Exquisite Garland Style Necklace with Natural Pearl and Diamonds, c. 1910

"This year's fashions are endlessly varied, but are largely dominated by the modernized Empire style, whose most prominent motif is the laurel wreath and which mainly uses diamonds and pearls on gold." This was reported of the latest Viennese jewellery fashions in 1910, and the Empire style, which had originally been "en vogue" a century earlier and had itself drawn on classical antiquity, was also revived in all other centres of the Western world. In the ballrooms, ladies wore dresses in elegant, statuesque Empire lines, which of course had to be accompanied by matching jewels – because unlike the generation of grandmothers, the style and colour of the costume and jewellery had begun to be perfectly coordinated. This necklace is a wonderful example of this style. Small double leaves, borrowed from the laurel garlands of the Empire style, are combined with antique meander ornaments to create a design that combines neo-classical restraint with material opulence. The necklace features a magnificent centrepiece consisting of three drop-shaped pendulums. The two outer ones each hold a large old-cut diamond, while the central pendulum holds a precious natural saltwater pearl. Such large oriental pearls of fine color and shape were as highly prized and precious as diamonds of the same size in a time before the popularization of the cultured pearl, as each one had to be dived for in the ocean at great risk. The magnificent necklace has another hidden highlight: The central pendant can be unhooked and worn on its own on a fine chain. In addition, the centerpiece has screw threads for a brooch mount that has unfortunately been lost today. In this way, the fashionable lady once not only made sure that the investment was worthwhile, but also that she was not seen wearing the same jewellery at all social events – for the columns of the daily newspapers and fashion magazines reported meticulously on the dresses and jewellery of elegant ladies... Do you also succumb to the classic beauty of the Empire style? The quotation from H.H.: Neue Wiener Schmuckmoden, Deutsche Goldschmiede-Zeitung, 13 (1910), pp. 25-6, p. 25. Cf. for dating also the illustrated advertisement from the catalog of the jeweller E. Bansse, Paris, around 1910.

Estimate:$26,640.44

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