DAY 7: The Dog Collar, Part I

Bertha Palmer's diamond dog collar, Chicago History Museum, ca 1910

Alix in her "Dagmar" pearl and diamond
Coronation collar, 1901

In posts about Alix, Princess of Wales, I've mentioned that she set a fashion in Victorian England for a particular type of necklace--the choker, or dog collar, that fitted closely around the neck. It's believed Alix bore a scar of some kind that no one except her personal maid and Bertie ever saw, because she was never in public without a high-fitting collar that hid most of her neck from view. Sometimes this was cloth--part of her gown--but usually, for evening occasions, it took the form of jewels. Of course, with a neck as long and slim as Alix's, the fashion was also exceedingly attractive. Not to say sexy. 

It was adopted by every woman who could afford the style, and for those who couldn't--even a velvet ribbon tied around the neck was provocative.

Particularly if the velvet ribbon served as a slide for diamonds. The central piece above could be removed, and worn as a brooch, which made it versatile.

Jennie owned very little jewelry of value; her father gave her a slim string of pearls on her engagement, and she was known for the seven-pointed diamond star her mother lent her--and then took back, to give to Jennie's little sister Leonie instead. But even Jennie took to wearing her pearls high on her neck, like a collar.

Here's Consuelo Vanderbilt Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough and Jennie's niece by marriage--the daughter of her childhood friend, Alva. She's dressed for Bertie and Alix's coronation in 1901, when Alix asked her to be one of her ladies-in-waiting, and being famed for her swanlike neck, Consuelo is of course wearing a diamond and pearl dog collar--one her father supposedly gave her as a wedding gift, along with her tiara. The Marlborough family jewels were greatly enhanced by Consuelo's contributions. (Jennie's nephew Sunny, the 9th Duke, married Consuelo for her fortune--reputed to be $100 million in 1895.)

Technical developments around 1900 in the jewelry industry--the refinement of platinum as a metal suitable for settings--revolutionized jewelry design. Platinum is light, flexible, yet strong, making it ideal for ethereal designs that characterized the transition from the Victorian to the Edwardian eras. Some examples, below.

For more images of people, places and fashion from THAT CHURCHILL WOMAN, visit the  Pinterest board behind the novel.