Featured Is this a Jakob Bengel necklace?

I bought this for $1.95 last week at a small town thrift store in rural Wisconsin and am wondering if it could be attributed to Jakob Bengel (many German immigrants settled in this area). The green beads don't test as bakelite, so can I assume they're galilith (they're definitely not glass)?

I haven't been able to find another necklace exactly like it online, but the last photo shows a similar necklace with the same style clasp, but I haven't been able to find a "true" Jakob Bengel necklace with this same clasp (it seems barrel clasps on his necklaces were straight with ridges, not stepped). It also seems he used chrome finishes, while the metal cups on my necklace have a matte finish.

I'm wondering if there were many other companies during the Art Deco/Bauhaus/machine-age era that made jewelry similar to Jakob Bengel, and if there's a way to identify a necklace like this as definitely Jakob Bengel.

 

Joan, I bet you couldn't get that $1.95 out fast enough!

Can't help with the definite attribution, but would think not impossible -- the same era as a starting point. Great necklace no matter what. Love it!

 

Thanks, Lucille. I overlooked the necklace the first time I scanned a revolving rack of jewelry, and chose a pair of vintage Trifari earrings and a long sterling box chain with a cheap pendant (about $1.50 each). There was another women who came into the store just ahead of me who also went straight to the jewelry, but the necklace didn't catch her eye either. There wasn't even a lot of jewelry on the rack, and this necklace was hanging behind one other necklace. I guess it's not the type of thing that easily catches the eye. Anyway, I looked around the store and was about ready to check out, but decided to look once more at the jewelry, and that's when I noticed the necklace. I looked more closely at the chain and beads, then slid the clasp out of the fold-over price tag and was convinced it was something special. I'm sure the things I've learned about vintage jewelry on this forum gave me an advantage over the woman who didn't snap it up first.

 

I'd ask the Foundation directly.
http://www.jakob-bengel.de/en/info/kontakt/

furthermore he marked with JBIO sometimes for Jakob Bengel Idar-Oberstein.

 

a good place to look around is the Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim.
there is a pdf. list of literature that may give you an idea.
https://www.schmuckmuseum.de/en/service/publications.html

Bauhaus is on the rise since they opened the new museum in Dessau; I'm not happy with this museum though, not well presented, too dark in a concrete bunker.

 

Thank you so much for that information, Fid. I just sent an email and photo, so will see what happens. I also looked at your link to the Schmuckmuseum -- gorgeous jewelry photos. So far I haven't seen any Jakob Bengel pieces, but will spend more time there later.

 

interesting that he wasn't a jeweller or designer himself but started with producing chains.
the second link was only for the pdf list with books - did you open it ? some good stuff there as well; although most titles are in German the editor Arnold'sche makes many in three languages for the international market. German, French, English.

if they don't answer I can write you something in German which you can use for an email.

 

I really appreciate your offer, Fid, to write something in German for me if I don't hear from the Foundation.

I looked at the list of publications from your link and found one that focused on Art Deco, but not specifically Jakob Bengel. I also found a book online, Jakob Bengel Art Deco Schmuck A Monument to Jewellery in Idar-Oberstein, that is selling for $150 - $200 (way too expensive for me).

I'm really intrigued by this jewelry now, and will have to look through my collection of watch chains and art deco jewelry to see if I have anything else that might be Jakob Bengel. I read that the company is now producing new pieces from the original designs and equipment.

Thank you again, Fid, for your helpful information.

 

Great news @Fid...I received a reply this morning from Mathias Tauabo at the Foundation. He thanked me for sending the photo and said, "we will be looking through our sample books over the next few days to be able to answer you as accurately as possible." Even if they can't authenticate it, it will be helpful to know that. I'll let you know what they have to say.

 

just in case the answer is negative I'd ask him if he knows some names that worked in similar style. always try to "tear some infoes out of their nose".

 

Ok, will do...thank you.

 

Maybe you can find the book(s) in a library near you:

https://www.worldcat.org/

 

Thank you MaJa for that link. I'm in the U.S. and entered different zip codes in the search bar, but it seems only libraries in Germany have the book. I also searched "Jakob Bengel" in the university databases for Wisconsin and Minnesota, but didn't find anything.

 

I received the answer from Mathias Tauabo, "We have checked the pattern books in detail and can therefore rule out with a very high degree of probability that the piece of jewelery shown by you comes from the Bengel company." This is pretty much what I was expecting.

I then asked him if he may know the names of any other companies that made jewelry similar to the Jakob Bengal designs, and this was his response, "I have forwarded your question or concern to my supervisor, Mr. Peter Wenzel...The research will take a few more days and he will get back to you in the course of the next week." He then wished me some nice and relaxing Easter days -- it made my day to receive such a helpful and kind response from a stranger more than 4000 miles away.

 

from my experience the private museums and foundations in Europe are much more helpful when it comes to inquiries than the state-run museums and collections; especially when it comes to such special questions as here . the latter have employees that are paid by the state and don't give anything about their marketing and receive their fix wages anyways. the worst in those respects are of course the French with their god-like "flakes" that don't know other languages than French. the Italians don't like English and German and sometimes - when not on strike again - answer in French or Italian etc.. the worst when it comes to internet sites are the Eastern Europeans; for me especially the Czechs for my old Bohemian ceramics stuff.

this case is a good example that you can gather good information by 1. not castrating your search machines to English - because more often than not the language choice is inside the home pages.
and 2. always stay critical to what is being said in fora because there are many around that work with old books and sources that are "to be deleted". just ask yourself what you'd say when your surgeon tells you he has to look up what Ferdinand Sauerbruch thought about your case....
a special nuisance are paying sites that sell infos as the gold-standard which are either made-up or proven wrong by serioues institutions a long time ago.

some sunny days from me as well ! and hopefully someone may come up with other names because it's an interesting item and Bauhaus was a bit forgotten for a long time.

 

Just enter United States instead of a post code, then you get all the libraries in the US and Canada, the nearest ones are in Chicago:
https://www.worldcat.org/title/jako...ngermany/oclc/237691806&referer=brief_results

Maybe one of them offers interlibrary loan

 

The book on Bengel was written by Mrs Weber-Stöber, she is the director of the Goldschmiedehaus in Hanau, Germany (right next to Frankfurt):

https://www.goldschmiedehaus.com/en

It is a museum/society dedicated to the German goldsmiths, their history and works. You can contact them here:

https://www.goldschmiedehaus.com/en/contact

Maybe Mrs Weber-Stöber or one of her colleagues has an idea.

 

Interesting..........and great tips about how to gather good information. I just figured out how to change the language in my browser. When I changed it to German/Deutsch and searched Jakob Bengel, there were definitely some different results showing up, but Etsy was still at the top! It seems that Bengel jewelry listed on Etsy and eBay is unfortunately getting the "Miriam Haskell treatment" where any piece that looks similar is being attributed to Jakob Bengel when they don't have quite the same quality or type of design or materials (at least in my opinion).

 

Thank you so much for that tip--I found the libraries in Chicago and sent an email to one of them asking if they loan to public libraries in Wisconsin. Will also call my local library when they open and ask if they ever borrow from Chicago university libraries.

 

More good news @MaJa....I just finished talking to my local library and they are putting in a request for an interlibrary loan for the Jakob Bengel book from one of the Chicago University libraries. It appeared that only a German language version is available, but she is going to do some further checking to see if she can get an English version. If not I told her to request whatever is available. It may take a couple of weeks to get it. Thank you so much for your help.