Scarselli Diamond Necklace

New York-based Scarselli Diamonds is a leader in colored diamonds. The family-owned company has grown from its position as Italy’s only jeweler that was legally permitted to sell diamonds to American troops after World War II to its esteemed role today — renowned specialists in rare colored diamonds and purveyors of distinctive adornment.

The first generation of Scarselli principals worked primarily in colorless diamonds, which are diamonds within the normal color range, and counted actress Sophia Loren among their clients. The business served wealthy travelers in its hotel boutiques in Rimini and Venice and had wholesale operations in Rome and in Naples. The second generation worked with luxury watchmakers such as Vacheron Constantin and Piaget. In 1978, Scarselli moved its headquarters to the United States. Today, Bruno Scarselli is a representative for the family’s third generation. The brand employs in-house cutters and gemologists and is a jeweler to the stars, working with world-famous musicians, actors and professional athletes. Celebrities and pop culture figures borrow Scarselli diamonds to walk the red carpet, and museums exhibit the company’s glittering designs.

Scarselli directly sources its diamonds from places like India, Australia, Brazil and elsewhere, and in expanding on the success it had with colored stones, such as rubies and sapphires sourced from Colombia and Burma, the company found its niche in fancy-colored diamonds. Today Scarselli’s inventory includes blue, pink and red diamonds as well as rare high-quality natural yellow diamonds. The company was known for having retained the Aurora Green diamond, which set two world records when it was sold at auction in 2016.

In 2009, Scarselli loaned its Olympia diamond collection to the American Museum of Natural History for an exhibition. The collection contained five diamonds classified as “fancy vivid” — with respect to the 4Cs, this refers to color and is considered by experts to be the pinnacle grading for colored diamonds.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of Scarselli rings, earrings, bracelets and other jewelry.

Contemporary jewelry is inextricably linked with the moment in which it is created, frequently reflecting current social, cultural and political issues such as environmental consciousness, identity and sustainability. It’s informed by fashion trends, from the chokers of the 1990s to the large chain necklaces of the early 2000s.

Jewelry is one of the oldest forms of adornment. Lockets made of silver or gold have been treasured gifts for hundreds of years, for example, and charm bracelets, which have existed since prehistoric times, didn’t become especially popular until the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. For many centuries, fine jewelry was used primarily to express wealth or status through lavish materials. Then, in the 1960s, a concept known as the “critique of preciousness” emerged, with jewelers creating pieces that did not get their value from gemstones or precious metals. Instead, it was the jeweler’s artistic vision that was prized and elevated.

This shift still informs Contemporary jewelry being made by artists today. Whether they are using cheap, found materials and working with provocative geometric shapes or seeking out the rarest stones, they are imbuing their work with meaning through their skills, techniques and ideas. Innovative designers such as Elsa Peretti, who popularized sculptural sterling-silver jewelry for Tiffany & Co., and David Yurman, who twisted metal into the simple yet striking Cable bracelet, have also influenced the direction of Contemporary jewelry’s forms and aesthetics.

Meanwhile, technological advancements like metal alloys and laser engraving have led to new possibilities in jewelry design. Now, edgy makers and brands as well as minimalist designers are pushing Contemporary jewelry forward into the 21st century.

Find a collection of Contemporary rings, earrings, necklaces and other jewelry on 1stDibs.

We are fortunate to know much of the world’s long and dazzling history of necklaces, as this type of jewelry was so treasured that it was frequently buried with its owners.

Lapis lazuli beads adorned necklaces unearthed from the royal graves at the ancient Iraqi civilization of Sumer, while the excavation of King Tut’s burial chamber revealed a sense of style that led to a frenzy of Art Deco designs, with artisans of the 1920s seeking to emulate the elegant work crafted by Ancient Egypt’s goldsmiths and jewelry makers. 

In ancient times, pendant necklaces worn by royalty and nobles conferred wealth and prestige. Today, wearing jewelry is about personal expression: Luxury diamond necklaces exude confidence and can symbolize the celebratory nature of a deep romantic relationship, while paper-clip chain-link necklaces designed by the likes of goldsmith Faye Kim are firmly planted in the past as well as the present. Kim works exclusively with eco-friendly gold, and these fashionable, fun accessories owe to the design of 19th-century watch fobs. 

For some, necklaces are thought of as being a solely feminine piece, but this widely loved accessory has been gender-neutral for eons. In fact, just as women rarely took to wearing a single necklace during the Renaissance, men of the era layered chains and valuable pendants atop their bejeweled clothing. In modern times, the free-spirited hippie and counterculture movements of the 1960s saw costume-jewelry designers celebrating self-expression through colorful multistrand necklaces and no shortage of beads, which were worn by anyone and everyone. 

Even after all of these years, the necklace remains an irrefutable staple of any complete outfit. Although new trends in jewelry are constantly emerging, the glamour and beauty of the past continue to inform modern styles and designs. In a way, the cyclical history of the necklace differs little from its familiar looped form: The celebrated French jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels found much inspiration in King Tut, and, now, their Alhambra collection is a go-to for modern royals. Vintage necklaces designed by David Webb — whose work landed him on the cover of Vogue in 1950, two years after opening his Manhattan shop — were likely inspired by the ornamental styles of ancient Greece, Mesopotamia and Egypt. 

On 1stDibs, browse top designers like Cartier, Tiffany & Co. and Bulgari, or shop by your favorite style, from eye-catching choker necklaces to understated links to pearl necklaces and more.