Featured Strange fastening on necklace

I bought this to hopefully learn something. The beads are shell I think, the spring catch isn’t gold but I think the other bits are. They look older too, there’s hard brown wax inside holding the bead thread inside. Should there have been another string of beads there? It all looks a bit odd. Any thoughts please? Thanks.

 

It does look as though it was originally a 2 strand necklace.

I see some possibility it is coral. It depends on the look of the handful of beads that have some color to them. More pix, centered on pinky-orange beads?

 

When I bought them I hoped they were coral but they seem a bit too cold and haven’t got much surface variation, just a few pinky bits here and there. This is the best I can do with the pics lighting atm.

 

The largest bead is 1cm across.

 

After examining my largest coral piece, I like the blush on some of your beads for coral. Not sure what 'too cold' means. I cannot see them as stone.

 

My first thought was white coral too. Found some myself not long ago and promptly restrang the poor dears. I agree that something's missing.

 

Not stone, I’ve got some red corals and these ones just seem a bit colder in the hand also these look a bit rough in their shape especially the smaller ones so I assumed shell. I remember when I found some beads I thought were coral but correctly identified by you as conch.
I’m happy to be wrong, I’ve been looking for white/angel skin coral for some time, strange if I might have found some and not realised it!

 

They will have to be restrung as a single strand, would they need to be knotted? I’ve had a look at some others online, the beads all look round, mine aren’t and look a bit shoddy in comparison.

 

Is the brown wax an antique method of securing bead threads?

 

Probably pitch and not wax.Also known as Cutlers' pitch/resin.

 

They really do look like coral? Have you got a really good loupe to look close up to see if there are striations within the beads? Nice ends - wonder if you could string the coral with something alternating to make two strands? Or use the ends for something else and find a nice clasp for these?

 

It did seem odd if it was wax as that would likely soften in the recess on a hot day and would loosen the threads. Thank you.

 

I can’t see any striations looking at other strands online.
I’ll have a good loupe look tomorrow in daylight but really they don’t look to have any.
I’ve got a single 9ct tube clasp somewhere that I can use for these.
I wouldn’t know know what to do with these ends as I don’t have any cutlers pitch to secure the beads. Seems wrong to fill with modern glue?

 

There was a post about pitch glue a few months ago but I can’t remember who posted it! I remember there was a discussion about alternatives.

 

The two end pieces, that are alike, are from a hair pocket watch chain. They are likely to be victorian and of low carat gold. Like 8 or 9 carat. From what I can see they do not look like gold filled. Hair ages and frays and becomes ratty. I would imagine that whoever strung the beads recovered them and repurposed them.

 

I would, but that's my go-to.

 

Agree with @Gus Tuason and @Hollyblue.
This pitch-resin was used for hair jewellery and victorian Scottish stones inlays. Modern Indians use it too for snake chain's ends! I bought one in a little shop in India, the seller adapted the length of the chain and fixed the clasp that way in front of me!
To remove the clasp, just heat with a lighter and pull, the difficult part is to scrape the remaining residues inside.
I'm too with the white coral Id...

 

That’s why they looked odd to me, even if they had have had another strand of beads. Thank you. I bought them to learn and I certainly did.

 

Thank you, will do. My first white coral find too