Glass Bubble Necklace (Transparent)
Image: Marina and Susanna Sent. Used for editorial review under §9.
Their grandfather won Italy's Compasso d'Oro in 1955. The Bubble Necklace has been copied since. The original is $140.
Marina and Susanna Sent broke from two glass-blowing grandfathers to invent jewelry neither family imagined. Their Bubble Necklace, borosilicate spheres on invisible cord, entered MoMA's store in the 1990s and hasn't left. It has been imitated many times since, per the Venice Design Biennial, but no copy sits in three museum stores or comes from an all-women Murano workshop.
88 MoMA reviews across 13 years at 4.5 stars. At $140, it costs less than most museum-store jewelry.
We don't earn if you buy · Why this matters
Glass Bubble Necklace ($140). Hand-blown borosilicate spheres by Murano sisters from a Compasso d'Oro dynasty. Carried by three museum stores including MoMA since the 1990s.
The argument
Why We Chose the Glass Bubble Necklace
Marina and Susanna Sent's Bubble design has been 'imitated many times over the years,' according to the Venice Design Biennial. The copies fill Etsy and Venice tourist shops. None carry the Sent name, none sit in MoMA's permanent retail collection, and none come from a Murano workshop where the sisters' maternal grandfather once won Italy's Compasso d'Oro.
Three museum stores independently chose this necklace. 88 buyers reviewed it on MoMA's site over 13 years, averaging 4.5 stars. Borosilicate glass spheres on invisible cord, each blown by an all-women team on Murano.
At $140, you pay less than mid-range department store jewelry for a piece whose maker lineage includes a Compasso d'Oro winner and whose retail neighbors include Picasso in MoMA's glass exhibition legacy.
The fit
Who'll Love This
She browses museum shops on vacation and MoMA online at midnight. She owns one signature necklace instead of ten forgettable ones. She gets energy from stranger compliments and genuinely enjoys explaining the maker story.
Perfect for someone who
- browses museum shops before jewelry stores
- wears one signature piece instead of ten
- lights up when strangers comment on her necklace
Skip for someone who
- needs careful storage for glass (will break if crushed or dropped on tile)
- finds screw clasps frustrating (requires two hands and a mirror at first)
- wants to verify sphere size before ordering (may differ from photos)
- lives an active lifestyle requiring durable daily-wear jewelry
- prefers jewelry that reads as jewelry from across a room (clear cord is nearly invisible)
Best museum-backed necklace under $150
Safe GiftUniversal appeal
The Verdict
Our recommendation
Three museum retailers chose this independently. 88 MoMA buyers reviewed it across 13 years. The Sent sisters funded the restoration of statues at the Doge's Palace and exhibit in the Museo del Gioiello in Vicenza.
Susanna is an architect. Marina runs production. Their all-women team blows each bubble on Murano, the same island where their grandfathers built glass careers starting in the 1920s.
What People Are Saying
88 MoMA Design Store reviews, 4.5 stars across 13 years (2012-2025). Dominant themes: compliment generation, gift-worthiness (self-purchasers buy multiples as gifts), versatile wearability. Positive clusters: unique design (20), quality craftsmanship (18), gift-worthy (15). Neutral: durability (7), glass fragility and clasp difficulty. Real criticism: careful storage needed, screw clasp tricky, size expectations vary. Enthusiastic repeat buyers with realistic fragility awareness.
"My daughter was thrilled to receive this as a gift!"
"This gives any outfit, festive or casual, a pow! It's also light, but sturdy enough that it really feels like bubbles around your collar area. I got this for myself and later got a couple of them as gifts. Very unique and I gets loads of compliments!"
"Purchased for a friend who keeps updating me about how many compliments she gets when wearing it."
"I love the light design of the necklace! It is perfect to dress up or down. Makes for an awesome conversation piece!"
"Beautiful, though delicate. Remember to store this necklace in a way so it won't be crushed. I have received so many compliments! Wipe with soft dry cloth to remove any oils from skin."
Recognition
Featured in Design Is This and TrendHunter
“Contemporary, simple and bold jewelry with sophisticated balances of volumes”
“A light-as-air accessory and wearable work of art”
The Moment
She wears it with a black crew neck to a work event and three people ask about it before the keynote starts. She wears it bare-necked in July and the glass spheres scatter sunlight. Year-round, any neckline, every compliment a small reminder of who gave it to her.
The Gift Scene
The MoMA tissue paper is the first signal. She unfolds it and finds transparent glass spheres clustered on a cord so fine it's barely there. She lifts the necklace and light fragments through each sphere, scattering tiny refractions across her hands. The glass weighs almost nothing.
When she clasps it on (the screw mechanism takes a moment to figure out), the bubbles settle around her collarbone and appear to float, untethered. It looks like someone froze soap bubbles mid-air and strung them together.
She'll wear it to dinner within the week. A stranger at the next table will lean over and ask about it. MoMA reviewers describe this pattern playing out for months: the compliments keep coming and she keeps reporting them. One buyer purchased it for herself, then ordered two more as gifts.
The Message
You wear art without announcing it. These bubbles prove someone on Murano noticed that about you.
