Important Note: This piece is part of our newly sourced London collection. Shipping timeline is 3–4 weeks. We offer free shipping and no customs charges within India. For international shipping, please write to us.
 
The Legacy Collection - Rare vintage jewels, handpicked to be treasured for generations.
 
Behold a magnificent, armour-like rivière of golden links, culminating in a regal lion’s head—its mane sculpted in fierce textural detail, its eyes set with hypnotic emerald-green cabochons, its mouth gripping a bold ring as if guarding the gates of an empire.
A necklace that does not decorate the woman—
it announces her.
 
At 53 cm in total length, with a commanding 5 × 5 cm pendant, this is no dainty trinket. It is solid, weighted, and unapologetically present—the kind of creation that sits on the collarbones with the authority of a coronation collar. Cast in rich, heavily gilt metal and signed with the coveted KJL ©, this piece hails from the glory years of Kenneth Jay Lane—the 1980s, when glamour was not suggested, it was declared.
 
Wear It Your Way
The necklace is designed with flexibility in mind — it can be worn high on the collarbone for a regal, armour-like presence, or slightly longer and relaxed for a more languid, editorial drape. The woman chooses the mood, and the lion obeys.
 
Who is the Woman Who Wears This?
She is not the girl in the room.
She is the room.
She has an Art Deco cigarette case inherited from her great-aunt, champagne delivered without needing to ask, and an entire vocabulary of glances that replaces words.
She collects power pieces—not to be worn often, but to be worn when it matters.
She is the woman whose jewellery is remembered long after her name is whispered.
She is the collector who knows Kenneth Jay Lane did not merely design costume jewellery—
he designed fantasy made wearable.
🦁 The Lion Motif
A universal crest of strength and legacy.
An old-world emblem of aristocracy.
A pop-culture icon of 80s power dressing.
A fashion house signature worn by the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Vreeland, and First Ladies who understood that jewellery is armour.
With this lion at her throat, she doesn’t ask for a room’s attention.
The room adjusts to her energy.
 
How to Wear It — The Old Money Power Way
Day:
• With a crisp white men’s shirt, French cuffs undone, hair slicked back
• Over a black cashmere turtleneck for that Sotheby’s-catalogue minimalism
• With a tailored ivory blazer, no other jewellery, just a whisper of gold at the wrist
Evening:
• Against velvet—deep bottle green, oxblood, or midnight black
• With a bias-cut slip dress, hair swept into a chignon
• Paired with smoky eyes, bare lips, and a glass of 1986 Saint-Émilion
Rule: This necklace does not layer.
It does not negotiate.
It stands alone.
 
About Kenneth Jay Lane
Kenneth Jay Lane (1930–2017) was the undisputed Prince of Faux, the visionary who proved that costume jewellery could be collected, archived, and later resold at Christie’s. His clients were royalty and socialites, but also women of impeccable taste who believed beauty need not require gemstones to be priceless.
His pieces are now part of museum collections, fashion archives, and the most discerning vintage wardrobes worldwide.
A signed KJL from the 1980s—especially solid, sculptural, and weighty like this—is no longer just “jewellery” but wearable history.
 
In the Words of Fashion Insiders
“KJL didn’t design accessories.
He designed alter egos.”
A piece for the woman who will not settle for pretty when she can have legendary.
 
- c.1980s
- Kenneth Jay Lane (copyright) signed at the back - four times
- Gold plated gilt metal, and crystal
- In excellent vintage condition. No defect or damage or damage. Please see close up video for quality assurance.
- Measures:  53 cm long; Lion pendant - 5 cm x 5cm
- Sourced from a coveted vintage fair in London, England.