We all know Coco Chanel loved her costume jewelry. In the 1930s one of Coco's friends, Fulco di Verdura, created the Maltese Cross cuff for her. He had been hired by her as head textile designer and then in 1927 they began their collaboration for Chanel's costume jewelry collection. In 1934 he created the Maltese Cross cuff, using a cross given to her by Grand Duke Dmitri of Russia. The design is still used today and Chanel's cuff bracelets are still some of the best.
But yikes, at $1,620 - - that's quite a bit for costume jewelry, even if it's Chanel.
Kenneth Jay Lane has a pretty nice alternative, which you can get for just about 10% of the cost of the Chanel cuff, only $165 at their store at The Plaza. Or, I also found it for sale online for just a bit more, $184.
In 1939 Verdura opened a shop in New York under his own name, and the Maltese Cross became one of the brand's signature motifs. Incidentally, the Verdura brand is celebrating 70 years in New York this year with a re-creation of the Maltese Cross cuff and a pendant version. These however are not costume jewelry -- the pendant is $22,500! (below a Verdura Maltese Cross cuff)
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