Massachusetts - Drop Necklaces

The Shooting Star pendant is a celestial, moon-shaped necklace that is made in sterling silver and accented with gemstones. The lunar shape is 2”...

Robert Goosens, the French haute-couture Chanel-favorite parurier who enjoyed reinterpreting ancient and antique styles of jewelry with rock crystal and faux stones, also collaborated with Madame Alix Gres. Relevant to this statement necklace, the Parisian theatrical-costume designer, who founded the French fashion-house Maison Gres, commissioned Goosens to make spiral-wire adornments for her couture gowns. This handmade hammered brass wire choker necklace with five dropped en-tremblant pendants is decorated with unique colorful beads and wrapped wire. The piece dates between 1969-1971 based on similar unsigned spiraled-wire metal jewelry without goldsmithing marks in the museum collection of TheMet (see our photo), which acquired it from Maison Givenchy founder Hubert de Givenchy, who was one of most supportive fans of Gres. Like the legendary sculptural clothing designs of Madame Gres, this necklace was inspired by Greco-Roman costumes, while its sculpted shapes by Goosens reference her signature curvilinear fabric techniques that earned her the sobriquet of "the master of the wrapped and draped dress". Goosens (1927-2016), nicknamed Monsieur Bijou, also made jewelry inspired by other periods of antiquity to compliment the couture clothing of Coco Chanel, Cristobal Balenciaga, Elsa Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, and Yves Saint Laurent. After Goosens collaborated with Gres, he revisited golden spiral designs with Saint Laurent. Similar to the free-flowing fabric manipulated in Gres gowns, this hand-shaped necklace that we photographed in sunlight is a study in motion that drapes across a curvy cleavage. Adding drama to this necklace below its wire choker, the top teetering-wire pendant is a twisted and hammered horizontal double spiral, which is a Hellenistic symbol of life and transformation suggesting the breasts of a goddess of fertility and motherhood. Yet distinctly Goosens, 18 hand-cut and hand-dyed "ancient-Roman-blue" rock-crystal beads are wire-strung to weight a second tier of two separate vertical double-spiral pendants. On each, a wrapped-wire tube divides the blue beads. Between these vertical pendants in two tiers, the central vertical pendants each feature a one-of-a-kind multicolor bead (yellow/blue/red/black/white) in two lengths with abstract organic patterns recalling ancient Italian glasswork. Four more blue beads bracket these larger colorful beads. An additional 10 blue beads and 5 wire tubes decorate the bottom looped wire pendant, as well as the bottom of the wire choker. Like the hammered-wire jewelry designs of modern artist Alexander Calder, the creative complex construction of this necklace surprisingly required no metalsmith techniques, such as soldering or casting, just great skill with a jewelry pliers and hammer. For a bigger picture of couture clothing by Madame Gres during the decade beginning in 1969, she notably designed many museum-collected one-color silk-taffeta draped long gowns with empire waists and simple high collars or geometric cut-outs. Remarkably, the focal points for some of these unique dresses were at the wrists, from where long pouf sleeves voluminously droop around the hands to nearly the floor like two enormous long-petaled flowers. If paired with this equally downward-focused and balanced necklace from this same period, its bold Greco-Roman elements would have pulled a viewer's gaze of the dress from floor to face. Although there is no significant provenance for this necklace, hammered brass and tinted rock crystal were among the few materials repeatedly associated with Goosens from 1969-71. For example, in his overlapping interior-decor collections based on themes of waterlilies or foliage, Goosens hammered gilt brass wire and sheets (see our closeup photo) to represent plant parts or he wired rock-crystal beads to appear as tiny fruits. While the two multicolor glass or resin beads in this necklace are atypical, the combination of blue, yellow and red is a palette that the designer used for other pieces of rock-crystal jewelry and he created many kinds of multicolor faux stones with glass or resin paste, such as faux Tibetan turquoise including black and white. According to journalism based on interviews with Goosens, he often acquired unusual stones and glass for inspiration during his extensive travels exploring museum-collected antiquities. Since Maison Goosens was acquired in 2005 by Maison Chanel, it opened the Parisian showroom Galerie Goosens and associated shops to sell many kinds of reproductions and reimagined works by the founder, which fortunately does not suit the completely handmade elements of this necklace. So this couture piece remains one-of-a-kind. If desiring a vintage haute-couture original by Robert Goosens, we recommend perusing the Maison Goosens website so that a reproduction with a contemporary signature is not mistakenly purchased. Madame Gres (1903-1993) was born Germaine Emelie Krebs, but initially identified her fashion designs with the pseudonym Alix and later Alix Barton...

