Lot #7: Vintage Handcrafted Lemon Jade Lavalier Styled Necklace

Vintage Handcrafted Lemon Jade Lavalier Styled Necklace

The lines created by a lavalier are sleek, elegant, and sensual. Finely crafted with beautiful detail, typically ending in a single shining gemstone, like a tear running off a cheek, or a dew drop on the tip of a leaf. Lavalier necklaces have existed in some form for hundreds of years, but really hit their stride at the start of the 20th Century. From a French actress, to flapper murderess Roxie Hart, the lavalier has been a favorite among the fashionable. WHAT IS A LAVALIER?The term lavalier has a few different interpretations. Some use it to only refer to necklaces in which the pendant is attached on either side to a fine chain without a bail. Others use it to describe any elongated pendant from the turn of the 20th Century. The general consensus is that the pendant finishes in a single stone dangling from the base, often a pearl or diamond. A lavalier necklace is also sometimes called a Y necklace. In pendant form, the lavalier often has delicate filigree work, sometimes with feminine and floral motifs.

THE HISTORY OF THE LAVALIERLavaliers are believed to have been named after the Duchess Louise de La Vallire, the mistress of French King Louis XIV in the mid 17th Century. Some have erroneously attributed the name lavalier to the French actress ve Lavallire, who's career spanned the end of the 1800's. In fact, Lavallire received that stage name because she often would wear that style of necklace. Although she didn't coin the term, ve undoubtedly contributed to the lavaliers renewed popularity at the turn of the 20th Century. The lavalier stayed popular by evolving in design along with the fashions of the time.