Art Nouveau Gold Lavalier
An art nouveau gold lavalier brings fluid floral lines and coloured gems to the neckline, offering wearable elegance from a celebrated design era.
Art Nouveau Gold Lavalier
When you search for an art nouveau gold lavalier, you are looking at pendant necklaces and convertible brooch pendants created during the late Victorian, Edwardian, and Art Nouveau periods. These pieces typically feature whiplash curves and stylised natural motifs, hanging from delicate chains or integrated neck wires.
The version you are most likely to meet on this page combines 9ct or 15ct gold with seed pearls and transparent coloured stones like amethyst, peridot, or aquamarine. Makers of the era arranged these elements into symmetrical drops or asymmetrical swaying designs that define the aesthetic of the period.
How they were made
Goldsmiths worked primarily in 9ct and 15ct yellow gold, occasionally utilising 18ct white gold, shaping the metal through casting, piercing, and wire-working techniques. This allowed them to achieve the characteristic undulating lines and lightweight openwork frames.
Gemstones including amethyst, peridot, aquamarine, garnet, tourmaline, and diamond were set alongside tiny seed pearls. These stones were secured with fine claws or bezels, often featuring a central drop stone that moved independently to catch the light.
Art Nouveau Gold Lavalier Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for art nouveau gold lavalier among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
Some pendants double as brooches, allowing Victorian and Edwardian wearers to change their minds halfway through getting dressed.
What varies in quality
Quality also depends on the selection and matching of the gemstones, where clean, vibrant amethysts, peridots, or aquamarines are paired with uniformly lustrous seed pearls. Maker attribution, such as work by Murrle Bennett, elevates the standing of a piece significantly.
Murrle Bennett
The Art Nouveau Gold Lavalier Glossary
- Lavalier
- A pendant necklace featuring a central drop that suspends one or more stones below the main body. This style became popular in the late nineteenth century and persists through the Edwardian era.
- Seed Pearl
- A very small, naturally occurring or early cultured pearl, often half-drilled and glued or pegged onto fine pins. They are characteristic of delicate Edwardian and Art Nouveau cluster work.
- Whiplash Curve
- An asymmetrical, sinuous line mimicking the natural growth of stems and vines. It forms the defining decorative motif of the Art Nouveau movement.
- Openwork
- Metalwork pierced or cut away to create a light, lace-like pattern behind the stones. This technique removes heavy bulk while maintaining structural integrity.
- Suffragette
- jewellery incorporating the colours green, white, and violet, representing give women votes. In these pieces, peridots or tourmalines, pearls, and amethysts are combined to signal political allegiance.
Art Nouveau Gold Lavalier: Frequently Asked Questions
What is an art nouveau gold lavalier?
An art nouveau gold lavalier is a pendant necklace featuring a suspended drop stone, created during the late Victorian and Edwardian periods.
These jewels showcase organic motifs and fluid lines characteristic of the turn of the twentieth century.
How do I wear a lavalier pendant?
These pendants hang from fine gold chains, often sitting just below the collarbone to highlight the central drop.
Because many examples were originally made as brooches with pendant loops, they offer versatility in how they can be pinned or worn around the neck.
How do I distinguish Edwardian from Victorian pieces?
Edwardian pieces tend to utilise lighter openwork frames in 15ct gold alongside crisp peridots and aquamarines. Victorian examples often lean towards heavier 9ct gold settings paired with amethysts and garnets.
Both periods overlap heavily around the turn of the century in their embrace of floral designs.
What gems appear in these necklaces?
Amethyst, peridot, aquamarine, and seed pearls dominate the stones found in these historic necklaces. Diamonds, garnets, turquoise, and tourmalines also appear frequently in specific artistic or political designs.
Pearls are almost exclusively tiny seed pearls used to outline petals or frame coloured stones.