Aston Estate Jewelry Presents: An antique drop necklace in 14K rose gold, adorned with old mine cut diamonds. The necklace features a series of antique mine and old marquise diamond...

An Edwardian period amethyst, and demantoid garnet lavalier necklace in 15 karat gold. Crafted in England at the turn of the 20th century, this beautif...

A lovely 22K gold Nava Ratna pendant comprised of precious and semi-precious stones. Fine tooling on the border and reversible to a repousse` floral and vi...

The master craftsmen of Harry Winston have used over 20 carats of diamonds to create this elegant flower garland necklace which centers on an acorn-form cultured pearl drop. The design is completed by a substantial diamond flower clasp...

Epitomizing the Art Nouveau movement, this antique post-1912 sautoir drop necklace with a white-gold openwork-and-wire pendant and filigree clasp features a rainbow of handcrafted gem beads--the largest of which are carved "Rose of France" and purple amethysts plus faceted-pink and beveled-aqua tourmalines--along with what appears to be lampwork glass...

A beautiful original Edwardian period crafted in platinum atop 14 karat gold. Featuring eleven natural pearls accented by fourteen pave set old mine cut diamonds. The diamonds weigh ...

Tiered goldtone necklace by Hobé consisting of graduated half-circle tubes, the top through which the chain passes. Each tube suspends squared beads, half black, half brown. Signed ...

Immerse yourself in the celestial charm of the Antares Y-Pendant, a stellar highlight from our Shooting Stars collection. This exquisite necklace is meticulously crafted to sync harm...

A lovely 5-strand faceted Burmese pink ruby necklace with pave` diamonds on the oxidized sterling bail and tassel cover. The bail can be removed. Great life to the rubies which mea...

A stunning chunky necklace with large tumbled and faceted amethyst beads with 18K gold spacers and large diamond-shaped gold beads using the lost wax technique. A 2.25" large pear-s...

An impressive piece by ART, founded in New York in the late 1940s as Mode-Art by Arthur Pepper, which can be worn as a necklace or brooch when the neck chain is detached. The central cinquefoil element features five green cabochon stones and clear crystals of various size from which descend one long tassel and two short ones. All in bright gold tone metal with different finishes. Back of central element has pin and loop for attaching chain; marked "ART" with copyright sign. Length of chain: 17" Pendant with tassel...

Unusual vintage necklace composed of a chain caught with a pearl at the hollow of the neck before it continues to down to a pierced medallion ...

Aston Estate Jewelry presents: A romantic diamond drop necklace featuring a series of pear and marquise shaped diamond drops. Centered by a 0.90 carat rose cut pear shaped diamond. ...

An Art Deco period diamond and onyx journey style target necklace in platinum. Centered by three graduated diamonds set in miligrain beaded platinum bezels against a backdrop of pol...

Seamlessly blending feminine lines and geometric shapes, this necklace is set with glistening diamonds that beautifully highlight the unique integrated “Y” pendant. 18K White Gold A...

14k White Gold, Yellow Gold and Rose Gold Diamond Circles and Flowers Necklace - The necklace contains 230 round diamonds that weigh approximately 1ct total weight. The diamonds are ...

A simply romantic vintage inspired diamond necklace by Simon G. offered by Alex & Co. This luxurious piece is crafted in 18K white gold and features a double row of pear shaped pave ...