Laurence Graff (British, b. 1938), Necklace, 1973, gold, diamonds

Audio Description

This necklace was made by British jeweler Laurence Graff in 1973. Graff was born in 1938.

This necklace is made of a polished gold hoop that does not meet at the center front but on the right side ends in a cone shape with many openings around it. The hoop widens into a pendant on the left side with a cone shaped piece of gold at the top. The lower layer of the cone continues as a rectangular form and has many voids of varying shapes and sizes with uneven edges. The end of the rectangular pendant is rippled and furrowed horizontally. Three wires or rods extend down from inside the cone at the top of the pendant. Each rod is embellished with small, faceted diamonds.

Label Copy

This necklace was made by British jeweler Laurence Graff in 1973. Graff was born in 1938.

Laurence Graff is perhaps best known as the founder of Graff Diamonds, a firm that still offers unique diamond jewelry today. Although these precious stones are part of the design, they are not the main feature of this necklace. Hammered flat, furrowed at the bottom, distressed, and riddled with eccentric openings, the gold becomes the focus here. Like many pieces of jewelry made in the 1960s and ‘70s, this example exhibits a coarseness that is organic in nature. The small diamonds, mounted on gold rods, seem to descend like falling stars. Unusual in its design, the ‘pendant’ is an extension of the hoop that encircles the neck.

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