Featured Deco faux coral necklace, Czech glass?

A chunky hitchhiker in a lot of coral necklaces. The beads resemble coral branch beads, but are not coral. They are cold, so I think glass. They are that lovely old coral, almost salmony colour you often see on Czech Art Deco pieces.
Length is 68 cm/ 26-27".
The beads are different sizes and shapes for a natural look, from boomerang and tilde shapes to small triangles and round beads. Most of the beads have 'rims' around the edges.
The clasp is goldplated with some wear to the plating.
The thread looks 1920s-30s, it is broken in two places, so it needs to be re-strung. Some beads were probably lost, but it is still quite a necklace.

Does anyone recognize the beads or style? Could it be Czech Art Deco?

Thanks for looking.

 

Exactly the color I love in real coral! This one is a good simulant

 

Me too! The other necklaces in the lot were the same gorgeous colour, but they were real coral and antique, with gold clasps. One has rolling pin beads, you probably know what I mean.

Thank you, kyra. I think it is very well made, not just any old fake.

 

That would fool many, it's excellent quality. I'd think Bohemian: that was where the serious craft was. It's in the style of late 19th to my eye, wouldn't surprise me if it was.

 

Thanks, obb. I agree, it looks quite convincing, they took such care to make and compose all those different shaped beads. It certainly fooled the seller, who put it in with a very nice coral necklace lot.
It has a Bohemian/Czech vibe, but I haven't been able to find anything like it yet. If it is late 19th century it would be Bohemian.

 

crazy. Makes you think it would be worth more than the coral. I've been looking at the repeated shapes to see how they would have been made and don't have a clue, other than to mold, cut, heat and tumble. There appear to be repetitive "hot dog" "boomerang" "notched boomerang" "chicken leg" "porkchop" and bead shapes, oh, and 'tilde' which doesn't fit my food descriptions but does seem appropo, so I'll accede to that. Who has that kind of expertise, and can do it profitably? goes with the Czech/boho vibe, no? Who would want to? Might be during a time when coral was starting becoming scare, maybe 'protected' so that real coral was becoming scarce? Maybe Experimental? from a factory that said "let's see if we can?"... NICE piece, and at first glance thought "AJ must've lost her marbles posting that one..." ooops. No she didn't.

[edit: the 'care' in choosing the perfect color too... another expert thing.]

 

similar in mix of color ingredients (flecks).
https://www.rubylane.com/item/529490-10266/Czech-Coral-Blue-Glass-Bead-Necklace?search=1 too shiny though.
[Ironically, that came up in a google search using "murano"]

My search is quickly coming to a dead end though.

another line of query: What 'trade route' would they have been most likely been sold in.

testing with vinegar reveals bubbles forming on the coral. (Fun fact learned along the way)

 

Off topic ... https://www.thisiscolossal.com/ oMG. this site is amazing... more specifically the art on that site.

 

Certainly is eye popping!

 

Woahh! I'd love to know how it is made, very inspiring for kyratisations

 

Really intriguing and pretty. Haven't seen one like that before.

 

Can't recall seeing these beads before, but believe you're right in thinking that they're probably 1920s-30s Czech, but think there's also a possibility of bit later, maybe '50s German. Regarding the manufacture, would have been press-molded and then fire-polished.

Looked through the Jargstorf books to see if there were any similar, but other than color, found none - did find two different new Czech 'branch coral' beads in darker colors and also found some German lentil beads in a similar color, with similar flat edges and small molding flaws.

https://www.beads.com.my/products/C...-Beads--Coral-Branch-shape--*Opaque-Red*/1036



https://www.etsy.com/sg-en/listing/605126252/coral-shape-beads-4mm-50-pressed-branch




https://beadparadise.com/products/vintage-german-glass-beads-ooral-orange-twisted-lentil





~Cheryl

 

Thanks Dawnno, for your comments and research.

Glass imitations of (semi)precious stones have been made for a couple of centuries, and became very popular when the middle classes could afford more jewellery, just not precious stones. So it wasn't the scarcity, but the cost for people who had money to spend, but not as much money as rich merchants and the nobility. This gave rise to the development of many new techniques and materials, especially in the 18th century.
You're absolutely right, getting colours right was one of the challenges in developing precious stone imitations. I am sure much thought also went into researching which shapes worked best together for a necklace like this one.

Loved the 'colossal' site, amazing art.

 

Thanks, Lucille. I was really surprised at all the different shapes, and they work.

 

Thanks, Cheryl.
Of course, the Germans also made glass beads, and many German Bohemians went to Germany after WWII, so that could be a possibility. The colour reminds me of Czech Art Deco pieces, and the thread looks like it could have that age as well.

I bought the Jargstorf book some time ago, when I first saw you mention it. It has already been really helpful, but I can't find anything resembling this in it either. My reading/researching skills are not up to scratch, but I did find a really red faux branch coral necklace on page 34, in the chapter on composition makers. That caption mentions "early 20th century through the 1930s".

 

Was hoping to show, but can't remember where I put, a necklace of glass faux coral beads that are the general shape of cross sections of branch coral, the right orangey-red, slight 'imperfections' here & there, &, most eye-fooling, what seem to be random little black spots on some of them. Some Australian (so beads maybe Chinese?) home crafter made a multistrand necklace I bought for the giant pendant, which is really a small wall plaque with a large cameo in a micromosaic frame.

 

If it ever surfaces (I know how elusive jewellery can be ), will you post it? I would love to see it.

 

Will be happy to, if it doesn't turn up so far in the future I've completely forgotten.

 

The 'Baubles, Buttons and Beads' book is my favorite, but she also wrote three other books with jewelry, 'Glass Beads from Europe', 'Glass in Jewelry', and 'Ethnic Jewelry' - looked through the all three of the glass books and of course found other coral color glass, but no beads like this. Suspect the new Czech beads of similar form strengthen yours also being Czech, since quite a bit of new production of pressed beads, buttons, etc. were based on old designs or done in old molds. Packed away somewhere, I have a small stash of smallish new Czech cabochons/stones, given to me by someone who made earrings, including some of the classic high-relief florals, know I have jade color, but can't recall if I have coral (I miss my stuff)...

~Cheryl

 

Here’s my more modern, judging from the clasp faux coral necklace. Strung on fishing line. Think mine is glass too but when I bought it I wasn’t sure.
~