Cheapside Hoard Necklace

The Cheapside Hoard is a collection of jewelry that was buried at 30-32 Cheapside Lane in London in the 1640's. It was discovered in 1912 when excavators were working in the basement of the building. The hoard includes hundreds of extraordinary and rare jewels from the Elizabethan and early Stuart periods. Because the jewels included in the hoard contained stones that would have been sourced from as far away as India, it sheds light on the international jewelry trade in London at the time. It also provides a unique glimpse into the fashion, wealth, and craftsmanship of the period. London in the 1640s was a place of both plague and civil unrest and war. Certainly, whoever buried these pieces was hoping to come back for them.