Who are you buying for?
The worry
Being predictable after years together. Another piece of jewelry she thanks him for and quietly returns.
Anniversary
Your wife doesn't need more jewelry. She needs the necklace MoMA has carried for 25 years.
Jewelry counters full of metals and stones, none of it her. Then: glass spheres on invisible cord in MoMA's store.
Marina and Susanna started stringing beads on their father's fishing line in the 1990s. Susanna brought architecture training, Marina brought production instincts, and together they built a Murano jewelry practice MoMA recognized before anyone else. Their Bubble Necklace has been imitated many times since, but the original sits in MoMA's store 25 years later. For a wife who values intention over flash, this says: he noticed she isn't the Tiffany-box type. He chose museum glass art instead.
Each sphere is blown by an all-women Murano team, sealing the maker's breath inside glass. Research confirms craft effort transfers as care. She sees that complexity and keeps it.
Glass is fragile, yes. Store it carefully and the screw clasp takes practice. But 88 MoMA buyers over 13 years at 4.5 stars suggest the tradeoff works. Reviewers wear it constantly while storing with care. $140 with MoMA's 90-day return policy.
She unfolds MoMA tissue paper and finds glass spheres on invisible cord. Lifts them, light scatters through each one. Clasps it on, bubbles settle at her collarbone. She wears it to dinner Saturday. Someone at the next table asks about it.
The worry
Another 'mom gift' that says 'any mom' instead of 'my mom.' Something she politely displays once and forgets.
Mother's Day
Two Murano sisters turned fishing line into MoMA jewelry. Mom wears it Tuesday.
Scrolling past perfume sets and cashmere wraps. Mom returns anything she wouldn't choose herself.
The Sent sisters grew up surrounded by glass. Both grandfathers in the trade, father's workshop on Murano. They started 'as a game,' stringing beads on fishing line. Susanna brought architectural thinking, Marina brought production instincts. MoMA noticed first. For Mother's Day, this says: 'I know you're not a jewelry person. You're a design person.' The all-women studio resonates when a child chooses it for the woman who raised them.
Sisters who broke from both grandfathers' traditions resonates in a parent-child gift. Research shows handmade love transfer intensifies for family. Mom keeps it, wears it, texts about compliments.
$140 is within adult-child gift range. Value is in the art and maker, not the material. If mom prefers heavy metals or colored stones, this won't land. If she gravitates toward clean lines and unusual finds, 88 MoMA reviewers and 25 years of production say this is the one.
Mom opens MoMA packaging and lifts glass spheres so transparent they barely register as solid. Holds them to the light, each one fractures it differently. Puts it on. Almost weightless. She wears it Tuesday and comes back with a compliment story.
The worry
Jewelry for a girlfriend is a minefield: wrong metal, wrong stone, too personal, too generic, too expensive, too cheap.
Birthday
She lingers in museum shops, not jewelry stores. Murano glass bubbles from MoMA.
Not her ring size, not her metal, not her stone. But he knows she stops at gallery gift shops.
He doesn't know her ring size or metal preference. But he knows she lingered at the gallery shop last Saturday and points out architecture on walks. The Glass Bubble Necklace sidesteps every jewelry trap because it isn't positioned as jewelry. It's an art object that clasps around a neck. When she Googles the Sent sisters, she'll find the Venice studio, the Doge's Palace restoration, the all-women team. The second gift is the story that unfolds after unwrapping.
Glass on invisible cord sidesteps every jewelry trap. No metal, no stone, no guessing. Research confirms craft effort reads as care in romantic gifting. The compliment loop links back to him.
$140 sits at the top of boyfriend budgets but MoMA framing justifies it. Wearable art, not jewelry, eliminates taste-guessing risk. If she prefers gemstones or statement metals, redirect. If she browses design blogs and museum shops, 88 reviews over 25 years say this is safe.
She opens a MoMA box. Glass spheres so transparent they barely look real. She clasps it on and bubbles float at her collarbone. It doesn't look like a boyfriend's gift. It looks like something she found herself in a Venice gallery.
The worry
Getting something generic that any acquaintance could give, not something that proves best-friend knowledge of her taste.
Birthday
Your best friend will wear Murano glass bubbles to brunch and text you every compliment.
Another candle says 'I gave up.' A book says 'I project.' Glass bubbles from Murano say 'I know you.'
Friends share discoveries. That's the currency. 'You have to try this,' 'you have to see this.' The Glass Bubble Necklace is that instinct made tangible. She found the Sent sisters' story: a converted boat shelter on Murano that became a white-cube showroom, a Soap necklace imitated many times but still the original after 25 years. She's handing her friend a thread to pull: Compasso d'Oro grandfather, Doge's Palace restoration. A rabbithole that scatters light at the collarbone.
Best-friend gifts run on discovery currency. Each Murano sphere carries craft research links to care. The reviewer who 'keeps updating about compliments' IS the mechanism: wear, report, repeat.
$140 is above typical friend range but within best-friend birthday territory. MoMA packaging adds weight to presentation. Glass fragility is real but 88 reviewers over 13 years say it survives with care. If she prefers metals, redirect.
