A lavalier or lavaliere or lavalliere is an item of

jewelry Jewellery (British English, UK) or jewelry (American English, U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be at ...

consisting of a pendant, sometimes with one stone, pendulous and centered from a necklace. The style was popularized by the

Duchesse de la Vallière Duchesse (Duchesse satin) was a soft, heavy, and glossy satin cloth made in France. Weave Duchesse was produced with a satin weave with fine silk threads using a higher number of threads per square inch in the warp with at least seven floa ...

, a mistress of King

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of V ...

. A lavalier can be recognized most for its drop, usually consisting of a stone and/or a chandelier pendant, which is attached directly to the chain, not by a

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countrie ...

. According to Hans Nadelhoffer, ''Cartier: Jewelers Extraordinary'' (1984), p. 50: "Lavallière" is still the French name for a

pussy bow A lavallière, also called a pussycat bow or pussybow, is a style of neckwear worn with women's and girls' blouses and bodices. It is a bow tied at the neck, which has been likened to those sometimes put on "pussy cats". History While bows at th ...

. Later, the American collegiate fraternity system ("greeks") adopted a lavalier which contained the fraternity letters as part of or within the pendant to symbolize involvement in an ongoing romantic relationship. Women receiving these pendants were called "dropped," but may later enter a long-term relationship resulting in becoming "pinned" (woman receiving the man's fraternity pin to wear),

engaged An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be '' ...

and

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

References

Necklaces {{fashion-stub

See also

References