Raymond Yard Natural Pearl Necklace

[Alison]

Hi, Alison,

Yes, let me take a look at them. I'm in San Francisco for the next few days, and it would be a pleasure to eyeball that strand.

Best,
Tom

Hi Tom,

I'd love to show them to you -- I will mouse around here to figure out how to send a private message, as I'm around Monday and Tuesday.

Best Regards,

Alison

 

[Alison]

Necklace Sold!

Necklace Sold!


I am very happy to report that yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. and Mrs. Tom Stern in San Francisco. It was wonderful to talk, rather than type, about pearls! Dr. Stern, who has handled pearls I can only dream about, bought the Raymond Yard necklace so I think that closes this particular thread.

I do have some other smaller pieces in the works, awaiting cert results, and I'm always on the lookout for antique natural pearl jewelry.

 

[GemGeek]

Congratulations to all! Thanks so much for the lovely photos.

 

[Caitlin]

I am glad you two got together. That sounds perfect to me. Good luck in your future endeavors.

I hope you continue to grace us with photos. Photos of natural pearls are very educational to all.

 

[AMc]

Congratulations on the sale- those pearls looked absolutely phenomenonal! I'm a day late and a buck short for the comment but... I'll throw in my 2c anyways

Definitely looking forward to seeing pictures of your other finds!

 

[Slraep]

According to this article in in JKC, all Raymond C. Yard pieces made between 1920-1950 have been documented. The natural pearl necklace in question should be identifiable either through the still existing company or a jewellery historian.

Clasps on Raymond C. Yard's natural pearl strands were usually made of platinum. Not something that wears out or breaks. So one has to wonder what really happened to the clasp.

"Kuzmanovic?s research allowed her access to original special order and stock jewelry books from Yard, detailing every piece ever made; 36,000 special orders, 10,000 stock pieces, including details of the metals used, the stones, the client names, and stock numbers."

http://www.jckonline.com/blog/1950000195/post/1320017132.html

Slraep

 

[Alison]

According to this article in in JKC, all Raymond C. Yard pieces made between 1920-1950 have been documented. The natural pearl necklace in question should be identifiable either through the still existing company or a jewellery historian.

Clasps on Raymond C. Yard's natural pearl strands were usually made of platinum. Not something that wears out or breaks. So one has to wonder what really happened to the clasp.

"Kuzmanovic?s research allowed her access to original special order and stock jewelry books from Yard, detailing every piece ever made; 36,000 special orders, 10,000 stock pieces, including details of the metals used, the stones, the client names, and stock numbers."

http://www.jckonline.com/blog/1950000195/post/1320017132.html

Slraep

Yes, it would be fascinating to find out. Ideally, if the records were set up in a database, you would be able to search by type of jewelry, number of pearls, etc.

There are many issues with antique jewelry that have nothing to do with workmanship or durability. For instance, there is FASHION and TASTE -- whether good or deplorable. Maybe you're too young to know this, but I distinctly recall from my childhood the distaste for anything old-fashioned and the mania for what we now see as cheap "moderne" styles. Examples abound, and not just in jewelry.

Furthermore, by the 1950s or even earlier, I believe the attitude toward pearls changed significantly, to "bigger is better," regardless of origin. Knowledge of natural pearls began to die out. A strand of big fat Japanese cultured pearls may have gotten a valuable clasp, and grandma's "small" pearls were stuck with a cheap one.

I'm not psychic and don't know what happened in the case of this necklace. But I do collect clasps as I find them, and you would be amazed at how they turn up -- e.g., a valuable antique clasp on pearls you wouldn't pay $5 for. As the saying goes, there is no accounting for taste.

(By the way, I am a member of the American Society of Jewelry Historians but I'm on the West Coast, so I did not attend the talk on Raymond Yard referenced in the JCK article, which was given in New York.)

 

[elisa]

I second everyone's request for pictures of whatever other pieces come your way!

 

[Alison]

I second everyone's request for pictures of whatever other pieces come your way!

Thanks, Elisa, to you & all for the encouragement! It will likely be two or three weeks before I get the certificates on some smaller natural pearl pieces I have.