For thousands of years, a luxurious and exquisite necklace has adorned women's necks. The appearance of the primary model of this decoration in the form of beads dates back to the era of the first historical period - the Stone Age, that is, the tenth millennium BC. In different eras, the accessory in question was created from various materials, from leather and precious metals to plastic and rhinestones.
@zolotce_jewellery
Even during the reign of the pharaohs in Ancient Egypt, people decorated their bodies with precious stones. In that era, the Egyptians believed in the magical power of the latter and wore such jewelry not for the sake of aesthetic beauty, but for protection from the evil eye and curses.
Emperor Nero never parted with his emerald; through it, the monarch watched gladiator fights and even read. Initially, the Roman ruler held it in his hand, but then hung it around his neck so that he would never part with this product.
The golden age of wearing necklaces was during the reign of France by Catherine de' Medici. In that era, all court ladies were required to wear neck jewelry.It is noteworthy that the younger the girl was, the smaller her necklace was. This phenomenon was explained by the fact that more mature women had less beautiful necks and the first signs of aging appeared, which the ladies tried to disguise as much as possible with massive jewelry, scarves or veils. Young ladies wore chokers - a short product that fit tightly to the neck. Older ladies preferred pendants or necklaces, and very mature women wore a monisto - a voluminous decoration consisting of several rows of beads, pendants and pendants. The wealthier a woman was, the more expensive her jewelry was. Commoners also wore neck accessories, but most often these were beads made of shells or semi-precious stones.
@sofi_and_ma
One of the most exquisite and expensive necklaces in the world is the Napoleon Diamond Necklace. It is a decoration made of 234 multi-colored diamonds framed in silver and gold, with a total value of 376,274 francs. The French emperor gave this decoration to his second wife, Marie Louise of Austria, who gave birth to an heir to the monarch. After her husband's exile to St. Helena in 1815, Maria returned to her homeland in Austria, taking the gift with her. In her will, she devoted an entire section to the necklace, in which she strictly forbade her descendants from violating the integrity of the jewelry, removing diamonds from the setting, or selling the precious necklace. However, Napoleon's necklace still had a very long way to go.
@myplanetta.blogspot.com
After the death of Bonaparte's wife, her jewelry passed to her daughter-in-law Sophia of Bavaria, who immediately removed two large stones from it for her earrings. The interesting thing is that no one saw these earrings on her.After the death of Madame Sophia, the jewelry was inherited by her sons, one of whom bought out the shares of the others and presented the necklace to his third wife. The crisis of 1929, called the Great Depression, forced the last owner of the jewelry, Maria Teresa, to sell her family's priceless attribute. Sofia was embarrassed to put such an item up for auction on her own, so for this mission she had to hire two swindlers (which Sofia learned about much later) - Colonel Townsend and Princess Baronti.
Madame Sophia claimed 450 thousand dollars, but during the crisis the scammers sold the necklace for 60 thousand, 57 of which they demanded for their services. Having learned about this, Madame Bavaria went to court and returned the necklace to herself. Returning home, the diamond necklace seemed to not want to “go” anywhere. The power of diamonds had such a powerful hold over the mistress that, despite financial difficulties, Sofia could not part with it. Unfortunately, after her death, this luxurious accessory was put up for sale again and the significant adventures of Bonaparte’s diamond gift continued for a very long time.
@vespig.wordpress.com
Today the diamond necklace is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in the States. Let's hope that this unique thing will be able to find a true owner and stop wandering from one reseller to another.
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