Vintage Napier necklace gold chain & faux pearls, 1980`s ca, American

Code: 11199

Price: SOLD

Dimensions:
Height: 0.7cm (0.3") Width: 44cm (17.3")
Depth: 1cm (0.4")

Vintage Napier necklace gold plated gilt chain with faux pearls, 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 faux pearls is classic in design but modernist and sultry at the same time. The

double strand of gold plated curb chains segments, links and sequence of pearls 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 creating large volumetric links. Running through the middle is a row of white faux pearls. These links are connected to each other by gold plated rings.

The result is a complex sequence where the pearls 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 quality 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 pearls. The clasp is in very good working order.

Additional dimensions:

The total length of the necklace fully extended is: 44 cm

The box is: Height: 3.5 cm, Width: 11 cm, Depth: 16 cm.

Packing is offered free of charge. We take special professional care while packing. For safe transport the boxed necklace would be wrapped in bubble wrap & foam. It would be then put into another box with loose fill packing nuts, safe for posting with a courier. We ship with reliable couriers (signed for, tracked & insured).

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).