BEADED JEWELLERY

Since very early in our civilisation beads have been worn as jewellery.Early beads were fashioned from natural materials such as bone, shell, wood and were worn for their intrinsic natural beauty as decorative items or to express deeper symbolic belief systems. The oldest beads made by humans were found in Israel. They were fashioned from small shells and are thought to be around 100000 years old. 

Beaded jewellery became very fashionable in the latter part of the 1950s and 1960s. One of my favourite costume jewellery designers of this era is Stanley Hagler, whose clever use of various beads including murano glass, faux baroque pearls, seed pearls and beads resulted in jewellery of breathtaking beauty. He established his company in 1953 and famously designed a bracelet for Wallace Simpson, who became a fan of his jewellery and was often seen wearing it. In 1989 Ian St Gieler became the chief designer. Jewellery by Stanley Hagler is highly collectible with prices reflecting this.

 Ian St Gielar at Stanley Hagler Floral Cluster Necklace

Another company famous for their stunning beaded creations was Coppola e Toppo. Lyda Toppo worked with her brother Bruno Coppola to produce intricately detailed and ornate pieces of beaded costume jewellery using a variety of beads including Murano glass and Austrian crystal. Their 

jewellery often featured multiple strands of graduated coloured beads as well as ornately designed clasps.  They began production in 1946 and designed jewellery for some of the top names of the time, including Elsa Shiaparelli, Christian Dior and Valentino. The company ceased production in 1986