Onyx 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. The inventory record is still there. The necklace is not.

The center stone is a square-cut black onyx: opaque, matte, and flat in a way that absorbs everything around it. No chatoyance, no refraction. Just mass. The two flanking ovals are shell, striated in cream and warm gray, with the translucent depth that only organic material carries.

The diagonal framework is gold-toned glass tube beads, with amber cube junctions at the intersections. Champagne glass leaf drops hang from the lower strand, catching light along their edges. The overall palette runs warm amber to cool gray, with the onyx anchoring the center in dead black. Wear it with camel, rust, or anything that wants a focal point it doesn't have to explain.

Construction

• Black onyx center stone, square cut, matte finish
• Shell ovals, 2, cream and warm gray striation, organic translucence
• Gold-toned glass tube diagonal framework
• Amber glass cube junction beads
• Champagne glass leaf drops, lower strand
• Gray/silver seed bead lower strand
• Nickel-free lobster claw clasp