Tiffany Amethyst Sparkler Necklace

Tiffany & Co. is one of the most prominent purveyors of luxury goods in the United States, and has long been an important arbiter of style in the design of diamond engagement rings. A young Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed to his future wife, Eleanor, with a Tiffany ring in 1904. Vanderbilts, Whitneys, Astors and members of the Russian imperial family all wore Tiffany & Co. jewelry. And Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis preferred Tiffany china for state dinners at the White House.

Although synonymous with luxury today, the firm started out rather modestly. Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young founded it in Connecticut as a “stationery and fancy goods emporium” in 1837, at a time when European imports still dominated the nascent American luxury market. In 1853, Charles Tiffany — who in 1845 had launched the company’s famed catalog, the Blue Book, and with it, the firm’s signature robin’s-egg blue, which he chose for the cover — shifted the focus to fine jewelry.

In 1868, Tiffany & Co. gained international recognition when it became the first U.S. firm to win an award for excellence in silverware at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. From then on, it belonged to the pantheon of American luxury brands.

At the start of the Gilded Age, in 1870, Tiffany & Co. opened its flagship store, described as a "palace of jewels" by the New York Times, at 15 Union Square West in Manhattan. Throughout this period, its designs for silver tableware, ceremonial silver, flatware and jewelry were highly sought-after indicators of status and taste. They also won the firm numerous accolades, including the grand prize for silverware at the Paris Exposition of 1878. Among the firm’s glittering creations from this time are masterworks of Art Nouveau jewelry, such as this delicate aquamarine necklace and this lavish plique-à-jour peridot and gold necklace, both circa 1900.

When Charles Lewis Tiffany died, in 1902, his son Louis Comfort Tiffany became the firm’s design director. Under his leadership, the Tiffany silver studio was a de facto design school for apprentice silversmiths, who worked alongside head artisan Edward C. Moore. The firm produced distinctive objects inspired by Japanese art and design, North American plants and flowers, and Native American patterns and crafts, adding aesthetic diversity to Tiffany & Co.’s distinguished repertoire.

Tiffany is also closely associated with diamonds, even lending its name to one particularly rare and exceptional yellow stone. The firm bought the Tiffany diamond in its raw state from the Kimberley mines of South Africa in 1878. Cut to create a 128.54-carat gem with an unprecedented 82 facets, it is one of the most spectacular examples of a yellow diamond in the world.

In a broader sense, Tiffany & Co. helped put diamonds on the map in 1886 by introducing the American marketplace to the solitaire diamond design, which is still among the most popular engagement-ring styles. The trademark Tiffany® Setting raises the stone above the band on six prongs, allowing its facets to catch the light. A lovely recent example is this circa-2000 platinum engagement ring. Displaying a different design and aesthetic (but equally chic) is this exquisite diamond and ruby ring from the 1930s.

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There are few gemstones in the world that are both affordable and worthy of a duchess’s attention. But then not many stones are as beautiful as amethyst. Indeed, vintage and antique amethyst jewelry has innumerable fans, and February’s birthstone has many unique attributes. For the romantics, there are several tales in Greek mythology that tell the story of Bacchus and Amethyste, a maiden that he pursues yet is rescued by Diane by turning her into a white stone. Bacchus, mourning his love, pours a glass of wine over the sculpture, dyeing her purple.

Amethyst has adorned many royal jewels. One of the most enviable jewelry collections of all time belonged to Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor. In 1947, the Duke gifted her with a Cartier amethyst and turquoise bib necklace. This special order piece was made with twisted 18-carat and 20-carat gold, platinum, brilliant- and baguette-cut diamonds, one heart-shaped faceted amethyst, 27 emerald-cut amethysts, one oval faceted amethyst, and turquoise cabochons. The Duchess was not the only Royal with a penchant for the purple gemstone. The tiara now owned by Queen Silvia of Sweden is set with amethysts that once belonged to the French Empress Josephine. A stunning 56-carat cushion-cut, square-shaped amethyst set in an 18-karat yellow gold necklace designed by Tiffany & Co. is now in the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

The Smithsonian also has in its possession an even more rare example of fine amethyst: the 96-carat Morris Amethyst Brooch. The brooch features a deep, rich purple heart-shaped amethyst. The museum states that the piece was likely made during the Edwardian period (1901–15) “when platinum and diamonds were often used, and amethyst, a favorite stone of King Edward VII’s wife, Alexandra, was often included in jewelry of the era.”

Another amethyst necklace, with an even richer story, can be found in the Natural History Museum of London. Known as the Delhi Purple Sapphire (even though the stone is an amethyst), this stone was stolen from the Temple of Indra during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Anyone in possession of this stone is bound to have terrible luck, including its owner Edward Heron-Allen, who gifted the gemstone to the museum thinking that this would save him but ended up transferring the bad luck to the museum curators overseeing the stone.

Find a wide range of vintage and antique amethyst necklaces, bracelets and other fine jewelry on 1stDibs.

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.