A River of Diamonds

The rivière necklace remains one of the most sophisticated and classic of pieces. This style was especially popular during the Georgian period (1714-1830) but has not lost any of its caché over the years, and this modern Cartier version is a good example of why.

Rivière necklaces are named for the French word for river, and consist of a single row of graduated “flowing” gemstones. The stones are mounted with a very small ring of platinum or white gold so that each stone is as visible as possible, giving them great movement. Rivière necklaces are typically associated with diamonds, but can also hold other gemstones, such as rubies and emeralds.

The necklace pictured here is comprised of 77 diamonds with a total weight of about 34 carats. They begin by the clasp at approximately ¼ carat, and graduate to a center stone of 1.5 carats. As one would expect from Cartier, these are all collection quality diamonds of high color and clarity grades. The setting is platinum and ends at a diamond encrusted clasp with the Cartier signature (see picture at right). This is a contemporary Cartier piece, but in general, rivière necklaces can be difficult to date to a specific time period due to their simplicity, and lack of tell-tale signs. We were excited to come across this particular necklace because it came with Cartier papers in its original box. This is a rare find, making this piece particularly valuable. Print this post