She was called in several ways: Swan (for a famous image taken by Richard Avedon and sold by Christie’s for £ 12,500). But also the last italian princess. Marella Agnelli, who passed away in February 2019, wife of Gianni Agnelli, was also passionate about art and jewelry. In particular, he loved a necklace purchased in 1955 from the Indian Maison Gem Palace, located in Jaipur. Now Sanjay Kasliwal, creative director and member of the eight-generation family of jewelers who owns Gem Palace, has created two necklaces made with period gems: two jewels inspired by the necklace created for Marella Agnelli, considered a style icon.
The two jewels were therefore named, in honor of the consort of the largest shareholder of Fiat, with the name of The Last Swan Necklace. The necklaces are made with nine interwoven strands of emeralds, rubies and pearls. Many come from the same stock of gems used to make the original Marella Agnelli necklace. The vintage pearls from the original Agnelli lot were discovered last year in a sealed box at Gem Palace, jeweler of Maharaja, Hollywood star and European nobility.
The two necklaces were handmade using the remaining stones and drawing inspiration from the original design. The first necklace has 16 carats of diamonds, 1,826 carats of rubies, 626 carats of emeralds and 160 carats of pearls. The second has 15 carats of diamonds, 2,530 carats of rubies, 534 carats of emeralds and 163 carats of pearls. The two necklaces will be sold separately: one in the Jaipur location and one in the New York store. Price: about $ 80,000.
The Gem Palace necklace was one of Marella’s favorites. Considered one of the most elegant women in the world, Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto was born in Florence from a family of the ancient Neapolitan aristocracy, and as a girl she lived in different countries of Europe following the diplomatic father, Filippo Caracciolo di Castagneto. Her mother, Margaret Clarke, instead was American.
