Topaz Chain Sautoir

Description

The Sautoir necklace was first worn in the 1870s. It was an extra long strand of beads or chain completed with a tassel or pendant made from fine jewels. Sautoirs drew the eye to the waist area where the jewelled embellishment would rest. This necklace reached it’s heyday through the 1920s and 1930s as the fashion choice of wealthy, stylish women and well appointed Hollywood stars. The sautoir then fell out of vogue until it was resurrected in the 1960s and regained popularity with the very same groups who embraced it in the 1930s. We love the look of the sautoir and enjoy making them available to our more adventurous clientele. We went a bit wild on this Safari sautoir – pardon the pun – and it is longer than our other sautoirs. This necklace definitely needs to be worn doubled or our regal lion will be hanging a little too low for comfort. The pendant design is very similar to what is attached to our shorter Safari pendant necklace, featuring 1960s flawed topaz plus an intense brown described as Madeira topaz that was produced in the 1960s. The very narrow stones enhancing the lion’s mane, described as slender navettes, date from 1949 and were made in Occupied Japan. Aurora Borealis stones have been added sparingly to add a little extra sparkle.