Fabulous, Convertible Necklace with Bracelets Made of 936 Grams of

There are pieces of jewellery that seem as though they have endured for millennia, as if they had not been crafted in a 20th-century goldsmith’s workshop but rather recovered from the depths of a treasure chamber. This monumental gold necklace belongs to that rare category of jewels whose mere presence evokes associations with the great treasures of human history. One inevitably thinks of Heinrich Schliemann’s legendary Treasure of Priam or the heavy gold chains that Hans Holbein the Younger immortalized in his portraits of wealthy merchants and councilmen. Here, gold does not appear as jewellery, but as a visible expression of wealth and self-confidence. Weighing 936.2 grams, this necklace is made entirely of 18-karat gold. Each individual link was forged by hand and then skillfully shaped with delicate hammer strokes. This creates a hammered surface that does not reflect light in a mirror-like manner but absorbs it softly and warmly. Through this craftsmanship, the gold acquires an almost sensual depth that can only be created by human hands. This extraordinary piece of jewellery was created in the 1980s. Hardly anyone embodied the spirit of that era more impressively than Paloma Picasso, whose iconic gold necklaces for Tiffany & Co. remain among the most significant jewellery designs of those years to this day. This necklace displays the same powerful design language. Although unsigned, it is in no way inferior to Picasso’s famous designs in terms of expression and presence. With a length of 117 centimeters, it offers remarkable versatility. It can be worn long, wrapped twice around the neck, or given ever-changing proportions by removing two nearly invisible integrated bracelets and two rows of click-in links. In this way, a monumental piece of jewellery transforms into a wide variety of forms! Perhaps this is precisely what makes this piece—undoubtedly a one-of-a-kind creation that came to us from the estate of a Stuttgart collector—so captivating. 936 grams of gold could just as easily exist in the form of a bar, stored in a safe. Here, however, the same precious material has been transformed into a piece of goldsmithing of extraordinary beauty. The material has been turned into a work of art meant to be worn, whose value extends far beyond its mere precious-metal content. This necklace is a tribute to gold itself—to its history, its sensuality, and also to the ability of talented goldsmiths to create something timeless from a precious metal.

Estimate:$157,211.25

View all items fromHofer AntikschmuckorJewelry & Gems