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Barnebys HQ
Brahegatan 10
BOX 5038
114 37 Stockholm
All auctions / Jewellery & Gems / Beautiful Belle Époque Necklace with Tourmaline and Diamonds, c. 1900
This delicate necklace was created c. 1900. The lightness of its lines and the open, almost floating arrangement of the diamonds in delicate prong settings already foreshadow the new ideal in jewelry design that would break away from the heaviness of historicism at the beginning of the 20th century. At the center of the piece of jewellery is a beautiful natural tourmaline weighing approximately 4.0 carats. Its oval cabochon cut deliberately forgoes the sparkle of faceting and instead highlights the stone’s intense light green colour and mysterious depth. A solid gold backing further enhances its luminosity and allows its green to shine brilliantly. The stone’s colour inevitably reminded us of one of the great fascinations of the Belle Époque: it is the colour of absinthe. Known as the “Green Fairy,” this green drink became a symbol of glamorous Parisian nightlife and the bohemian scene. In the cafés of Montmartre, it was a constant companion to artists, poets, and writers; painters such as Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Van Gogh made it a motif of their time. With its green hue, the tourmaline evokes that atmosphere—at once elegant and slightly wicked—that makes the fin de siècle so fascinating to us even today. Rose-cut diamonds refract the light in an irregular and lively manner, while the settings wrap around the center stone in elegant, intertwining patterns. A total of 42 rose cut diamonds extend upward from the center in two curved lines, culminating in a delicate anchor chain. A freely suspended old-cut diamond below the tourmaline adds an extra, dynamic accent of light. The use of silver on a gold base follows a goldsmithing technique that has been tried and tested since the 18th century: The gold provides stability and warmth, while the silver makes the settings recede visually and allows the white fire of the diamonds to appear brighter. Thus, this necklace—which came to us from a private collection in Hamburg—combines technical sophistication with the weightless, glamorous elegance so characteristic of jewellery c. 1900. Through the interplay of radiant green, shimmering diamond roses, and flowing lines, it preserves something of the dazzling magic of its era—like an echo of the Green Fairy transformed into jewellery.
Estimate:£1,281.54
To the auctionView all items fromHofer AntikschmuckorJewellery & Gems
Estimate:
£1,281.54
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