Victorian Pearl and Gold Necklace

MUST - RESIST -BUYING - MORE - JEWELRY..........

Hah hah Hah! I truly, deeply commiserate in your (bound to be and soon to be) futile resolution. Hear my cynical laugh and note that resigned sighs fill the air too! But, truly, it's pretty amazing what wonders seem to be unfurling about that necklace of yours; may soon prove to be the buy of the year, in fact. Now I have a whole new category to add to that my list of impending acquisitions... sigh.
 
LOL! This IS fun! Yes, am really digging all the envy everybody! (my boyfriend for once said "Um, ANOTHER necklace?" so methinks it's time to slow down....... note I did NOT say "stop" however).

Hmmm, as to the periods...... yes, I knew about King George in THIS century of course (I'm Canadian too remember) but I've never heard that time period referred to as anything OTHER than Edwardian (the post Victorian era). By the way, I always found it SO confusing how they take another name when they become King (George's real name being Albert right? but Edward's name WAS Edward? WTF? I'd watch these movies about the Royal family with my mom and see the Queen mum talking with someone named Albert and be like "Huh? Who's that? Is that the one that gave us the throne?" "No, that's the King" "But I thought the king was named George" "He is" "But I thought that was her HUSBAND" "It IS! WATCH THE MOVIE!"

- Jodie -
 
LOL! This IS fun! yes, I knew about King George in THIS century of course (I'm Canadian too remember) but I've never heard that time period referred to as anything OTHER than Edwardian (the post Victorian era).

British India might be a better term, although that spans a wide timeline too. I'm not suggesting it's Indian for certain, only chances are high it might be.
 
You think, Dave? That's cool. I saw an exhibit of colonial British East-Indian jewellery at a museum a while back (sorry, no pics) and was quite awed by the workmanship though that collection had quite a few moghul inspired designs.

Jodie, you are a lucky bird!! And where are those silver tahitians, I'm still waiting.
 
British India might be a better term, although that spans a wide timeline too. I'm not suggesting it's Indian for certain, only chances are high it might be.

Ahhhh - I can see that, yeah! Yes, the chain with the pearls spaced on it in that "station" style is very late Victorian/Edwardian style I think. The heavily ornamented cross seems to be of an earlier period but of course it's always been fashionable to "refer" to earlier styes, right? I guess if the pearls are ocean as opposed to freshwater that would indicate that it isn't American at least. Although it could still be European....... Would the appraiser have to be a pearl expert to be able to tell exactly WHERE the pearls are from? (as far as freshwater, Akoya or white South Seas?)

This is turning out to be SO interesting, isn't it? It would be SO funny if it turned out to be costume jewellery! lol

- Jodie -
 
Jodie, the piece is gorgeous no matter what it is. Guess that is the point sometimes!

Just do a neck shot please when it is safely home with you...
 
Okay everybody - I got it! Wow. Wow. Wow! It's AMAZING! It's so delicate and well done, just incredible. Like, all the links on the chain are soldered for example - but it's so FINE. I went over it with a fine tooth comb with my loupe and uh, I think (I THINK) it's solid gold! Could see NO evidence of the gold worn off anywhere on the chain or any of the spots where the pearls attach etc (where you'd expect to see base metal show through), yet there are scratches in the gold from wear so....... And the links although small, are substantial if that makes sense. They're not FLAT. The only mark is that one on the ring holding the pendant to the chain that says "14K". The largest pearl drop is about 10mm long. The round pearl in the middle is 6x6mm. The tiny pearls in the chain are about 2-3mm to 4-5mm. The clasp has an early spring ring that still works great (so yeah, Edwardian I guess?) It sits right in the little hollow of the neck. Looks lovely (but I don't want to wear it until the appraiser looks at it and says all the pearls are solid - don't want to lose anything!) I finally called her - left a message.

Now for photos!!!!

- Jodie -
 
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Finally my phone works! It has a great camera but the colour is a bit off...... (had to sneak a pic of my engagement ring in there too - haven't started that thread for them yet! lol)
 
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Please excuse my ever-present tie-dyed hoodie....... hey, at least they're neck shots, right? I know we all love to see those!

