Crosses are the most distinctive element in French traditional jewellery. Every French woman had one. They usually wore them on a black velvet ribbon, fastened tightly round the neck like a choker, with a slide at the front. The ribbon passes through the bale of the cross, and is then threaded through a hole or loop at the base of the slide, and out at either side. The ribbon is tied in a bow at the back of the neck.

Normandy has the greatest variety of crosses, some so elaborate as to be almost unrecognisable. The croix de Saint-Lô, also called a croix quadrille from its lozenge shape, has a cast openwork frame decorated with five conical mounts set with rock crystals, with smaller stones set around them. It is the earliest of the characteristic Normandy crosses to have stones.

Croix de Saint-Lô were usually made of silver in the 19th century. Gold ones, like this, are usually from the 18th or very early 19th century. They were originally always worn with a matching slide, but these are often lost. The slide on this cross was made in Normandy in the early 19th century, but does not match the cross precisely, and was made by a different maker.