Anna Wintour: The Patron Saint of Collet Necklaces

One of the best things about selling on Etsy is that it has a robust analytics system built into the seller tools.  I am able to see what terms people search for and what items they look at.  It’s really fascinating to see how people find my shop.  Sometimes the results are pretty funny (like the person who searched for “dog” and ended up in my paper flowers section), but mostly they are just a good way to see what people are looking for.

I assumed my top search terms would be something like “reproduction Georgian jewelry” or “collet necklaces” but it turns out that my most popular search term- by far- is “Anna Wintour Necklace” followed closely by “Wintour Necklace.”  I even get a lot of hits from people who search for “The September Issue” which is a documentary about an issue of Vogue being made.   I haven’t seen it, but Ms. Wintour is wearing a collet necklace in the movie, or so I’ve been told by a few of my customers.

  

Of course I knew that Anna Wintour (the iconoclastic long-term editor of Vogue and all around terrifying and inspiring woman of fashion) favored Georgian collet Necklaces.  She is often photographed wearing one or two (or three or four), but it wasn’t until I really started looking that I realized just how much she loves them!

Here are a few images of Anna Wintour wearing what has become her signature necklace:

Just in those 6 pictures I count at least 11 different collet necklaces, and I have no doubt that most of them are legitimate antique necklaces.  They have sparkle and shine that only comes from real gemstones and hand-cut faceted paste glass.  It is a shine that our vintage glass rhinestones just can’t compete with!  

It never occurred to me to layer the necklaces, but I can’t deny that the effect is really stunning.  It is almost absurdly luxurious, but paired with jeans and a simple t-shirt it works amazingly well.   I’ve even taken to wearing a few of mine to work on occasion, but I tend to prefer the more understated unfoiled collet necklaces like this:

Unfoiled Dark Rose collet necklace in my signature crown settings

At first I was a little annoyed that so many people associated these necklaces with her, since it is clearly a style that has existed for hundreds (if not thousands) of years.  I felt a little jealous on behalf of the Georgian Era, since it deserves the credit for rocketing these necklaces into jewelry history.  Admittedly, I know I’m a little crazy when it comes to history and most people don’t think in terms of historic eras having feelings like I do.  Maybe I’m a bit obsessed J.   But then I thought about it, and you know what?  I don’t really care how or why people appreciate these, and I hope that a few of the people who visit my Etsy shop follow the link to my Georgian Jewelry pinterest board and see the many extant examples of these fabulous jewels.   Mostly I’m just glad that a trendsetter and style icon plucked these glorious necklaces from the obscure world of reenactors and costumers and historians and is bringing them to the forefront of modern fashion, because if anything, they deserve another era in the center of style!

So whether you find my shop by searching for “Anna Wintour Necklace” or “Georgian collet necklace,” I hope you’ll agree that they have a place in both historic costuming and modern fabulousness! 

Here are a few more Wintour Inspired Collet Necklaces available in my Etsy shop (there are many more- my stock changes constantly!)

And here are a few pictures of me, wearing my own layered necklaces, Anna Wintour-Style!

Pink, White, and Green layered Anna Wintour Necklaces

Layered 18x13 Anna Wintour Style Collet Necklaces

The Anna Wintour Look!

Anna Wintour Style Necklaces- all available in my Etsy shop!