Need help identifying this "mystery clasp" choker

[meliseoz]

Hello! My last post here helped me identify a pair of pearl necklaces I inherited from my MIL and her mother, and this time, I've got a lovely thrift store find to identify!

I picked this cutie up at a thrift store today for $16. It has a "mystery clasp" that appears to be gold but hasn't been tested yet, there are 45 pearls measuring between 7mm and 7.5mm, and a total length of 14.5". The luster is good, with lovely peachy overtones.

I'd love to know if my two guesses are correct- that they are Akoya pearls of middling quality, and that the necklace dates to the 1990s or early 2000s. Whatever the case, it was a great find for the price and I absolutely love the short choker length. I'd also love to know what I can do about the slight kinking that's happening throughout, which is still visible when it's worn.

Thanks in advance for any answers!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Akoyas, yes, but maybe a decade or two older -- 1980s perhaps?--as cream colored pearls were more popular in the past.

The kinking is probably due to the silk having been tightly knotted. Silk eventually relaxes if the necklace is worn. To speed this up you could suspend the necklace from a hook and let gravity help.

 

[meliseoz]

Once again, thank you for the swift reply! I hadn't seen any examples of the "mystery clasp" that were older than 00s, but I can definitely see this being an 80s piece. I am currently wearing it and will continue to wear it, both to straighten it out and because it makes me feel a bit like Wilma Flintstone. Here's hoping the next thrift store pearl find is even more exciting!