Featured Monet pearl? necklace

Picked this up the other day at a thrift store- has a Monet tag, but no other marks. The pearls vary in size from about 6mm to 11mm for the largest. They also vary in shape but generally I'd describe them as sort of like lentils or corn kernels - roundish, with flatter edges(considered "baroque"?). I'm fairly certain they aren't fake - at least not plastic - they feel weightier than plastic would and to me they feel rough against my tooth. Against a dark background they look almost white, against a white background they are almost more of an ivory color - they do have some iridescence/glow to them.

Real pearls? Also I poked around a bit and I know Monet started making costume jewelry in the late 30's - any idea when this one is from? Thanks! First pic is inside under LED lighting hanging on a black vase - others are outside/sunlight/shade.

~

 

The shape is a coin pearl. I doubt they're real: don't think Monet ever use real. But they are good quality. 1980s or a bit earlier.

 

Certain to be costume jewelry. Agree contemporary. With a bit of internet research on logo, you should be able to narrow date.

Debora

 

Just poked around a bit and found here:

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Monet-Jewelry-Buying-Guide-/10000000178723197/g.html

- that a copyright symbol was added to the logo in 1955 - so this should be before 1955 - but I don't know if that was done universally.

 

Here's more information on the history of MONET jewelry marks.

http://thejewelryhoarder.blogspot.com

Debora

 

Being able to see the clasp would be a big help.

 

Thanks Debora! looking down that list of marks - looks like all the post 1955's have the copyright symbol, except perhaps the most recent late 90's one. Still not 100% sure that puts mine pre-1955 but guess I'm leaning that way.

 

Next question - how long is the shortest chain? The shorter it is, the older it is, generally speaking.

 

The top strand of pearls is 6 1/2".

 

6 1/2 inches....is a bracelet !

Oh....BTW....the pearls are wonderful !!!!

 

I may have misguided you - 6 1/2" is from one ring to the other where they connect to the larger pieces that would go around the neck. Overall it's 15".

 

The plot thickens - hadn't really looked too closely at the clasp -



Looks like the small chain with the Monet tag is just hooked on with a spring ring clasp. The main chain has a lobster clasp. Maybe someone just added the Monet tag on?

 

Exactly. The Monet bit is an extender chain purchased separately. The rest hasn't a thing to do with Monet and isn't more than 20 years old. Those lobster clasps started turning up in the 90s, at least in any quantity. They were around earlier, but the shape and size were different. The pearls may be real freshwaters, since by the time this was made the Chinese ones were often as cheap as good glass pearls.

 

Thank you for your help - I am a novice at pearls but they do seem genuine to me.

 

I have a sterling lobster clasp...
& I understood that cultured pearls, only became more rounded and consistent in later years.......are these considered cultured ?

 

I think you're on to something here......the Monet does look added......as does the lobster..!

 

Lobster clasps come in gold, silver, brass, etc. These pearls are what are called "coin" pearls, no matter the age. They're round and flat. The term "cultured" refers to the way the pearls are grown, and has nothing whatever to do with the shape. They can be round, half round, stick, oddball, etc, and come dyed all sorts of colors. The cheap ones are the freshwater pearls; the nacre is often incredibly thin and can scratch off with a dirty look. Cultured saltwater pearls were the standard for a lot of years. Most of those are Japanese, or were.

 

I have a few sterling lobster clasps too on some other pieces - this one definitely isn't sterling though, sticks right to my strong magnet. Chain is non magnetic.

 

There's a spring in the clasp; that's the magnetic part. The chain is probably nickel, brass, or some other alloy.

 

I need to get some better pics of the pearls - Some are "flat"-ish - others are almost roughly spherical. But I agree - probably freshwater pearls - somewhat recent.