The Mysterious Sautoir
Art Deco Sautoir From Christies
Was at Borders the other day and came across an article in an Italian fashion mag about the Sautoir. The article had great pictures and a history of the Sautoir (sorry can’t find a web link). Why didn’t I bring the magazine home you ask? Well, I got a phone call, got sidetracked, left the book store and didn’t think about Sautoirs again for a few days, when suddenly . . . omg Sautoirs! . . . elegant, architectural, graceful, classic, striking without being over the top.
But what exactly is a Sautoir? Definitions are usually: a long necklace, can be a rope of pearls, a chain, beads—first made popular in Edwardian days and also in the “flapper” era. But the Sautoirs pictured in the article were particularly interesting as they were chains that dropped from a “V” shape to a pendant of some sort.
An amazing performer and great lady.
Today there seems to be a wide range of what are called Sautoirs, although to me they should be more than just a long necklace, as some describe. But anyway, now I’m totally intrigued and, dare I say, rather obsessed — so I will be designing and creating a few for the shop.
Posted: January 30th, 2009 under Necklaces.
Comments
Comment from rochambeau
January 31, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Hi Kathryne,
Welcome to bloglandia!
Thank you for the invitation to come visit.
Your work is spectacular!
Constance
Comment from kathryne
February 2, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Thank you Colette and Constance! And yes it would be fascinating to know how word “jump” managed to eventually describe a long necklace. Since I’ve been looking into this I also discovered that “sautoir” can also mean a copper saucepan!
Comment from Valerie
August 4, 2009 at 2:05 pm
The woman in the photograph above Josephine Baker is Louise Brooks.
She was FAB!
Comment from Colette Copeland
January 31, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Bonjour! thank you for your invitation to see your beautiful jewelry.
You also made me think.
Sautoir still means “chain”, i.e. sautoir de perles, but I’ve never actually thought of the origin of the term before — it comes from sauter: to jump. I wonder how it migrated to mean long necklaces.