Andrew Grima (British, b. Italy, 1921–2007), Necklace with Pendant, 1971, gold, abalone pearl, diamonds

Audio Description

This necklace with pendant was designed by British jeweler Andrew Grima in 1975. Grima was born in Italy in 1921 and died in 2007.

This is a hoop necklace with a pendant on it. The pendant has a large, central piece of abalone that is opalescent, showing colors of blue, green and purple. It is naturally an amorphous shape that is somewhat teardrop shaped. Around the outside is a matte, yellow gold mount that follows the contours of the abalone and looks like scribbled lines. It is decorated at the top with three small, faceted diamonds and at the bottom right with the same.

Label Copy

This necklace with pendant was designed by British jeweler Andrew Grima in 1975. Grima was born in Italy in 1921 and died in 2007.

Nature was always Grima’s first inspiration. He frequently drove to the countryside outside London to collect pieces of bark, twigs, and lichen, which were brought back to the workshop and cast. Sacrificing the original object in the process, these exact reproductions of nature were then transformed into gold jewelry embellished with diamonds or set with semi-precious stones. Even Princess Margaret, sister to Queen Elizabeth II, owned such a piece cast from lichen she collected at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and sent to Grima.

In this pendant, Grima allowed the lushly colored abalone pearl to be the center of attention. Not altering its organic form, he instead formed a scribbled mount around it. Petite diamonds nestle on the matte gold surface and serve as mirrors for the natural highlights of the abalone.

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