This thing is seriously pretty.
You see my point? It’s an Edwardian sautoir by J.E. Caldwell and Co, which means it’s long, intricate, and fabulous.
A sautoir is a long necklace that suspends a tassel or other kind of ornament – diamond tassels, in this case. They were often made of woven or twisted pearls like this one, or set with gems (particularly in the later Art deco period). Here are a couple of pictures of fabulous women wearing sautoirs. This will not be the last sautoir I show you.
This delicate piece is composed of seed pearl mesh, suspending 5.20 carats of diamonds at the ends (including the two larger old European-cut diamonds and the smaller, pear-shaped drops). It was made in 1905. The necklace is 23 inches, so as I mentioned, this is a longer piece.
And to show you that the pearl mesh goes all the way around:
Beautiful. This fantastic piece was listed in Sotheby’s 05 December 2012 Magnificent Jewels sale. All images and information are thanks to Sotheby’s.
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WOW
I’m happy to learn what a sautoir is! I think I’ve seen it before, but I’m not sure. It’s so beautiful!
When I first saw this I thought “ummm, how does it look like on a women’s neck?”. After taking a look at the pictures you provided… oh my. It’s amazing! It’s kind of like the classy/regal version of a low-cut dress, right? It gives an illusion of a long neck, but it’s seductive. I don’t know. I like it.
I want one.
Isn’t it marvelous? I love sautoirs. I think they’re so elegant, and I definitely agree that they’re seductive in a classy way. I’ll be posting some more, don’t you worry.