Choker

Design House House of Chanel French
Designer Gabrielle Chanel French

Not on view

Chanel jewelry has been of fine and consistant quality from the time Gabrielle Chanel first introduced costume pieces into her collections and made faux jewelry fashionable. This necklace is sophisticated example of the Chanel aesthetic. The construction of the piece is deceptive; while it appears that two chain links hold each oval element, in fact, each element is topped by extra gold ring which gives the impression of a second chain. Chains feature very prominently in Chanel's designs, particularly in the post-World War II era, when she used gold-tone chains to weigh the hems of her suit jackets and, run through with leather bands, as the straps of her handbags. This necklace not only refers to this characateristic design element, it follows Chanel's belief that jewelry need not be made of precious materials to make a statement.

Choker, House of Chanel (French, founded 1910), metal, French

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.