Thank you everybody for your kind comments and suggestions!
This is what I originally had in mind for the pendant and strand... an elegant drop of a few millimeters below the strand. I like the formal look sometimes, but worn on a chain makes it more every day. I don't think I'd wear the pendant on a chain with the strand together, because they rarely follow the same arc, and they'd fight each other.
I might need to have a connector made, because I haven't seen anything that could work. Perhaps 2 small round rose gold links - one that fits through the pendant, and the other would connect to the strand. Maybe a rabbit ear clasp that would hook around the largest pearl. The simpler the better...