This piece interests me because it uses a flower form as a design element, one that is nearly identical to a Marcel Boucher design. In fact, J. Crew acknowledges its vintage roots in their description of the necklace:

Opulent and ornate with heirloom charm to spare, this large-scale multistrand necklace sports pearls in slightly warmer tones—more like the vintage pieces
that inspired it. Its true beauty, though, lies in the glinting cabochons that make up its asymmetrically placed flowers—the translucent domes reflect light so
softly, you’d swear they were lit from within.

I would probably like the “glinting cabochons” more if they were made of glass and not resin but, oh well.

I collected Boucher pieces for many years. What I like about his designs is that they often mimic fine jewellery, which is only fitting as that was his background. What I disliked, and what caused me to stop buying his pieces, is that the stones are generall glue set and, over time, the glue dries and they have a tendency to fall out.

I bought the green pin and earrings below in two stages – I found the earrings for about $18 at a thrift shop. Many years later, I was lucky enough to find a pair of the matching pins on Ebay. The yellow set flower in the J. Crew piece looks nearly identical to me.

This really isn’t anything new. It’s not uncommon to see vintage costume designs recycled (and was not uncommon during the golden years of costume jewellery, from about the 30s-60s, either).

The J. Crew necklace sells for USD$178. What do you think of the “vintage inspiration”?