Delicate Necklace with Seed Pearls in Gold, British, c. 1900

Pieces of jewellery set with seed pearls in yellow gold were particularly popular in Great Britain around 1900. The so-called "necklets", delicate necklaces, were particularly popular. This is also shown in the advertisement from the London firm Saunders & Shepherd from 1900 (see last illustration). The present necklace shows such a design and also consists of corded gold chains. The chains connect three small flower ornaments. A leaf-shaped pendant also hangs below the central flower. The floral elements are set with shimmering seed pearls, with a glass pearl in sky blue glowing inside each flower. The turquoise-colored pearls are a later addition, but a very fortunate choice: This is because at the time the necklace was created, the combination of pearls and turquoise, the color of which is evoked by the glass beads, was extremely popular and can be found in numerous examples. In addition to their bright color, turquoises were also popular because they had the same meaning in the language of jewels as the forget-me-not in the language of flowers. The proximity of the color to the forget-me-not is also used here to add colour to the delicate garland of flowers and subtly charge it with meaning. As the garland and chain are flexible, the necklace always fits perfectly on the décolleté. The necklace is made from the typical British alloy of fifteen carat gold (corresponds to a fineness of 625/000). We encounter this alloy in many Victorian and Edwardian pieces of jewellery, but it was only used until 1932. We discovered the necklace as it is in London.

Estimate:£1,945.19

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