Ella Gafter South Sea Pearl Diamond Choker Necklace

About the Item

The South Sea pearl choker necklace is composed of 33 pearls originating from the waters of Northwestern Australia. The pearls are slightly graduated from 15-12mm. They feature thick nacre, a beautiful pearl-white color and a lovely lustre. The pearls were extracted from Pinctada Maxima shells (“silver-lipped mother of pearl”). They have not been dyed, bleached or treated in any way with chemical or other artificial processes that could cause their natural color or luster to diminish over time. The strand is held together by a spherical clasp set with 1.50 carats of top quality diamonds. The last images in the carousel show beautiful ways of combining our South Sea strands with our fine jewelry designs.

Creator:
Ella Gafter
Metal:
18k Gold
Stone:
Diamond,Pearl,South Sea Pearl
Stone Cut:
Brilliant Cut
Dimensions:
Length: 18.5 in (469.9 mm)
Style:
Artist
Place of Origin:
Italy
Period:
21st Century
Date of Manufacture:
Unknown
Condition:
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
Seller: P681stDibs: LU802310509802
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Ella Gafter

Even before Ella Gafter founded her namesake jewelry collection in 1982, she was a formidable presence in the jewelry industry.

As a Rome-based gem dealer, Gafter sold pearls and precious stones to retailers and jewelers but was often dissatisfied with how they made use of the rare materials she worked so hard to source. Instead of grousing, she decided to design jewels that would do them justice, focusing primarily on pearls — akoya, Tahitian and South Sea. She explains her fascination with the lustrous marine treasures simply: “Every woman looks better with pearls than without.”

Her daughter Talila Gafter, then an undergrad at Harvard, was her ally in getting the project off the ground. Together, they made the rounds to stores with Ella’s first efforts. “We had a little pouch with eight pieces and we sold everything,” Talila tells 1stDibs. After graduation, she “was involved one hundred percent” in building the company, whose pieces are handmade by master jewelers in Naples.

The designer insists that her unwavering focus is the source of her success. “There’s no compromising for me,” she says. She’s been known to replace the pearls in a single piece time after time until she’s certain she’s achieved her ideal result. “A pearl you have to respect,” she explains. “You have to put it where it wants to sit.”

Ella describes the collaboration with her daughter as a “partnership,” with each having her own domain. “I’m all fantasy; Talila is the concrete one,” she says. The company is now based in New York City, with Talila as its president while Ella is firmly at the helm of creative decisions. “I’ve never made a design suggestion to Ella,” says Talila. “Nobody does.”

That forbearance has been earned, says Talila. “I admire that Ella doesn’t take no for an answer, her tenacity, her extraordinary ambition. She believes as long as there is life, there is a lot of beauty to create. She’s a force of nature.”

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