Featured Mystery Necklace

Picked this up last night at auction. It came in a mixed jewelry lot, but this was the only piece I was after.

despite its bronzy gold patina, it seems to test for silver (scratch stone & 18k acid). I obviously don’t want to file a bead to get a good test, because it clearly has a story.

32” continuous, graduated faceted beads and ….boy is it heavy! The beads are solid, drilled just big enough for them to be fitted on wires. A few wire links look newer, likely replaced. Most of the beads feature small stamped decorations, some of which appear somewhat Native American. A few beads do not have stampings.

US quarters in photos give you an idea of size

any ideas?

 

Following! I've never seen anything remotely similar and I'm a long time bead collector. Hopefully someone will know! It is cool.

 

It's ringing some very dim bells. I've seen similar somewhere, but bedarned if I know where.

 

Not really, but that doesn't matter.
32” / 81 cm is opera necklace length. Opera necklaces are associated with the 1920s, but they were also worn earlier. Not much help, but maybe the term will help as a search term.

 

i meant for size reference on the beads, not the necklace size. Although I guess if you’re not from the U.S., you might not have familiarity with the size of our pocket change

and I mistakenly typed 32”, it’s actually 36” in circumference

 

So did I.

That's why. Many of us aren't in the US. Many of our period jewellery people are in Europe, both the UK and Continental Europe.

Thanks, that is also opera length.

 

This piece is sure a mystery. I would have maybe thought it was a chain for something else, like some kind of bag or purse, but the fact that the beads are graduated seems intended for a necklace. It's pretty heavy, too. A real stumper.

I wonder if @evelyb30 has ever run across similar?

 

if you know it's length.....u must have a ruler or tape measure......
those are better than coins...

 

Yeah but…..metric system

 

A paperclip, a pen or a lighter? Those are items I generally use.

 

if u can do the conversion.....so can we !

plus.....international forum .... metric is well known here ...

 

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I'm 50.10 regular paperclips tall

 

I have actually said things like "giant paperclip" and "miniature lighter" as a joke in several threads. They were always normal size though, and people know what you mean.
Most of the time I also put the size, both in metric and in "awkward" to accomodate for users of both systems.

 

ahhhh....but how wide...... in lighters ????

 

That isn't very tall. Or it is, if you use the paperclips komo posted.

 

regular size , normal size............ get some rulers people!!

 

Our rulers are metric only. But I use this:
https://www.metric-conversions.org/metric-conversion-table.htm

 

Back to the beads - I am wondering if they might be cast from coin silver, and worn as a form of wealth. I cannot find exact comparisons, but I have found some similar shapes from India and Ethiopia -

https://beadparadise.com/products/large-silver-cornerless-cube-beads-from-india


https://www.thebeadchest.com/products/vintage-rectangular-ethiopian-silver-metal-beads

 

That's a great lead, 2Many.