Vintage Rice Pearl Necklace - Value?

[mausketeer]

Hey everybody - I am thinking of buying these - can you give me your idea of the value? Vintage rice pearls, 14k gold clasp, 4 strand, 22 inches long. What do you think? (I'll tell you what they're being offered for after I get a few guesses as to value..... don't want to embarass myself if you think they're asking too much!)

Thanks!

- Jodie -

 

[robinmce]

I would say the value is whatever the clasp is worth. Notice that it is a triple strand clasp with only 2 rings used and a poorly finished stringing job..ie no gimp or bead tip..
Pretty clasp and the pearls appear to be the rice crispie frehwaters. I like them but they are not very expensive.

Robin

 

[Caitlin]

I didn't think those rice pearls happened until the 70's, they are the earliest Chinese cultured pearls.

The 70's vintage yet?

Also I notice the clasp was made for 3 strands though it is a nice clasp to my untrained eye. But that says it was not done professionally--or the third double strand has been removed.

Here's a LINK to a similar necklace-

 

[dkan 168]

I would buy it for the clasp alone if I like the clasp, definitely not for the pearls.

The clasp looks quite substantial, and the pearl looks quite nice, I would probably pay no more than 100 USD for the strand.

DK

 

[pattye]

I agree with the others, the value is in the clasp. It appears to have a safety bar also.

 

[mausketeer]

Boy, you guys are GOOD. I won't buy them then - lol. They're asking $140. I figured the clasp might be where the value was but wasn't sure if the pearls might be more valuable now than I had thought...... I had read something on here recently (don't recall which thread it was) about the rice pearls (the seller says she has had these since the '80's) and someone had said that they are collectable now. Thought they might be more valuable..... oh well..... thanks!

- Jodie -

 

[pattye]

Hi Jodie,

If you are "quite" interested anyway, you can always respectfully make them an offer--then you could have these pearls cleaned and restrung, and where the other two strands are missing, add either another shape and/or color pearl, or what first came to mind, would be add 2 strands of small faceted gemstones, your favorites, and it would make a really fun torsade--------

 

[dkan 168]

I believe I still have some unstrung rice pearls tucked away somewhere

Perhaps I should make a multi-strand twister for the retro look

DK

 

[pattye]

I believe I still have some unstrung rice pearls tucked away somewhere

yes, me too, but no fancy clasp, darn it! If the pearls have good lustre just pretend they are keishi, and style as such! I think they are great in torsades, since gems or other pearls can be added-----------and they don't have to be knotted-----

 

[knotty panda]

Hi Maus: Rice pearls have their own appeal, but as gems, well, I've never seen any gem quality rice pearls. Temporary strands of rice pearls (and I'm speculating on the sizes here) 4.5-5.5 MM are about $3US, which is why everyone is saying the value is in the clasp.

 

[Ashley]

Wow- I was going to say offer $50, maybe $70 at the most (it's the clasp that drives up the estimate)...

 

[dkan 168]

The rice pearls are a tad too yellow for my liking.

DK

 

[Valeria101]

Hard to believe that not too long ago... that's nearly all there was for 'cultured freshwater pearls'

 

[dkan 168]

Hard to believe that not too long ago... that's nearly all there was for 'cultured freshwater pearls'

Showing our age perhaps?!

I remember seeing Grease about 6 times in the cinema when it came out

I believe my first little book on beading used rice crispy pearls to illustrate how to string a strand a pearls

DK

 

[jerin]

I never would have believed that rice pearls ever can get a "Vintage" status?!

 

[Valeria101]

Showing our age perhaps?!

I remember seeing Grease about 6 times in the cinema when it came out

That movie was way confusing for a two year old

 

[dkan 168]

That movie was way confusing for a two year old

Awwww, you are still a youngster compare to me!

DK

 

[mausketeer]

I never would have believed that rice pearls ever can get a "Vintage" status?!

I think that the term "vintage" at this point is just a polite way to say "used" (I buy most of my jewelry and a lot of my clothing "vintage". I LOVE vintage sunglasses, beaded sweaters from the '50's etc). My friend, who would never in a million years own anything that anyone else has owned no matter what it is, always asks me when I acquire a "new" item: "Is that DEAD PERSON jewelry/clothing?". I say "Yes darling - I pried it out of her cold dead hands!"

I've noticed how much the word "antique" is bandied about now too. It USED to mean something was 100+ years old, now they're calling things from the '50's and '60's antiques! Sheesh......

PS: "Grease" rocked! Watched it with my friend's 12 year old daughter again recently - she LOVED it too! Next generation.....

- Jodie -

 

[lisa c]

Hi guys! I've bought rice krispy pearls from thrift stores a few times, just because I loved the luster.

Once I started reading on this site, and saw the magnificent pearls here, I started to regard the little krisps in a jaded way, until one night I caught a glimpse of many pin-point sparkles clustered at the end of my couch. These little pearls twinkle like crazy in subdued light!

I suppose that's because of all the krinkles catching the light at different angles. Anyway, I'm appreciating them in a whole new way, and feel delight when I wear them, knowing that there could be hundreds of tiny sparkles around my neck at any given moment.

I like even more that they were so inexpensive. Yea! thrift stores, especially Yea! for the ones that carry pearls and cashmere sweaters for cheap.

P.S. ACTUALLY, WHAT I WANT TO FINISH WITH IS, One night see if your little pearls twinkle at the end of the couch, in subdued light. I'd love to find out if they all twinkle, or just some.

 

[barbie biggs]

thrift stores

thrift stores

Dear Lisa:
You rock girl:
Your point about the thrift stores is well taken. High quality is great but many people cannot afford anything of high enough quality to have resale value.
I have a friend who purchases all her clothing (from dead people) in thrift stores and she always looks immaculate. She even found a set of perfectly round, real, peacock tahitians with amazing luster in a thrift store. She paid about $500.00 for them. (10mm to 12mm)
I once purchased an entire set of china, for 12, at an estate sale for $100.00. It's kind of nice to think that we are recycling good things and giving them a "second life" so to speak, instead of just adding to the landfill.

barbie