Since the 18th century
Necklaces
and Rivières
The most famous necklace in history never reached the woman it was meant for. The Collier de la Reine, which shook the French court in 1785, had 647 diamonds and weighed around 2,800 carats. Marie-Antoinette never wore it. What became famous through it was a form that by then was already half a century old: a row of diamonds and nothing else.
Rivière and ligne necklaces from the MXHM atelier in Munich: continuous rows of brilliant-cut diamonds from around 4 to 24 carats, 40 to 50 cm, in 18 kt white, yellow or rose gold or 950 platinum. From 17,400 €, with no upper limit; every piece is made to order. The tool on this page works out form, stone size and length in advance.
Origin
Why it is called a rivière
Rivière is the French word for river. It means a necklace of stones of one kind, with no pendant, no ornament, no centrepiece. The stones are the whole piece, and that is precisely the definition: anything added would distract.
In the 18th century the form was at its height. The early pieces were not yet chains but individually set stones threaded onto a cord or a ribbon; only later were they linked to move together. What remained is the arrangement: the row in which every stone sits on its own and still belongs to the line. The tennis bracelet is built the same way today.
One detail tells a good deal about the history of the craft: Georgian necklaces were set in silver, not in gold. Silver is white and does not pull the colour of the diamonds towards yellow; white gold and platinum did not yet exist as jewellery metals. The price was unpleasant: silver tarnishes and stained skin and clothing. In 1767 the London jeweller James Cox had the idea of backing the settings with gold: white to the front, gold to the back. Two metals for a problem that one alone solves today.
Historically the term covers both forms, the row of equal-sized stones as well as the one that grows towards the centre. Because that is hard to keep apart when ordering, I call the first a ligne and the second a rivière.
The two forms
Ligne and rivière
A line is the same width throughout. A river widens towards the middle. That is exactly the difference, and it decides both effect and price.
Both drawings carry the same area of stone: the same carat weight, distributed differently. The sizes come from the same formula that works out the price below.
The same two forms on finished pieces.
The graduation costs more, and not because of the work. At the same total weight a rivière comes in around twenty to thirty per cent above a ligne at purchase. The reason lies in the price of diamonds itself: one carat spread across many small stones is considerably cheaper than the same carat in a few large ones. In a rivière, precisely those few large ones sit in the centre.
Then there is what you do not see. The stones have to match not only in colour and clarity but in their steps: every size needs its place, and between two neighbours there must be no jump. Assembling stones for that takes longer than the setting itself. Both are included in the calculation below.
The length
Four centimetres decide a great deal
40 cm sits close at the base of the neck and looks the most severe. 42 cm is the most common length; it lies just below. 45 cm falls on the collarbone and wears the most discreetly. 50 cm reaches into the décolleté, and can be doubled.
Two lengths worn together are not a compromise but an effect of their own. The picture shows it: the shorter row frames the neck, the longer one leads the eye downwards.
Unsure? A piece of string around your own neck is more accurate than any table. Lay it where the necklace should sit, and measure.
Your necklace
Form, size, length
Form
Stone Ø
Length
Quality
Metal
- Stones
- 127 brilliants
- Width at the neck
- 3.00 mm
- Total weight
- 12.70 ct
- 18 kt gold
- 31.2 g
Including VAT, calculated at the day's rate. Stone count and gold weight follow from stone size and length. Yellow and rose gold at the same price as white gold. The drawing is to scale: stone count, stone size and length match your selection exactly — it is a construction drawing, not a photograph.
Frequent questions
What I get asked about necklaces
- What is a rivière?
- A necklace of stones of one kind, with no pendant, no ornament, no centrepiece: the stones are the whole piece. Historically the term covers both forms, the row of equal-sized stones as well as the one that grows towards the centre. In today's trade rivière usually means the second. I call the first a ligne, so that when you order we both know what is meant.
- Ligne or rivière: what is the difference in price?
- At the same total weight the rivière costs considerably more, usually 20 to 30 per cent at purchase. The reason is not the work but the stones: one carat spread across many small stones is cheaper than the same carat in a few large ones. In a rivière the most expensive stones sit in the centre, and they also have to match one another in colour, clarity and graduation. That is the real work.
- Which length is right?
- 40 cm sits close at the base of the neck and looks the most severe. 42 cm is the most common length; it lies just below. 45 cm falls on the collarbone and wears the most discreetly. 50 cm reaches into the décolleté and can be doubled. If you are unsure, measure with a piece of string around your own neck; that is more accurate than any table.
- Why do I choose the stone diameter and not the carat weight?
- Because carat weight on its own says nothing about how the necklace will look. Ten carats over 40 centimetres make a noticeably broader line than ten carats over 50. What you see on the neck is the width of the row, and that depends on the diameter of the individual stone. The total weight follows from it and is shown alongside.
- How much does such a necklace weigh?
- Between roughly 17 and 50 grams, depending on stone size and length. That sounds like a lot, but it is spread along the whole length of the neck. What decides comfort is not the weight but the movement: a necklace whose links run cleanly lies against the neck and presses nowhere.
- Why were old necklaces set in silver?
- Because silver is white and does not pull the colour of the diamonds towards yellow; white gold and platinum did not yet exist as jewellery metals in the 18th century. The price was high: silver tarnishes and stained skin and clothing. In 1767 the London jeweller James Cox found the solution of backing the silver with gold. Today one metal does both.
- Do I get certificates?
- For a ligne with 120 to 180 small stones, individual certificates are neither customary nor useful; you receive a written confirmation of number, total weight, colour and clarity. For a rivière, GIA reports come with the large centre stones: where the value is concentrated, the documentation belongs with it.
- Can I have the necklace altered later?
- A ligne can be shortened and lengthened; a link is removed or added. With a rivière that is not so simple, because every position has its own stone size, and there a shortening changes the whole graduation.
From recent years
What else is possible
Ligne and rivière are the two forms that can be priced in advance. I have built a great deal more: Y shapes, necklaces with a centrepiece, fancy cuts, multi-row collars, colour instead of white. These pieces came about because someone arrived with an idea.
Your idea
Tell me about it
If you have seen something that stays with you, at an auction, in a museum, on someone, in an old photograph, bring it along. A screenshot is enough. From there on it is my job.
That can go in two directions. Sometimes the right thing is an antique piece, and then my work is searching: I know where such necklaces surface, which auctions are worth it, and how to tell whether a piece is original or was altered later. Sometimes the right thing is a new piece, because what you are looking for does not exist in that form, or because it is meant for your neck and not for that of a stranger from 1890.
I am glad to do either, and both begin with a conversation. The same goes for coloured stones: a necklace entirely of rubies, sapphires or emeralds, or the mixture in which colour and diamond alternate. There everything depends on whether enough stones can be found that match one another. That is the real work on a coloured-stone necklace, and it takes time.
Enquiry
Your necklace
Let's talk
Every piece begins with a conversation
A first conversation is free of obligation and entirely confidential. In Munich, wherever you are, or online. No catalogue, no sales team.