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Dear Peter, a great find. There is a picture of a similar choker on p.99 of Heather Colyer Ross's book 'The Art of Bedouin Jewellery' but yours is a much better and more complete example. She has her own opinion about the origin of the style pointing to the influence of Persia spread by Alexander the Great but later says ' It is a traditional style and there is no way of knowing exactly when and where it originated.' So it could be Yemen!
Many thanks for your comments. The neighboring Yemen and Oman have influenced the Saudi jewelry tremendously. Also, since Muslims from around the world visit Saudi Arabia - Mecca and Medina - on Haj and Omrah, there are many jewelry stiles entering the country. Sometimes, pilgrims are selling their jewelry to finance their stay in the kingdom. This explains the many foreign influences in the Saudi jewelry. Yesterday, I had to convince a seller that he is offering me a Turkoman and not a Saudi piece... Also, the Bedouins are crossing borders and automatically adopt other countries designs in clothing and jewelry.
I went this morning on my monthly visit to our Maharaja by Vineet Restaurant in Riyadh and visited the Souk al Zal (how could I resist...). I bought some nice pieces - 2 Omani bracelets (very old and rare) and 1 very nice and special Saudi Rashaideh head decoration (I will post photos shortly). Unfortunately, good pieces are scarce here and one really has to dig... Anyhow, I left my contact details with several sellers, in order for them to contact me if they come across an interesting piece (this is my way of getting special pieces). With kind regards. Peter