Victorian pearl necklace9.jpgVictorian pearl necklace91.jpgVictorian pearl necklace93.jpg
 
Hi Mausketeer,

The necklace is Very Pretty and Dainty Nice find! Looking forward to hearing what you find out about its age and era.

Cheers

Ash
 
Really beautiful Jodie. It really dresses up the hoodie too :)
 
I'll echo all the comments below, really nice piece. (since you say it is marked 14k that means it isn't of UK origin - we say ct)
 
Really beautiful Jodie. It really dresses up the hoodie too :)

lol - well you know I save the Tahitians for when I walk the dog.......

Yeah, I'm hoping to see the same appraiser who looked at my old silver/pink diamond a few years back. She was great, I think she likes it when people bring in unique pieces....... she was pretty psyched about the colour of my diamond.

- Jodie -
 
Absolutely gorgeous! I love it, it looks amazing (yeah, the hoodie kind of adds something...) and THANK YOU for the neck shots!

A great find, and every bit as good as I had hoped it would be from your earlier posts (maybe better?). Congratulations.

Nice engagement ring, too .
 
Seriously can't wait to hear back from your appraiser! You must post every detail lol ;)
It is a fantastic piece, I am soooo jealous right now!
 
love the neck shots and love the ring :)

go on, jodie, do start that thread on that engagement ring and fill us in with details on its provenance (ahem, terminology learnt from the best on PG) and am sure many others will jump in and contribute.

more pics from all angles... woo hoo :p
 
Hmmm, as to the periods...... yes, I knew about King George in THIS century of course (I'm Canadian too remember) but I've never heard that time period referred to as anything OTHER than Edwardian (the post Victorian era). By the way, I always found it SO confusing how they take another name when they become King (George's real name being Albert right? but Edward's name WAS Edward? WTF? I'd watch these movies about the Royal family with my mom and see the Queen mum talking with someone named Albert and be like "Huh? Who's that? Is that the one that gave us the throne?" "No, that's the King" "But I thought the king was named George" "He is" "But I thought that was her HUSBAND" "It IS! WATCH THE MOVIE!"

- Jodie -

Hope you don't mind my replying late, Jodie, but I've only just joined the forum.

I'm no expert in jewellary, but know a bit about British history, if that helps?

A few Kings have changed their names when they take the throne - George VI was one of them. I'm heard it suggested, too, that Charles intends to be King Edward VI in the fullness of time, but I don't know if that's right. Edward VIII was always called "David" by his family, too!

There was certainly silver-plating in the 19th century, so I imagine there was gold plating, too. If it were an English necklace, it would be properly hallmarked, and more likely to be "ct", as others have said. And 14ct isn't that common a gold standard here, either, although it does exist. More likely to be either 9 ct or 18ct here, I reckon.

"Georgian" usually means from the start of King George I to the end of King William IV - William's reign wasn't long, and it was at the end of all those boring Georges, too. So it's often lumped in with them.

After Edwardian, I think you'd normally hear people talk about "inter-war", meaning 1918 - 1939, and "post-war" for 1945 to date. Roughly, anyway!

It is a lovely necklace. What did your appraiser say about it?

Amanda
 
Hi Jodie,

Just now saw this thread. I deal in antique/vintage jewelry. Your necklace is beautiful, and the price was excellent! It definitely appears to be solid 14K gold. I believe it is American, made around 1890-1900, and from the photos the pearls appear to be natural freshwater, almost certainly Mississippi River pearls. These pearls were used extensively in jewelry at that time. You can find photos of the pearlers at work in Kunz & Stevenson's 1908 book. Small Mississippi pearls can be found (usually as just dangles) in cheaper goldfilled jewery, but your necklace has pearls of good size combined with fine gold work, so is of a high grade.

For safely cleaning pearls and just about any other jewelry, check out www.thepearldoctor.com. My only connection with them is as a buyer. I think Jeremy from PP also recommended this in another thread. It's great stuff.

Trust you are enjoying wearing the necklace!
 
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