Located in Northampton, MA
A devastatingly beautiful –and equally rare– strand of natural saltwater pearls measuring 43" in length and comprised of 239 off-round and near-round pearls which have been certified by the United Kingdom's Gem & Pearl Laboratory to be completely natural (uncultured) saltwater pearls. This exceedingly rare antique Edwardian-era necklace is finished with a petite (11.20mm x 6.36mm) platinum clasp set with three small, white old-mine diamonds encircled by an additional 20 single-cut diamonds. There is a safety chain and the pearls are still on their sturdy original string, which does not need to be replaced at this time.
Natural, non-nucleated pearls are rare. Necklaces composed of natural pearls have always been among the most prized of all jewels. Because of the ubiquity of cultured pearls, it's easy to forget that prior to the turn of the century, all pearls were natural and they were very difficult to come by. Which is why most natural pearl necklaces we encounter are 15" or 16" in length.
What sets this pearl necklace so far apart is its spectacular length of forty-three inches. That's just shy of 3 ½ feet of natural pearls. An extravagant luxury in any era.
The pearls are solid nacre so they are luminous and their beauty is ethereal. The pearls graduate in size from 1.9mm near the clasp to 6.5mm at the center. They are a golden-cream color and display iridescence (orient).
In the last image, you can see the pearls resting atop a black notebook...
Category
Early 1900s Unknown Edwardian Antique Old Mine Cut Beaded Necklaces
MaterialsDiamond, Natural Pearl, Platinum