Grécourt Gates Sterling Necklace

Handmade by metal smiths in Santa Fe, New Mexico this custom sterling silver necklace features an image of the shield atop the Grécourt Gates in front of College Hall at Smith College. The pendant of the necklace is made using a process invented by the artists that applies the image directly onto the sterling silver. The image is then coated with a clear dome of jewelers resin that adds a subtle dimensional quality while protecting the image. A beautiful gift for a Smith alum or Smith student.

The finished artifact is our unique photographic expression in celebration of the meaning, beauty and culture found in everyday life. All of our work is handmade in our solar powered studio. - Everyday Artifact

Size: sterling bezel is 7/8" diameter

Length: 16" sterling chain and clasp

Price: $66.00

Member Price: $59.40

About the Grécourt Gates

The Grécourt Gates have stood as a symbolic entrance to Smith since their installation in 1924. Built in honor of the Smith College Relief Unit, the gates memorialize Smith graduates who went to France in 1917 to rebuild areas of Somme destroyed in World War I. In the midst of their work, the German army forced an evacuation that the unit helped organize.

The Unit remained through 1920, completing the rebuilding process before returning to the United States.  In 1919 the Union des Femmes de France (a French branch of the Red Cross) awarded the women the Medaille de Guerre in recognition of their work in the evacuation of March 1918, and in 1920 the French government awarded the Unit the silver medal of Reconnaissance.

In 1924, William Allan Neilson, Smith’s third president, erected the Grécourt Gates, so called because they are a replica of the gates of the Chateau at Grecourt where the Unit had its headquarters, to commemorate their efforts.