David Spada Space Age Multicolor Aluminum Extra-Long Necklace

Details

Description

David Spada, of New York, designed this spectacular and joyful necklace. The rare piece features an outstanding Space Age 1980s … Read more David Spada, of New York, designed this spectacular and joyful necklace. The rare piece features an outstanding Space Age 1980s design with an articulated, extra-long shape, built with multicolored aluminum rings and contrasted with silver aluminum spacers. The anodized aluminum metal elements feature rich, vibrant rainbow colors, including yellow, olive green, turquoise, blue, petroleum blue, purple, fuchsia, red, orange, and tangerine. The necklace is long enough to wear in a double strand. This piece is not signed, but its style is unmistakable.
Dimensions: The necklace length is 51.18 in (130 cm) - width is 1.25 in (3.2 cm).

Reference:
David Spada (December 5, 1961 – May 13, 1996) was a jewelry designer in New York City in the 1980s and 1990s and the creator and marketer of Freedom Rings.
Spada attended the Parsons School of Design in the early 1980s, graduating around 1982.
He began making jewelry as a student, and his work was recognized as early as 1984, when a piece made from orange rubber tubing was featured in The New York Times. Spada became especially known for his work in colored anodized aluminum, crafting a wide array of forms from the material, ranging from rings and earrings to clothing and swimwear embellished with aluminum decoration. He eventually opened a boutique, Casa di Spada, in New York's Lower East Side, which sold his jewelry designs, clothing, and custom items.
According to a NY Times article from 1992, the freedom rings were introduced in 1991 in San Francisco as a fundraising item at the gay and lesbian community's annual Freedom Day Parade and quickly became a national trend. The colored aluminum rings, inspired by the colors of the rainbow and the gay pride flag, have evolved as a symbol of Gay Pride. In Spada's own words, "the colors symbolized happiness and represent the diversity of the community".
Spada died of AIDS complications on May 13, 1996.
(courtesy Wikipedia) See less