Art Deco Diamond and Onyx Lorgnette Necklace

Although there are endless choices for stylish eye wear these days, in the Victorian era glasses were seen as a sign of old age or ill health. An unappealing perception for fashionable women at the time, they used lorgnettes instead. Infinitely more chic than readers, they not only magnified text but made for some breathtaking jewelry. This one, masterfully hand fabricated in platinum, shimmers all over with bright-white European, Swiss, and single-cut diamonds, is pierced to create lovely scroll and foliate designs, and features striking dashes of onyx. A single .38 carat European-cut diamond shines in the center of this fabulous double-duty accessory which suspends from a rare, original 25 inch (plus 2 inch) chain composed of fancy filigreed navette and diamond-set lozenge shape links. A fabulous flapper-esque Jazz Age jewel - circa 1920.