Black acetate pendant necklace with raised gold tone dots and Swarovski crystals. Plated brass necklace measures 31 inches in length. Pendant measures 2 inches in length and 1½ inches in width. Lobster clasp closure.

Brand: Bellissima

Material: Brass plated base metal, Swarovski crystal, and acetate

Origin: United States

Bellissima

Bellissima’s Augie Moschitto saw a future in plastics — Italian Rhodoid plastic, to be precise, also known as acetate — when Benjamin Braddock was still in diapers. Having worked as a stone setter for a large jewelry house and as an optical laboratory technician, Augie was the first of three generations to own and operate fashion jewelry company Bellissima by Moschitto Designs in Jamaica, Queens. For more than 50 years, Augie, his three children, and now his granddaughter, Lisa, have made handcrafted pendants, cocktail rings and bracelets with acetate as a base. Their staying power stems from Bellissima’s clever blending of references, from the colorful bangles sported by club kids in the’80s all the way back to the Art Deco and Bakelite designs of Augie’s heyday.