'Just Like Heaven' Antique French Gold, Silver, and Moss Agate Belle Epoque Necklace

Oh la la!  This romantic French drop pendant was crafted in the true garland style of fin-de-siècle.  A delicate bow sits atop a wreath of floral vines, every petal and leaf set with faceted marcasite that catches the light like tiny sparks of light, with small green accent stones glowing at the center of each flower. Below, the design frames an oval moss agate cabochon in a warm gold-tone bezel, the pale stone threaded with mossy green and rust-coloured dendritic inclusions coming alive in the light.  No two pieces of moss agate look quite alike, so this one is genuinely one of a kind.  A fine chain completes the look, letting the pendant swing and catch light with movement.

This bow-and-garland style defines Belle Époque jewelry design (roughly 1890s–1914), when French jewelers turned from the weightier Victorian aesthetic toward ribbons, wreaths, and floral swags rendered in silver and sparkling marcasite. The piece carries a rare and distinctive French hallmark, a juxtaposed or mixed-punch hallmark, which consists of a split half boar's head, half eagle's head, which is the mark used by French customs assay offices for imported pieces combining two metals (here, silver and gold), confirming both its continental origin and its mixed-metal construction.  The eagle's head represents a minimum purity of 18-carat gold, while the boar's head represents a minimum purity of 800/1000 silver.