Choix, "Planche V: Bijoux: Colliers, diamants, rubis et émeraudes de taille classique"

This book, titled "Choix" (Choice), is the second of 800 copies that were published by Paul Iribe, a French illustrator, cartoonist, designer, decorator and art director, in 1930. Lamenting that French design had become "poor" and "americanized" in the years since the First World War, Iribe argues that the genius of French design lies in what he calls the "principe de l'arabesque" (principle of the arabesque). Facing the economic downturn of the 1930, Iribe is inviting his fellow French designers to choose to return to the "arabesque France" in design rather than to continue following the fashions imposed by the "cube Europe". To do so, after 31 pages with written text explaining his purpose, he presents seven plates of printed overlays over gold and silver board images depicting styles of the 1930's in home decor and fashion, as examples of industrial designs to illustrate the principle of the arabesque.

This plate, the fifth in the book, presents designs for two necklaces, all of them created on the silver board with smooth surfaces with lines over a slightly rougher background. The first one, placed on the upper part of the silver board, consists of a large star motif, placed to the front-left side of the neck, made up of a large round diamond and four triangular shapes made up of smaller round stones, possibly diamonds or pearls, and several strips of small round stones, possibly diamonds of pearls, some of them ending on a teardrop shaped stone, also possibly a diamond or a pearl, that wrap around the back of the neck and hang to its right, on the front of the wearer's chest. These hanging strips are linked to the star motif by a thin choker decorated with small baguette cut diamonds that wraps around the front of the neck.

The second necklace, on the bottom of the silver board, is made up of a strip of round pearls that wraps the back of the necklace, from which hang two strips of large precious stones over the chest of the weared: on the left, a lozenge cut ruby, a cushion cut ruby, a round cut ruby, and three princess-cut rubies of different sizes, separated from each other by small round stones, possibly pearls or diamonds; on the right, a lozenge cut emerald, an oval cut emerald, a traditionally cut emerald, and a teardrop-shaped emerald, separated from each other by small round stones, possibly pearls or diamonds. The two strips are held together, on the front of the wearer's neck, by a thin choker decorated with small baguette cut diamonds.

The emeralds are colored with green over the silver board and the rubies with red. The diamonds and pearls contain highlights executed with cream over the silver board. The overlay is printed with black everywhere except on the places where the necklaces are placed on the matching silver board, making the designs and the colors of the stones stand out.