My newest reproduction Georgian collet Necklace

Recently I was lucky enough to attend my first ever Costume College, which is an annual gathering of costumers from around the world.  We spend three glorious days in lovely Southern CA talking about all things sewing, researching, and making.  It is paradise, and made even better by the multiple opportunities to wear our historic finery in an air-conditioned setting (all too rare for us reenactors!).

I wore a dress I'd worn many times before, but I did make a brand new necklace!

This double-strand collet necklace is based off of this wonderful portrait I recent came across:

 Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin by Georg Matthieu, c. 1774

I was utterly charmed by this portrait, and especially her unusual two strand collet necklace.  I had to have one for myself.  I whipped it together right before the ball, but I'm pleased with how it turned out!

My AMAZING hair was done for me by the lovely Jenny la Fleur!  She was kind enough to be my hairdresser AND my roommate, and she was superlative at both tasks!

Crosses in Regency Jewelry

When I first started researching Georgian jewelry, I couldn't help but notice how frequently cross pendants were featured.  They show up on originals, but also are regular guests in fashion plates:

Early 19th Century Pink Topaz cross, sold at Sotheby's

Elizabeth Monroe's Topaz cross pendant (1817-1825), Smithsonian

Given how common they were, I really wanted to have them as an option for my reproduction Regency jewelry.  I'm a big fan of trying to reproduce the most common types of jewelry, and crosses certainly qualify!

I was frustrated in my searching.  I couldn't find anything that had the right "look" and I didn't want to settle.  I found a few settings, but they were either too small or too big or were for square rhinestones, and the major thing I noticed is that the stones in the originals were almost always ovals or round.

Circa 1770 Georgian Paste cross pendant, Via Ebay

Finally, after exhaustive searching and emailing and researching, I found a company in Germany that makes settings for modern Swarovski jewelry and they made some settings for me in my requested size.  I'm always nervous when ordering custom made stuff because it doesn't always work out (ask me about the hundreds of unusable settings I have lingering around in my craft room...), but these were everything I hoped they would be!  I spilled the beans about these on my Facebook page earlier this week because I just couldn't wait!

Reproduction Georgian Cross Pendants by Dames a la Mode

A reproduction paste glass cross pendant hooked on to one of my collet necklaces

Some of the colors of reproduction Regency cross pendants I offer

I'm really thrilled with these, and I think they really capture the look of the cross pendants from the period.  What do you think?

Jane and Cassandra Austen's Topaz crosses, at Chawton House

19th Century faceted paste pendant, via Ebay

Circa 1830s Topaz cross, via Ebay

Circa 1830s Aquamarine cross, via Ebay

Amethyst Paste cross, circa 1780, via DB Gems

I'm planning on offering this mostly as custom orders and add-ons to my reproduction collet necklaces, but I've listed a few stand-alone cross pendants in my Etsy shop if you'd like to take a look: https://www.etsy.com/shop/damesalamode