I found a really lovely estate sale necklace this weekend. Although I didn't know this when I snapped it up, it is made by Bergere (accent mark over the 2nd e) a company doing business from the 1940s to 70s and is well worth collecting.My newly acquired Bergere necklace is made of hand knotted ceramic beads in a full palette of delicate summer colors. Each bead is unique with soft splashes of color in a spatter or ink flow type pattern. The the necklace has weight and good quality hand knotted cord. It is in excellent shape by anyone's standards. I love it, really want to keep it, but am going to put it on Etsy anyway - hopefully this week.
I found out a lot about the company unable to date the necklace exactly. My gut feeling is that this piece is 50s to 60s but I can't back that up. I'm going to do my best of course. When I buy jewelry - or anything vintage - I want to know everything I can about the item and this is as much a matter of interest as it is of resale importance.
About Bergere: Bergere was known to produce high quality costume jewelry from 1946 to 1979. Vogue and Hapers Bazaar ads from the period are lovely full page
magazine placements featuring a wide variety of necklace and bracelet designs. It was sold at high quality department stores such as Nordstroms, Lord & Taylor and Marshall Fields. The company name was most likely inspired by the Bergere Folies a French opera house of its fame and popularity from the 1890s through the 1920s. Considered scandalous in its day it is still operational as of 2009.Ceramic pieces in the Bergere line are relatively rare. I have not been able to find my piece anywhere online. It is an absolutely perfect summer piece with unique multicolored beads that will coordinate with any outfit and can be worn for both casual and dressy occasions. I will be offering it for sale in my etsy vintage store, pavintage.etsy.com, within the next few days.
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