Choker

Also known as a collier de chien (literally, dog collar). It can be a string of river pearls or glass beads, or even a passementerie of embroidered velvet, with a jewelled pin, worn tight around the throat. It may derive from the red ribbon displayed by French women whose husbands had been guillotined during the revolution. Very trendy at the end of the 1800s and in the early 1900s, it was an absolute necessity in the wardrobes of ladies who were no longer young. It came back in fashion in the early 1970s as an alternative piece of jewellery. In Florence, it is still possible to find very beautiful and differently shaped hand-made models with glass beads.