A Beautiful Retro Gold and Diamond Necklace

A stylish Retro gold and diamond necklace by Verger Frères c.1940s, designed as a narrow bib-style necklace formed of two flexible separate rows of cylindrical gold links, at the front the rows have a curve of thirty five round brilliant cut diamonds between them, graduated in size from the centre outwards and each set on a gold knife-edge bar, with clasp to the centre back. The name Verger Frères will be familiar to many as the ‘jeweller’s jeweller’ because they supplied so many of the top jewellery firms with beautiful pieces. During the 1920s and 30s Verger created jewellery and timepieces for fine jewellers in Paris, America and across Europe including Cartier, Lacloche Frères, Boucheron, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chaumet, Tiffany, Trabert & Hoeffer, Black, Starr & Frost and Bulgari. Somewhat unusually for the time, Verger didn’t create pieces to the designs provided by their clients but instead sold their own original designs to the retailers. During the 1940s and 50s they created Retro jewels in gem-set 18ct yellow gold which were in keeping with the prevailing fashions. This necklace is quintessentially Retro in style with its bib shape, rounded profile and focus on the gold work with just a scattering of diamonds. The use of space to add volume is also typical of this period and yet this necklace retains a contemporary feel to it and an easy wearability.