the pieces - the necklace can be worn either way around - the front is identical to the reverse, except that one side has the red colour decoration and the other is plain silver tone.

In this example, there is an attractive widening of the brickwork in a bib at the fron of the piece - it is a classic Art Deco geometric design in the machine age style - to me it is simple and chic.

This piece has a length around the neck edge of 18 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 chrome is perhaps not as shiny as it was when made over 90 years ago, but it is still good. I don't know if the red enamel has been restored or touched up at any point - this is very possible as it often becomes a little chipped given the age of these pieces.

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.