This faux pearl and rhinestone choker necklace with its large tassel is an exceptional example of Cadoro jewelry. This piece is hard to determine age as it looks brand spanking new! Due to its style we are leaning toward circa 1970s. The faux pearl and alternating gold-tone bead choker circumference is 13 inches with the incredible 5 inch long gold-tone, pearl and rhinestone tassel hanging from it by a gorgeous gold-tone and rhinestone one inch link. The tassel itself consists of 1.75 x 1.25 inch gold-tone and rhinestone “acorn” with nine alternating pearl and gold-tone bead strands cascading from the “acorn”. The wonderful gold-tone and rhinestone button clasp is 5/8 inch in diameter, the simulated pearls of the choker are 1/4 inch and the tassel pearls are 3/8 inch and there is a small rhinestone rondel before it ends with a 1/4 inch pearl and a final gold-tone seed bead. It is signed inside the “acorn” CADORO ©. This choker necklace is magnificent and truly makes a statement.
CADORO © was founded in 1954 by Steven Stuart Brody (a former actor) and his close friend Daniel Stoenescu. Stoenescu passed sometime in the 1970’s and the company ceased operations in 1987 upon the retirement of Brody. Cadoro was launched on Fifth Avenue and sold by Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. They were known for inventive fashionable jewelry. Their motto was “Famous Jewellery to the Rich and Famous!” Their jewelry was owned by the likes of the Duchess of Windsor and Barbara Streisand. It should also be noted that each piece was handmade and in a very small series and that pieces from Cadoro are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. In 1970 Brody and Stoenescu won a special Coty award along with a group of other costume jewelry designers.
