Past Present And Future Diamond Flower Necklace

Each piece of Kent Raible jewelry showcases the master goldsmith's love for the craft. The Washington state-based designer uses ancient techniques to create exquisite 18-karat gold cocktail rings, dangle earrings and pendant necklaces. 

Raible’s contemporary accessories are set with the finest colored gemstones and feature layers of incredibly detailed granulation, a method of ornamentation common in Byzantine jewelry (and employed in Etruria as well) that sees a piece’s surface decorated with granular spheres of precious metal. Together with his wife, Lynn, Raible has grown his passion project into a thriving and recognizable brand.

Raible's first exposure to metalwork was in a high school jewelry class in the early 1970s. It sparked his interest in the material, and he would go on to spend years studying goldsmithing and design. Though Raible is largely self-taught and never apprenticed under a master goldsmith, he did seek out knowledgeable teachers to help hone his skill and traveled to Germany to study during the 1980s.

Since then, alongside establishing his studio, Raible has become a teacher himself, leading workshops at the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Francisco and the Penland School of Craft in South Carolina. He also offers self-guided online courses and in-person workshops.

Raible's work has garnered acclaim and recognition over the years. One of his masterpieces, the Floating City necklace, is part of the permanent collection at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Finished in 1996 — and partly inspired by the legend of Atlantis — the accessory took two years to make and features diamonds, tourmaline, sapphires, chalcedony and amethysts. A sculpture of Raible’s was included in “The Art of Gold” exhibition organized by the Society of North American Goldsmiths. That same sculpture won the 2015 Saul Bell Design Award competition in the Hollowware/Art Object category. 

Raible continues to offer workshops and make covetable jewelry. He is also inspiring a new generation of jewelry artists, such as Southern California-based designer Loren Nicole, who studied under Raible to learn more about gold granulation.

On 1stDibs, find Kent Raible rings, earrings, necklaces and more.

Whether you’re layering multiple jewelry pieces or opting for a single strand, vintage pendant necklaces are versatile accessories that can elevate your casual wear as easily as they can add a creative flourish to your formal attire.

The earliest jewelry was less about accessorizing than it was about wearers arming themselves with amulets. In Ancient Egypt, some amulets featured a loop so that they could be strung around one’s neck. While rubies have long been one of the few gemstones that can give diamonds a run for their money, members of some ancient civilizations valued the stones from the get-go, donning ruby pendants as well as other stones with the belief that these adornments would bring protection, healing powers or strength. Today, we still wear our charm bracelets and charm pendants around our necks for good luck.

Later, pendant necklaces, like most fine jewelry, were worn strictly by royalty or the upper class and conferred wealth and prestige. This changed over time, thankfully, as wearing jewelry became more widespread, a democratized means of personal expression.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, pendant necklaces evolved from their status as spiritual amulets, but the jewels still carried deep personal significance. Victorian pendants, in particular, were part of the “mourning jewelry” tradition. Wearers would embed their pendants with locks of hair from a deceased loved one as a way of grieving in the wake of a loss. In the case of cameo jewelry, some pendants were even decorated with miniature hand-carved portraits in a detailed raised relief. Today, portraiture is still a characteristic of many of the hand-carved pendant necklaces offered by Italian jewelry house Scala Gioielli.

Luxury fine jewelry brands such as Cartier, BVLGARI and David Yurman offer their own unique interpretations of the cherished accessory, embellishing platinum or gold pendant necklaces with diamonds, sapphires and other stones.

On 1stDibs, find an extraordinary range of vintage pendant necklaces and other necklaces today.