Fabulous vintage Art Deco necklace from the 1930s. A classic machine age design, beautifully manufactured, with large red glass beads, lovely filigree bead caps, and intricate knotted design sections that are very characteristic of the Jakob Bengel factory. The necklace has a pleasing weight to it which means it sits beautifully around the neck. It 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.