Featured Necklace Number Two- material, origin, age, value, please?

As warned, here is number two from friend's estate. I feel the blue beads are glass They are heavy, cold and clink on the teeth properly. But from where? The Brass (?) clasp is ornate, vintage and quite lovely, appears Victorian or Edwardian?Looks like silk threading. Approximate value? Thank you all!

 

Gorgeous
Is it imperial Glass? Bohemian? Opaque?
Ornate box clasp
Graduated
Choker?
I couldn't come up with anything that stellar

 

Is there some rule of thumb for knotting "better" beaded jewelry?

 

I've generally seen single strands with knotting and these multiple strands without, but that isn't set in stone, just from my personal, limited experience.

 

Stunning.
Knotted is usually better, but some very good bead necklaces are not knotted, and some relatively simple ones are. It also depends on the origin of the necklace.

 

Very striking! I love the clasp.

 

My guess would be 50s Czech, from the beads and the clasp and the stringing. The length of the shortest stand will give the game away when you measure it end to end including the clasp.

 

Love that color.

 

I need a clue for this clue, @evelyb30!
(what game?)

 

The 'Dating Game'.

 

Choker?

 

At the very least, this has been restrung by a non-professional. The other possibility is that a home crafter has married the beads and the vintage clasp. There should not be that gap between the top 2 strands & the lower 3. The largest beads do not look centered. There are many irregularities.

The beads look very heavy. If so, it would have been better to knot them against the high probability of a strand's eventually breaking. It also makes the strand more supple, the knots acting like joints.

Is the black grunge between beads something a fingernail can remove?

 

How Old Am I? The shorter the smallest strand, the older the necklace.

 

My problem with the mid century Mexican silver that I love. Gals of that period were petite compared to my generation and I’m not, so I always think it’s a score when I find a choker from that period that I can wear.

 

What's the shortest/oldest you've seen, @evelyb30?

 

I've heard of 12 inch "collar" pieces, as in Queen Alexandra, and handled 13-inch ones. Those were for adult women. They made size 3 and 4 rings in that era too; one that belonged to my umpty-great grandma goes over the first joint on my pinkie. There haven't been many small women in the family since!

 

A Victorian woman's neck would be aesthetically tiny (like their waists) and chokers were worn very high.

But remember that old trick to check your waist size (for levis, anyway) - if it fits'round your neck, it fits 'round your waist??

Victorian or Edwardian wouldn't wear such colorful beads - it's later bohemian, I agree

I think you're right, @Bronwen it does look like it's been restrung, maybe with all original, but the beads got a little misplaced.

 

If the strands were originally knotted, they would have been a bit longer. It's also possible some beads got lost in a break.

Never heard this, but take it to mean the circumference of your waist should be about double that of your neck? No one ever believes me when I tell them the length of your foot is the same as the length of your arm from the inside of your elbow to the inside of your wrist.

 

“If the waistline of the pant fits around your neck, it will fit around your waist”

The “Neck Trick”:
A quick way to see if jeans fit without (or before) trying them on. Place the waistline of the jeans around your neck. If the waistline comfortably meets at the back of your neck, then the jeans will fit.

 

Sorta amazed by this extensive study(!) conclusion, but we've been doing this since I can remember :

"Therefore, we concluded that there is a positive relationship between an individual’s neck circumference and his or her waist circumference.

Challenging the Myth: Neck = Waist?