Necklaces — styles you will see at the showroom.

What to look at

In a line necklace the value is not in any single stone but in how well the row is matched: colour, size and cut stepping evenly from the clasp to the centre. Lay it on the dark counter cloth and look along the row from one end; a stone that is a shade off shows up immediately from that angle and never from above.

Then pick it up and check the clasp and the safety catch, because that is what fails. A line of set stones should flex smoothly and lie flat around a curve rather than twisting — a piece that fights you on the counter will do the same on a collarbone.