Large Antique Choker

[hannah]

Good day everyone, great to be here! The choker below contains some very large pearls. It does not appear to be cultured since pearl size diameter in the 1950’s to 1970’s for cultured pearls was between 4mm to 6mm. A pearl necklace from that period with large pearls could not be cultured. In addition, after some research I found out that there is possibility that the necklace is from the Georgian era. It also passed "The Tooth Test." Can one of the experts on here give me some further information about this necklace? I would greatly appreciate that. Thank you!

 

[GemGeek]

Welcome. They appear to be artificial pearls, which have been around for a very long time.

 

[pattye]

Hannah, welcome!

Thank you for sharing your necklace here. If you look closely at the area around the holes with a magnifying glass or loupe, you will see some peeling and chipping of the outer layer of pearlized material; perhaps also on other pearls, too. Underneath you will likely find a glass bead. Imitation pearls from that time were often individually knotted, fairly expensive and given as gifts for special occasions.

It's difficult to tell from the photos if the beads would survive a gentle washing.

 

[hannah]

Thank you so much for the replies! I was under the delusion that they were any good. The surface contains dimples and brown spots which tell that they are old and artificial from that era. In addition, in the image below, the pearls are not perfectly round and that was one of the things that made me believe it was something more. Thank you very much! - Hannah

 

[GemGeek]

I like your optimism and the thought you put into researching them. They were probably expensive at the time they were made. Some people like to collect vintage and antique imitation pearls.