Diamond necklaces, like other jewelry of the Georgia period, were handmade. These design period in jewelry occurred at the same time as the reign of the four English kings who gave their name to the period, namely about 1714 through 1830.
Diamond necklaces from this period reflected the desire to experiment with new designs, new metals, and new ways of cutting the diamonds. At the onset of the Georgian period, diamonds were the gemstone of choice, so diamond necklaces were very popular. The demand for diamond lookalikes was so strong that a whole industry grew up using paste, rock crystal, cut steel,and marcasite (iron pyrite) as substitutes for the real thing. Even royalty was not adverse to wearing the fakes, since they were so well done.
Diamond necklaces from the early Georgian period often used large stones set in an elaborate rococo style. This placed emphasis on shell like curves, the same as found in many of the buildings created in the style. Elsewhere it was also called Baroque, or even the French style. The main characteristics are the size, the arcs and curves, and further, asymmetric designs.
As Georgian period progressed, diamond necklaces moved from rococo to Gothic revival and on to neoclassical in architecture as well in jewelry. Not many pieces are found today in Georgian style. Knowledge of the appearance mostly is from portraits commissioned during the times.
A fairly consistent giveaway in detecting Georgian era diamond necklaces is often the way in which the diamonds are mounted. Today, diamonds are often set in open work but Georgian gems typically were set over silver or gold foil and the backs of the diamonds were enclosed in metal in the same way in which rhinestones typically are mounted today. In fact, foil backing in today's jewelry pieces nearly always indicates that the stone is fake.
Other common features of Georgian diamond necklaces included gold work that was flat and low, diamonds that were backed with foil, and bezel mounting. Often enameling of black and white or cobalt blue was used. Charles Pinchbeck, an English watchmaker created a zinc and copper alloy which was used as a substitute for gold.
During the years of the Georgian period, diamond cutters set their skills to producing exciting new gem cuts which were displayed in the diamond necklaces created by the artisans. The brilliant cuts, cushion cut and rose cut all found favor with the public.
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