The necklace
This sumptuous volume is primarily devoted to the necklace in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the periods most accessible to the collector and connoisseur. But it begins by tracing the history of the necklace from ancient times, presenting Egyptian broad collars and Celtic gold torques, Greek and Roman chains and medallions, the ornamental pendants of the Italian Renaissance, and the pearl necklaces popular in the seventeenth century. By the nineteenth century the necklace had become essential to every well-dressed woman, even if made from materials as outlandish as hummingbird feathers and tiger claws. The century ended on one of the highest notes of creativity in jewelry design: the subtle refinements and innovations of Rene Lalique and his fellow designers in the curvilinear Art Nouveau style. The book's final section focuses on the twentieth century, during which the necklace has undergone many changes in response to rapid shifts in fashion and society. From turn-of-the-century diamond chokers through the long, graceful sautoirs of the 1920s and the exuberant creations of the 1960s, the century has seen brand new forms alongside revivals of the designs and patterns of antiquity.