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 Few women
in history had such an impact on fashion as Georgiana, the Duchess
of Devonshire (1757-1806). Georgiana was born to the Spencer’s,
one of the wealthiest families in England, both then, and now.
At the age of sixteen, she was successfully married off to William
Cavendish, the 5th Duke of Devonshire. For both families, this
was a huge venture financially, but a very poor love match.
As a socialite
and active political campaigner (in a time when women’s
suffrage was still a century away), Georgiana used her power
and great beauty to her advantage. She was famous for her quick
wit and charm, entertaining many a guest with her political views
and her musical talents. She later mentioned to her daughter,
that her success in using her beauty to her advantage, had to
do with her fine-tuned ability at being gracious and approachable.
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full necklace, additional details & color palette...
Well known as
a fashion innovator, Georgiana delighted in the use of extravagance,
using her creativity as a “sixth sense” for fashion.
Jewelry of the time, for the wealthy, was usually made in sets,
also known as “suites” or “parures”. A fashionable
style of jewelry in the late 1700’s was called Cannetille
(ka-n-ti-i). This style of metalwork used a lacy, open filigree
that consisted of tightly woven, twisted gold wires. These gold
wires formed mesh, swirls, spirals and flourishes to embellish
and bezel fine stones for jewelry. The style was very labor intensive
but beautiful.
Georgiana’s
Suite is inspired by the Cannetille style of jewelry. The Suite
consists of a necklace made of a beaded mesh, created in Lattice
Weave (which is a variation on Netting and Right-Angle Weave),
embellished with flourishes created with Peyote stitch, Netting
and embellishing techniques. The ends of the mesh are softly
looped over one another to close the necklace. I use the lovely
dangling components again, by making a pair of earrings to complete
the suite. I think you will agree that Georgiana’s Suite
would catch the eye of any Duchess!
Skill level: Intermediate.
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