This wonderful selection of Jakob Bengel jewelry includes necklaces, bracelets, and brooches. This German maker, whose Machine Age designs are so coveted today, first opened a watch chain and metal wares factory in Idar-Oberstein in 1873. Greatly influenced by the Bauhaus School, the company changed to the production of costume jewelry in the 1920s. Designers fashioned stainless steel, chrome, nickel, glass, and Galalith into geometric shapes. By the 1930s, their distinctive Art Deco pieces were shipped all over the world. Production ceased at the start of World War II. The company remained unknown until the late 1990s largely because their pieces were unsigned.