She pulls glass spheres from a MoMA bag and the conversation starts immediately. 'Is this glass? Real glass?' Yes. Hand-blown on Murano. 'You can get this at MoMA?' Since the 1990s. The discovery dialogue IS the gift moment for a best friend.
The bottom line
Twenty-five years in MoMA's store. It won't date because it never followed a trend. People keep this, wear this, and buy it again for someone they love. 88 reviews over 13 years confirm it.
Where it's made
Murano, Venice, Italy
Historic center of Venetian glass-blowing since the 13th century. Third-generation glass blowers with all-women production team.
From our research
A TripAdvisor reviewer who spent a career in jewelry called Sent pieces 'truly wearable art.' Another collector has returned to the Dorsoduro shop for 15 years, buying on every Venice trip.
Glass is glass. It will break if you drop it on tile or crush it in a bag. The screw clasp takes practice. These are real tradeoffs for choosing handblown art over stamped metal.
Their Murano studio was a Venetian boat shelter, then a Select distillery, then their grandparents' glass factory. First necklaces were strung on their father's fishing line.
The score
Borosilicate glass spheres catch and scatter light like frozen soap bubbles. MoMA-curated since the 1990s. Clean, sculptural silhouette.
Third-generation Murano sisters known in design circles, invisible to mainstream shoppers. Three museum stores carry their work.
Glass clusters settle light around the collarbone. Reviewers report constant stranger compliments. Versatile for formal or casual.
88 MoMA reviews (4.5 stars) across 13 years. Three museum retailers. Third-generation Murano craft.
GLOW 9: borosilicate glass blown on Murano, not scored for material cost. WOW 9: Compasso d'Oro lineage invisible to mainstream. TRUST 8.6: 88 product-specific MoMA reviews.
The evidence
Why we trust this
88 product-specific MoMA Design Store reviews averaging 4.5 stars across 13 years (2012-2025). Themes: compliments received, gift-worthiness, wearable art quality. Healthy criticism: fragility, clasp difficulty, size expectations. MoMA responds to negatives. Three museum retailers: MoMA, Seattle Art Museum, SFMOMA. 30+ TripAdvisor gallery reviews. AFAR, Design Is This, TrendHunter press. Third-generation Murano family, all-women team, founded 1993.
The research behind this
8 verified claims from this product's record - last verified March 8, 2026
Rating and review data from
Quick facts
- Price
- $140
- Feels Like
- $250 Three museum retailers, Compasso d'Oro family lineage, 30-year MoMA run, all-women Murano team.
- Brand
- Marina and Susanna Sent
- Category
- Jewelry & Accessories
- Aesthetic
- Modern Classic
- Great For
- Anniversary, Birthday
- Gift Type
- Safe Gift
- Type
- Keepsake
Value
Hand-blown on Murano since the 1990s. Three museums chose it independently.
Common Questions
How is the Sent sisters' Bubble Necklace made?
Each sphere is individually blown from borosilicate glass by an all-women team on Murano island. Marina and Susanna Sent founded their practice in 1993, continuing a family glass tradition from the 1920s. Their maternal grandfather won Italy's Compasso d'Oro in 1955. Spheres are strung on invisible cord with a screw clasp.
Why does the Glass Bubble Necklace cost $140?
Three museum retailers independently chose this necklace, including MoMA since the 1990s. Each sphere is hand-blown on Murano by a third-generation glass family. 30 years in continuous production with 88 MoMA reviews averaging 4.5 stars. Comparable museum-store jewelry typically costs $200+. Perceived value around $250.
Who would love this necklace as a gift?
Wives, moms, girlfriends, and best friends who appreciate design over brand names. MoMA reviewers confirm repeat gift-buying: one buyer purchased for herself then ordered two more as gifts. Works for birthdays, anniversaries, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, and Christmas. Skip if the recipient prefers metals and gemstones.
Will the Glass Bubble Necklace break easily?
Borosilicate glass (the same material used in lab equipment) is more durable than regular glass, but will break if dropped on hard surfaces or crushed in storage. MoMA reviewers advise storing it separately. Wipe with a soft dry cloth. The screw clasp takes practice. Despite fragility concerns, 88 reviewers gave it 4.5 stars over 13 years.
How do you style the Glass Bubble Necklace?
Transparent spheres sit at the collarbone on nearly invisible cord, working standalone or layered with simple chains. MoMA reviewers call it versatile for casual and formal settings. Clear glass complements any color palette and neckline. Pairs well with solid-color tops where the light-scattering effect is most visible.
When can you wear the Glass Bubble Necklace?
Both. MoMA reviewers describe wearing it to work, dinner, and brunch. One noted it 'gives any outfit, festive or casual, a pow.' Lightweight glass means comfortable all-day wear. Catches restaurant and event lighting well. Year-round: transparent glass adapts to summer necklines and winter layers equally.
No more questions? Buy it for $140
How We Validated This
Last updated- Official Sent Sisters Official
- Press AFAR Design Is This TrendHunter Venice Design Biennial
- Reviews TripAdvisor Gallery
- Retailer MoMA Design Store Seattle Art Museum
