Pendant Garland Style and Aquamarine

Aquamarine pendant in platinum, brilliant cut diamonds and pearls. Belle Epoque   



Platinum, diamonds and aquamarine, probably Paris, ca.1905-1910. After the use of gold and silver during the nineteenth century, Cartier started to use platinum, followed by others. Thanks to the hardness it was possible now to produce lacy jewelry, called “style guirlande” or “garland style”, inspired by the late eighteenth century, the period of king Louis XVI and queen Marie-Antoinette.Louis Cartier even sent his designers out to draw details of eighteenth century buildings, like balcony railings.The garland style was specially intended for customers who did not like the modern Art Nouveau jewelry. The aquamarine with its soft blue color fit completely into the fashion world around 1900, led in Paris by Worth, neighbor and father-in-law of Louis Cartier. The fashion colors at the time were pastel shades, such as soft blue, green, pink, lilac and a color Worth hilarious described as “quise-de-nymf”, the color of a nymph’s femur.This jewel fits in with this atmosphere.The small motif at the top is reminiscent of a fire stroke, as used in the order of the golden Fleece.Perhaps this pendant was originally intended as a love jewel.     



size: 5.0 x 3.0 cm
weight: 11,4 gram
hight: 
lenght: 40 cm