
Meg Randell
Head of U.K. & Europe for Fashion and Handbags
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Sold for £16,640 inc. premium
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Head of U.K. & Europe for Fashion and Handbags

Specialist
Jacqueline Kennedy incorporated pearls into her everyday style and claimed that, 'pearls are always appropriate'. However, much of her jewellery, including her iconic three-strand pearls necklace, consisted of simulated pearls rather than natural ones, as she preferred their lustre.
Her choice to wear imitation pearls challenged the notion that jewellery had to be genuine to be meaningful or elegant. This made her 'look' more accessible to a broader audience, influencing a generation, and cementing her fashion icon status.
Provenance
Bonhams, Goodwood, Pioneers of Popular Culture, 15th August 2010, lot 211
Sotheby's New York, Jewelry From The Estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, 24th and 25th April 1996, lot 461.
The lot is sold with the Sotheby's presentation box, carrying pouch, original lot tags, and sale catalogue; Bonhams lot tags and sale catalogue; and two copy photographs of the First Lady wearing the necklace, including a shot of the First Couple and their daughter Caroline ahead of the 1959 official family Christmas Card.