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Haute couturier Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel created a fashion lexicon based on her personal style. Her signature look included layers of necklaces and a pair of matching bracelets. An early adopter of “costume” jewelry, as she became more successful she had no problem mixing faux with real. Most of the jewelry she designed over the course of her career was made of glass and gilded metal. Only once, in 1932 at the height of the Great Depression and in an effort to revive the diamond business, did Chanel create a collection using precious materials. Titled "Bijoux de Diamants,” the collection coincided with heightened femininity in her clothing designs that utilized white, lace, and bows. Her jewelry collection included a platinum and diamond necklace in the shape of a bow among the designs. Years later, when Karl Lagerfeld took the helm of her eponymous fashion house in 1983, his meticulous research led him to copy the design using rhinestones for his debut collection as Creative DIrector of Chanel.
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Bow necklace
House of Chanel (French, founded 1909)
French
1983
Medium/Technique
Metal, glass
Dimensions
Length: 46.5 cm (18 5/16 in.)
Credit Line
William E. Nickerson Fund and funds donated by Marc S. Plonskier
Accession Number2019.537
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Jewelry, Contemporary Art
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Necklaces and neck bands
Haute couturier Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel created a fashion lexicon based on her personal style. Her signature look included layers of necklaces and a pair of matching bracelets. An early adopter of “costume” jewelry, as she became more successful she had no problem mixing faux with real. Most of the jewelry she designed over the course of her career was made of glass and gilded metal. Only once, in 1932 at the height of the Great Depression and in an effort to revive the diamond business, did Chanel create a collection using precious materials. Titled "Bijoux de Diamants,” the collection coincided with heightened femininity in her clothing designs that utilized white, lace, and bows. Her jewelry collection included a platinum and diamond necklace in the shape of a bow among the designs. Years later, when Karl Lagerfeld took the helm of her eponymous fashion house in 1983, his meticulous research led him to copy the design using rhinestones for his debut collection as Creative DIrector of Chanel.
DescriptionThis rhinestone-encrusted collar necklace features a three-dimensional bow-knot. This necklace was modeled after a diamond and platinum necklace designed by Coco Chanel in 1932 for a fine jewelry exhibition entitled "Bijoux de Diamants."
Marks
© CHANEL ® / CC [interlocking 'C's trademark], MADE IN FRANCE
ProvenanceBetween about 1970s and 2019, acquired by Carole Tanenbaum, Toronto, Ontario [see note]; 2019, sold by Tanenbaum to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 24, 2019)
NOTE: This is part of a large collection of costume jewelry acquired by the MFA in 2019, which had been built over about 40 years.
NOTE: This is part of a large collection of costume jewelry acquired by the MFA in 2019, which had been built over about 40 years.