Presentworth Bangles

Designed to accompany Parisian couture by French Christian Lacroix, this unused late-1980s large pale-celadon-green silk satin, which feature textural black topstitching and a sleek ...

In the Art-Deco period when geometric, monotone and sparkly designs became fashionable, leading Paris-based couture designer Elsa Schiaparellli set trends with her artistic use of new plastic resins in bold costume jewelry. The progressive French style is exemplified by this unsigned antique black sphere-motif pair of a coiled bangle bracelet and two-tier crystal earrings. The heat-set curvilinear plastic, along with the silver screw-hardware of the earrings, date the set to no earlier than the 1920s and no later than 1930s. Each inch-diameter earring features 18 black molded bezels containing brilliant rose-cut crystals, while their filigree-like concealed black frames are riveted in back where they twist-fasten with very thin silver hardware. The rhinestones rise above the bezels to maximize their sparkle in rainbow colors, which is accentuated by the stacked frames...