Jakob Bengel, locksmith, founded his company in 1873 in Idar-Oberstein and originally manufactured pocket watch chains.
It was during the Bauhaus and Art Deco period that designers were looking to obtain new materials and inspiration to produce costume jewelry.
Inspired by French Avant-Garde and other fashion trendsetters such as Coco Chanel, Bengel started to produce experimental jewelry. The pieces, catalogued 1924-1939, combined brass and chrome with geometric shapes of colored galalith.
