Vintage Napier necklace gold chain with black beads, 1980`s ca, American

Code: 11128

Price: SOLD

Dimensions:
Height: 46cm (18.1") Width: 0.8cm (0.3")
Depth: 0.6cm (0.2")

Vintage Napier necklace gold plated gilt chain with black beads, 1980`s ca, American.

This item has been gently cleaned while respecting the vintage patina and is ready to wear. New gift box included.

This vintage Napier collar with black beads would be a dramatic & sultry alternative to pearls. The double strand of gold plated curb chains and sequence of black round beads makes for a complex and interesting chain design.

Looking in detail the quality chain is a complex layering & interlocking of two curb chains of narrow tubular forms. Running through the middle is a row of black beads. These beads run along a thin double row gilt chain. These appear to wind up and down the main chains holding everything in place.

The result is a complex sequence where the black beads appear to float inside the large chain links. The short flattened side portions of the curb chains keep this collar in place and add reflections to the piece.

At the end there is a Gold toned `lobster claw` clasp. On the other side there is a loop for attachment as well as a gold toned tag with the original vintage cartouche stamped Napier.

A new black leatherette gift box is included in the price.

This vintage necklace is in very good condition. The gilt finish is in very good condition, so are all the beads. The clasp is in very good working order.

A new gift box is included in the price.

Additional dimensions:

The box is: Height: 1.7 cm, Width: 10.5 cm, Depth: 15 cm.

NAPIER JEWELLERY HISTORY

The Napier Company started in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, USA in 1878. James H. Napier became president of the company in 1920, and the company was renamed, The Napier-Bliss Co.

The company was known for its ability to be on the forefront of fashion and had a history of sending its designers to Europe. In 1925, James Napier attended the World`s Fair Exposition Internationale des Artes Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, and brought back with him business ideas, including designs influenced by Parisian and European fashion. Mr. Napier himself, did not design jewelry. James Napier work for the company, as president, from 1914 to his death in 1960.

In the 1920`s and 1930`s, Napier designed necklaces, bracelets and earrings in a range of styles including designs featuring Egyptian motifs, such as cobras, Victorian Revival designs and Art Deco style motifs. The company produced very little jewelry during the 1930`s, focusing on its giftware lines. In the 1940`s, most of the jewelry produced was sterling silver tailored pieces. In the 1950`s, it produced jewelry in a wide range of styles.

In the 1950`s, the Napier Company presented First Lady Mamie Eisenhower with a bracelet bearing an elephant design, which was reputedly one of her favourite pieces of jewelry.

Napier jewelry is still being manufactured and distributed however under the umbrella of Jones Apparel Group.

A good research source book is: "The Napier Co.: Defining 20th Century American Costume Jewelry by Melinda L. Lewis & Henry Swen (2013).