Choker necklaces were worn with traditional costume throughout the alpine regions of south Germany, Austria and Switzerland. They were originally used to hide the signs of goitre, a disfiguring disease caused by lack of iodine, which was endemic in the high Alps.

In Switzerland these necklaces, called Halsbätti, were usually made of loose chains of silver links, or beads imitating garnet or coral. The designs varied from valley to valley, but most had a three-part clasp, like this one, of silver-gilt filigree set with garnets. They were worn over a thin scarf of black silk. The name Halsbätti means a rosary worn on the neck, because the beads resembled rosary beads. It never had any religious meaning.

This necklace was described as German when it was acquired in 1872, but it is more characteristic of Swiss traditional jewellery. The filigree clasps worn with German and Austrian necklaces were quite different in shape. Although the clasp and the garnet-coloured beads are probably Swiss, the necklace itself may have been rethreaded. The little gilt beads are not typical, and an original Swiss Halsbätti would have had more filigree spacers or end plaques.