Vintage Akoya Pearl Necklace with Antique Diamond & Ruby Clasp, c. 1960/1910

It was a great sensation when the Japanese entrepreneur Mikimoto succeeded in cultivating saltwater pearls on a large scale in the early 1920s. Until then, pearl necklaces had to be made from naturally grown pearls, which were about as expensive as diamonds of the same size. It was the invention of the cultured pearl that made pearl jewelry affordable for a wider audience and triggered a great fashion that has lasted to this day. The piece of jewelry presented here strings a total of 81 Akoya cultured pearls in a graduated pattern to create a beautiful necklace. The cream-colored pearls have a very good lustre and shimmer in all colors of the rainbow with a predominant shade of pink. The pearls have a very good, round shape and surface. Matching the color scheme of cream and pink, the necklace can be worn with a richly trimmed clasp. On the elongated clasp, an old-cut diamond is joined by two natural and untreated rubies from Burma. The clasp with the platinum front and the fine millegrains was created around 1910, before the invention of the cultured pearl; the pearls were added a few decades later. We have had the necklace restrung and knotted so that it can now be worn again.

Estimate:$2,459.28

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