Circa the Georgian era, this 14k gold chain would have been originally used with a fur muff, allowing a woman to wear it around her neck so that she could easily slide her hands into the muff to keep them warm, as was fashionable in the 1820’s. Today it makes a gorgeous and unique chain necklace. Each link is handmade, individually hand-hammered with a repoussé pattern of a four pointed star that textures the links beautifully. The texture of the repoussé gives the link a matte surface that creates a beautiful, warm, sensuous-looking chain. Every link connects to two other links, so the chain’s layers spiral luxuriously. The chain has an incredible barrel clasp with a motif of flowers much like a bouquet. The clasp is elegantly composed of flower parts used as design elements—flowers and vines crossed over into leaves. The inner layer of the clasp has a reddish patina that gives the gold a warm glow. Georgian muff chains are rare to find, and are highly sought after by antique jewelry collectors—for some it, is considered the holy grail. Muff chains are always long so that the muff could be worn at hand level; for contemporary use, their length makes them a great chain to wear long or doubled around the neck.
The chain is over 200 years old, but is in very good condition for a piece of this age. When we acquired the chain, the clasp was no longer functioning, so we had a jeweler add a barrel clasp with safety latch. We also had professional repairs made to a couple of links (it takes very close inspection to find the repaired links).
The chain is 37 3/4” long and 1/4” wide. It weighs 45.75 grams. The clasp measures 3/4” x 15/16”. Unmarked, but acid tests as 14k gold.
