Sautoir Necklace

Long fine chains are usually a disaster for me because the section at the back of my neck goes dull and blotchy within about a month. I have worn this daily since the end of February and every link is still the same bright gold from clasp to drop. I work behind a bar so it deals with sweat, steam, citrus, and endless handwashing over the course of a shift. I have never polished it or used a cleaning cloth on it, not one time. The bezels around the colored stones have not darkened either, which is where grime normally settles on a piece like this. A customer asked me last week where I got my fine gold necklace, which is a fair reaction after five months of that treatment.

My skin reacts to nickel fast, and a long necklace is the worst case because there is so much metal touching me all day. I bought this expecting to get a few hours out of it before the familiar red line showed up. Instead it has been on my neck nearly every day since March with nothing at all, including sleeping in it and wearing it damp after the shower. The drop rests against my chest for hours and there is no redness there either, which is usually a guaranteed spot for me. My daughter borrowed it for a weekend and she has the same problem, and she was fine too. It has quietly become the only long necklace I own that I can actually wear.

I put this on in February and it has been through every shower since, plus a fair amount of swimming. There were two beach trips where it was in salt water daily, and I swim laps at the pool twice a week with it on. I never take it off and I have never once dried it deliberately. The chain has not stiffened, the drop still moves freely, and none of the colored stones have gone cloudy or lifted in their settings. Even the clasp and extender at the back, which are permanently damp, still look and work exactly as they did new. For a piece this delicate looking, the way it handles constant water still catches me off guard.

The stones are lovely and the chain feels well made. The drop sits lower on me than the photos implied, so it needs the right neckline. I still wear it often.

It goes on at eight in the morning and comes off at eleven at night. There is never a point where I want it off.

Same rich tone it was in the spring with no reddish shift anywhere. Daily wear through heat, lotion and perfume. Nothing has affected the finish at all.