Mastery of Design: The Lady Cory Garnets, 1835

Lady Cory's Garnets
France, 1835
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This necklace, made in 1835, was inspired by ancient Greek garnet jewelry which, like this piece, used fine gold wire to affix the stones.  This piece typifies the jewelry of the 1830s which was often lighter in metal weight, but set with a wide range of different stones, often in archaeological styles. 

Look at the the highly ornate filigree work of spirals and volutes (cannetille) and granules (grainti) which offer an appealing relief texture.   The Parisian jeweler responsible for this piece obviously made it to appeal to the British populace who could afford such pieces and their growing interest in ancient styles.  The necklace was acquired by Lady Cory who added it to her important collection of jewels--now housed in the V&A.