Grandmother's Buttons 001-N19B Avril Necklace

Bohemian glassmakers were the first to develop methods for press-molding glass buttons in the early 19th century. They began with solid colored glass and then, as their skills grew, started producing multi-colored stones mimicking gems. 

We paired this special button with sinuous brass stampings, which radiate Art Nouveau elegance. Art Nouveau blossomed at the dawn of the 19th century, and its heyday was over before the First World War broke out in 1914. Nonetheless, Art Nouveau remains a cherished artistic style with impacts far beyond its short-lived trendiness.

We've named this necklace after Jane Avril, a dancer at the Moulin Rouge in Paris who was said to be the muse for the preeminent Art Nouveau artist Toulouse-Lautrec. 

In this piece:

• Hand-pressed green glass buttons with clover, handmade in Czechoslovakia, circa 1950
• Two Art Nouveau brass stampings made today in the USA in vintage dies
• A brass-plated pewter setting made today in the USA
• Hand-wrapped green glass bead chain
• Antiqued brass chain
• Length is 16" with a 4" extender