Elegant necklace with emerald briolette and diamonds in gold, c. 1910

The Belle Époque was an era in which very different styles could develop side by side. In addition to the new, organic forms of Art Nouveau, it also drew on models from the 18th century. The so-called garland style was characterized by such recollection and preferred decorative elements such as bows, ribbons and floral ornaments made of luxurious materials. We see pieces of jewellery with emerald drops again and again, as they were a big fashion of the time and remained popular until the 1950s. A famous necklace with cut emerald drops was worn by the Maharani of Baroda, the "Indian Wallis Simpson". The Maharajas of Baroda were among the richest princes in India and settled in Europe after the country's independence, not without taking a considerable part of their gemstone treasure with them, of course. The Maharani had a spectacular necklace made from the historic emeralds by Van Cleef & Arpels in Paris: Thirteen emerald drops previously set in other pieces of jewellery are attached to the creation, accompanied by diamonds. The drawings according to the Maharani's wishes have been preserved in Paris, see the entry in the archive of the jewelry house. Interestingly, our emerald is also pierced lengthwise. This suggests that this emerald also comes from an older piece of jewellery and possibly also came from India. The loop necklace was therefore probably designed as a frame for the historical emerald. In addition to the green gemstone, the piece of jewellery is set with around 1.30 ct of diamonds in various cuts. The surface of the bow bands is set with diamonds that create a lively interplay of sparkling light reflections. A drop-shaped section, also set with diamonds, is attached to the bow. The large natural emerald swings inside the drop-shaped pendant, faceted all around and cut as a briolette. We have added the fine chain to the pendant.

Estimate:£2,454.85

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