The necklace is mounted with hardstone mosaics of butterflies. They were probably made in the pietra dura workshops of Florence. They were perhaps purchased by a traveller doing the Grand Tour (a tour of continental Europe made by wealthy gentlemen, often to complete their education). It is believed that the panels were made into a necklace by a Parisian jeweller. The delicate festoons of chain linking the mosaic panels are typical of necklaces that were fashionable at the beginning of the 19th century.