Verdura Rose Quartz and Cultured South Sea Pearl "Raja" Necklace

After the monumental jewelry exhibition at the Palais Galliera, Georges Fouquet identified "the great white silence" of the Art Deco. His remarks coincided with the beginnings of a new period of expressive color in jewelry design, led by members of the avant garde in small studios, art and couture. Among them was Fulco, Duke of Verdura, an early enthusiast for the return of color who began designing Byzantine-inspired jewlery in the 1930s while working with Coco Chanel in Paris. The Duke explored the use of all manner of forms of quartz to supply the hues for the sophisticated palette that characterizes his creations. One of his early works incorporating gem beads was his oversize brooch of tumbled pink quartz and aquamarine beads for Mrs. Fairfax Potter, later Lady Rothschild. As a witty objet d'art, he created a cigarette holder in precious materials using rose quartz to evoke a lipstick stained filter. The Duke loved quartz in all its forms, including milk chalcedony, red carnelian, and striped jasper, as well as moss agate, which he used to create "paesini" or little lanscapes in the Renaissance tradition.