Vintage Jakob Bengel Art Deco machine age necklace, bright red galalith geometric shapes with shiny silver tone chrome folded discs

Fabulous vintage Art Deco necklace by Jakob Bengel. The machine age chain links are silver tone chrome and the central section consists of large chrome discs which have been folded, sandwiching pretty red galalith crescents. It is beautifully constructed as always with Bengel pieces. The final picture shows similar Bengel book pieces which also use this attractive folded disc design. It has classic Art Deco geometric shapes and a bright, vibrant red colour, with beautiful chrome work detailing. The necklace has a length of about 19 inches and is in very good 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.