I have another find! It's two necklaces, but I am not sure if it's supposed to be worn together. I hope it's vintage, but I like it. Is it costume jewelry and is it old?
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They are pretty! Toggle clasps like are on here are newer in the jewelry world....I think they originated in the early to mid 1970s, which makes this piece vintage, but not antique.
Now that said, the beads could be older and were redone--but that would have taken a huge amount of work. Most really old (antique) beads were threaded on heavy strings and knotted between them. This made them quite secure and is why there are so many antique necklaces available in the wild! They were wellmade and well cared for! Yours have wire threading, which is also a 70s and on method for making jewelry. I used to use these type of beads quite a bit in the 70s and even into the 1980s. You could easily work them together with a small pliers and adjust the sizes and colors.
This could be a handmade piece or store-bought--that would be hard to tell unless the maker had a tag like you used to find on pieces (either etched into the clasp or a little tag embedded into the piece like Monet used to do).
A jeweler would need to tell you if the stones are semi precious or glass. I am leaning to glass because the toggle clasps are not super secure and most people (and companies) who made jewelry with semi precious and precious stones used much more secure clasping methods.
A jeweler can confirm for you, but my best figuring from a photo is 70s costume jewelry.
They are lovely and I am of the mind if you love it, wear and enjoy it...either together or separately.
Post back what you learn when you have the silver color parts tested--I am guessing stainless, but hopefully you will get good news and they will be silver.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you very much! I will follow through and post the update! So exciting! Thanks again!
These are the style of necklaces that were so popular in the 50s through the 70s and into the 80s when pullover sweaters were all the rage.
Sweaters were usually solid colors so you could wear all sorts of beads and some even hung all the way to waist or were 'double' to be a little shorter.
I believe yours are from the later years as most of the earlier styles usually had a lot of 'beads' and not too much other pieces.
Looking at the pictures, those silver colored beads don't look tarnished. That probably means that they are not really silver. Also, are the beads glass or plastic? You can tap them on your teeth to see, at least that is what my mother would always do. :) I doubt they are any type of stone because they are so clear and uniform.
Good luck and let us know what you find out. It's a pretty statement piece even if it isn't worth much.
I'd guess it is a newer piece. I have tons of jewellery from all eras, and this doesn't look 70s or 80s to me. However, that's just my opinion. I wonder if it is a piece from one of the upscale jewellery makers that used to have home parties. They had good quality pieces that were often designed to be worn separately or together for a more ornate look.
It is hard to tell from the pictures. It could be silver with semiprecious stones or costume.
Look for a mark that says sterling or 925. You can also bring it in to any jeweler.
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