ALL CHOKED UP

by Amber on July 17, 2012

Chokers, bibs, and collar necklaces: I simply adore them. Sometimes my prominent collar bones make them drape oddly, but I don’t care. A well-made choker is always stunning.

Yesterday I scoured through more than 250 Etsy pages in search of some interesting specimens for a new treasury. The Etsy search for “choker” lists almost 75,000 items and…yep. Call me crazy, but I looked through all of them. There were hundreds I liked, but decided to share just a few here (including some of our own from TRV). I would have shared more, but I get picky about photography. Poor quality photos of nice items are so irritating.

I also cannot forget to mention that Tori found and bought the BEST choker of all time last year. It was an original Elsa Schiaparelli necklace from the 1940s. Be sure to check it out. Your eyes will be happy! I’ve never seen anything like it, and don’t expect to find its equal.

A collector in Canada is the proud owner now, and though we’re pleased that it is in the possession of someone who truly appreciates it, T and I miss it terribly! There are a few chokers on Etsy selling for over $40,000 and up—being encrusted with jewels and such—but I think the simple, artistic perfection of the Schiaparelli was better than all of them.

Now then, on to the neckwear!

Last but not least, my very favorite was actually a tie between two multi-color amber stone necklaces by Baltic Amber Palanga.

These two are not my favorite because they are made of amber. Despite sharing a name and coming from the country of my heritage (Lithuania), I usually wrinkle my nose at amber jewelry. That’s because most of what I’ve seen is either over-the-top gaudy, grandmotherly in a bad way, or just plain boring.

These two, however, have made the best use of amber stone I’ve ever seen. I can honestly say this is the first amber jewelry I’ve actually LIKED and would be thrilled to wear. Sooo pretty!