Featured Bead Necklace Education

First off
Thanks for the help with the re-sizer. It took a few tries to get it right and probably a few more posts before I'm good at it.

I found this necklace today in the haul with some more obvious pieces I was able identify.

Any education or links to learn more about this type of necklace would be great.

Thanks!!

 

Some close ups of the beads against a white background and of the latch open will be necessary to help. Do they look like or smell like amber?

 

Nice beads, Gab. They could be carnelian. But first, are they cold or warm to the touch? Any marks on the clasp?

 

I'm not sure what amber looks or smells like.
There are no marks I can see on the clasp
The beads feel cold to the touch.

 

That means amber is out of the question, so don't worry about the smell.
My vote is for carnelian. Pretty clasp.

 

What era would you say it is from and why? Sooo much to learn about in jewelry.

 

It looks 1960s to me, but could be later.

 

Much easier to see on the white background. I agree with AJ as to dating and material.

In the future a photo of the back of the clasp as well -- also checking, nothing written there?

It is nice that it is "hand knotted", usually means the beads are a little bit nicer.

As for dating, it has to do with style of the piece, length, kind of clasp, etc.

 

Correct on the back of the clasp nothing on the back.
Is there a source (book/website) other than here I could use to identify stones or is it just 20+ years of learning?

Not that I don't like learning from here. More like I would like the resources to learn and contribute

 

there is no one book...nor is there one web site.....
but there are many books and many web sites....and ya...it takes time to learn them all....
plus..there is no better teacher than hands on....

 

It does take time... not too many ways around that. "Hands on", also essential.

I have learned a lot here and on other sites, a great resource as well, is "Ebay completed". Will show you what sold what didn't and can sort from highest to lowest, etc. You could start with a certain maker, say Trifari. Also helps to have an eye for quality when out purchasing things, even with costume construction.

 

It is mostly years of learning and as the others said, handling stones. But this is a very informative site to do some research:
https://www.gemsociety.org/gemology/

And maybe there is a basic gem identification course you can take in your area, where you can see and handle actual stones.

 

Where are you located? Near a large city?
Look for a Lapidary shop, Bead shows, Jewelry shows,.

Find dealers willing to talk to you and explain

If you are able to travel there, you might want to look up the Tuscon jewelry show.
Some of it is wholesale only, some of it open to the public.

I've never been able to go, but hear it is fabulous.

https://jogsshow.com/
http://www.tucsongemshows.net/2019print.html

 

Agree wit AJ
Carnelian, I would have said a little later than 60s.

 

Wow this site is wonderful!

 

Im in Houston so there is probably a jewelry show sometime during the year.

 

This is a good place to start................. https://hgms.org/