Amethyst After Hortense Necklace

Queen Hortense's sapphire and diamond necklace was stolen from the Louvre last year. Whether it still exists as a piece, or whether the stones were pulled and the setting destroyed, nobody knows. This is what gets built when that impulse toward structured, stone-forward jewelry runs through thread, glass, and amethyst instead.

The center stone is amethyst, a violet macrocrystalline quartz. Color in amethyst comes from iron substitution within the silicon lattice, activated by natural gamma irradiation during formation. This one is translucent with visible banding, which means the color is not uniform: it shifts across the face of the stone depending on angle and light source. Two oval amethyst stones anchor the base, flanking the center.

The framework uses the same continuous-strand construction as the rest of the After Hortense series. Green glass ginkgo-shaped beads sit at every junction. Dark purple and green strut beads carry a gold seed bead strand across the upper register. That strand is studded with round amethyst stones at intervals.

Wear it with a jewel-toned wrap dress or a deep green silk blouse. The gold strand reads best when the neckline gives it room across the collarbone, and the amethyst studs pick up any warm light in the room.

Construction Details

• Amethyst rectangular center stone, translucent, banded purple
• Two oval amethyst stones flanking center at base
• Round amethyst stones studding the gold seed bead strand
• Green glass ginkgo-shaped beads at framework junctions
• Dark purple and green strut beads supporting upper strand
• Gold glass seed bead strand, upper register
• Continuous strand threaded through framework at every crossing
• Nickel-free clasp closure