Vintage Jakob Bengel Art Deco machine age chrome ornate chunky box chain necklace from the 1930s

Fabulous Jakob Bengel machine age Art Deco necklace from the 1930s. It consists of chinky, chrome box chain links, each with machine engraving or repousse work. This is definitely a tribute to ornate Victorian silver work and engraving with their heavy bookchain necklaces and watch chains.

This piece is really delicately designed - absolutely stunning and a collector's piece. It is heavy, well-made and as soon as you handle it, you can feel the quality. It fastens with a large spring ring clasp and has a length of about 17 inches. The necklace is in excellent vintage condition.

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.