Christmas essentials - JEWELLERY

When it comes to gems, olden is usually golden

'Tis the season to sparkle - and if you want to glitter with a one-off, auction house Christie's has a gem of an offer for Christmas.

A set of pearls once belonging to the luckless Marie Antoinette and now part of a diamond, ruby and pearl necklace, will go under the hammer on December 12. valetine's Day rings  

France's last queen gave a bag of pearls and diamonds to a friend - the British ambassador's wife, Elizabeth, Lady Sutherland - for safekeeping.

When French revolutionaries arrested the royal couple in 1792, Lady Sutherland fled to England. A year later Marie Antoinette met her end, so the jewels were never reclaimed. Links of London friendship

More than 50 years later, the pearls were mounted on a necklace to celebrate the marriage of Lady Sutherland's grandson.

It has been in the same family ever since, and Christie's expects the necklace to go for more than $900,000 at its London auction.

Although if that's a bit over the top, Melbourne jeweller Rutherford Fine Jewellery still advises to stay with classic styles. I Charm

Spokeswoman and pearl specialist Ruth Close says antique and classical jewellery always sell well.

"These pieces will tend to be kept for longer. Good antique jewellery has stayed the test of time," she says.

"Art deco designs are very strong. A fine pearl necklace will never date. High-fashion jewellery tends to be very in or out." valetine's Day gifts 

Christmas is a time when earrings, necklaces and bracelets feature strongly as gifts.

"Often these are bought to complement a ring, or to continue to match other jewellery that a woman has," says Close. "These are pieces that men can buy and surprise the woman in their life by continuing a style theme."