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Press, 10 February 1981, Page 12

A silver dog’s head suspended from a chain.-neck-lace worn by a young friend at a recent gathering immediately attracted my attention. I learned that it was a pencil-holder originally forming part of a Victorian chatelaine. ■- V '■ Since then I - have noticed. other chatelaine pieces worn in the same way, a thimbje-case, a whistle, and a small, sil-ver-covered, aide-memoire with ivory leaves for jotting down those things to be remembered. These small objects, often in silver, are popular with young collectors. They make attractive' ornaments, and are good conversation starters. Chatelaine is a word whose meaning has never been quite clear in my mind, always being vaguely associated with rather grim-faced housekeepers like Mrs Danvers in the Laurence Olivier film version of “Rebecca.” My admiration for the dog’s head necklace prompted a search for a more accurate definition. The word was originally old French for a castle. In time it became a title con-