Miriam Haskell opened her first retail boutique in 1926 at the McAlpin Hotel in NYC. Named Le Bijou de l’Heure, which, if my high school French still serves me, roughly translates as “the Jewel of the Hour,” the boutique was filled with her spectacular custom-made creations.

Catering to the best-dressed society women of the day, Miriam attracted many fans including Coco Chanel and later, Lucille Ball, Joan Crawford and the Duchess of Windsor.

Today the company she founded mass-produces jewelry under a private-labeling program for major retailers like Macy’s, Target, Nordstrom and Gap. It’s also the face behind the launches of the jewelry brands Simply Vera by Vera Wang, Kenneth Cole, Betsey Johnson and, most recently, Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Lovers line.

But the company also still produces what it describes as its “crown jewel” Miriam Haskell line which is meticulously hand-made individual bead-by-bead and piece-by-piece just as Miriam Haskell did back in the 1920s.

Which brings us to today’s VPOD, a fantastic vintage 1950s glass bead necklace by Miriam Haskell in my favorite summer color combination of coral and turquoise.

Check out the rare dove clasp.

It’s this type of loving attention to detail that gives a Haskell piece an energy that just doesn’t exist in a mass-produced piece found at your local department store. And yes, it’s this type of intangible that definitely gets factored into a vintage Haskell price tag.

It’s also why a piece like this is worth every penny to a vintage fashionista!

Available at Bell*Star Vintage. | Discovered at TheFind.com.

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