REPURPOSING OF MATERIALS has become de rigueur in fine jewelry, from old diamonds to reclaimed and recycled gold. Designer Briony Raymond, who is also an antique/vintage collector and dealer, creates elevated high jewelry pieces like the necklaces that Kerry Condon wore to the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Raymond created a similar necklace that was spotted on Sarah Jessica Parker shooting an episode for the second season of And Just Like That.
At first glance, Condon’s necklace resembles a high-end riviere from the Georgian era, which would be a collector’s dream necklace in diamonds or what’s called black dot paste. Such rivieres were worn by legendary women like Madame du Barry and Marie Antoinette. The paste process was invented by jeweler Georges Frédéric Strass in the early 1730s, when he used glass with a high lead content that could be hand-faceted, hand-cut and polished, and which was extremely reflective. He was appointed jeweler to the king of France in 1734, and paste jewelry was produced in its original, authentic form until approximately 1865. After this period, paste was still being used, but innovators such as Daniel Swarovski were now able to use patented industrial techniques to transform cut glass.
Sarah Jessica Parker on the set of And Just Like That wearing a Briony Raymond aqua necklace. Photo: Shutterstock.
And this is where Condon’s and Parker’s necklaces come into play.
Condon’s necklaces are set with vintage Swarovski circa 1940s-50s, made from hybrid glass/crystal. The mountings are contemporary, handmade for each stone from melted-down antique sterling silver. The closures are 14-karat gold.
Parker’s necklace is in an aqua color but is crafted in the same way. It has a slightly more vintage rather than antique feel to it, as if it were actually made in the 1940s or ’50s with a modern-day attitude.
Both are statement pieces that can be worn more frequently than their 18th century predecessors, which are fragile due to their age. But don’t stop there. Take a look at her authentic and rare antique and vintage pieces and swoon.
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