Featured Lobster Claw Clasps How Old?

Hi All,
How long have lobster claw clasps been around? Are they old or fairly new? New within the last 20 years?
I'm asking because of this amber and sterling piece (925 mark) - sorry, no photo of the mark, it just says 925. They don't have a blacklight and I'm not close enough to lend mine so the amber can't be checked that way.
This isn't mine, just asking for a friend.
any information appreciated
thanks for looking

 

The clasp has been around since the late 1950's.

 

CX, they're relatively new - but not just 20 years new...

I found this article that explains:

Lobster Claw

The Lobster Claw Clasp is probably the most commonly used in jewelry today due to its ease of use and unobtrusive size. It is a variation on the Spring Ring Clasp but with an elongated shape. Also known as Lobster Clasps, these work by using a finger to pull down on the lever along the side of the clasp long enough to hook it into an opposing ring, It got its name from its shape and the pinch-like action it takes to clasp it.

The history of this clasp is a storied one. Most Vintage & Antique Jewelry sources agree that Cartier introduced the teardrop style clasp in the late 1950's. It was later in the 1960's, when Italian gold became so popular in the US, that Americans were introduced to the more rectangular Lobster Clasp on a wide scale. Then, after 1990 it became more widely used on all jewelry regardless of country of origin.

The most common forms of the Lobster Claw Clasp (AKA Lobster Clasp) are the rectangular and tear-drop shapes:



Variations on a Theme

There are probably as many variations on the lobster clasp as there are people making them. You may want a shape that works more fluidly with your overall design, that can be done, there are some stock shapes currently being created by Findings Manufacturers:



from:
http://lustigjewelers.blogspot.com/2015/02/lustigs-jewelry-glossary-findings.html

 

thank-you Hollyblue and SBSVC so maybe the bracelet has some age to it?

 

CX, something about those beads makes me think newer, but I'm sure someone else here will know better than I. (I think it's very pretty.)

 

I'm with you SBSVC, I think newer too I don't think the amber looks right and I'm suspect on it being silver - hope I'm wrong.

 

There's something about the look of the ring the clasp attaches to that makes me think the bracelet was made in the last 20 years, even if lobster claw clasps have been around longer.

 

I agree, not very old, but a few decades don't matter that much with amber jewellery after the Modernist era.
The amber could be modified amber. Modified amber is allowed to be called amber, just not natural amber.
Here is a site on Baltic amber classification, by the Polish amber association (in English):

https://www.amber.org.pl/en/klasyfikacja

Although the amber in the bracelet is probably not Baltic (Mexican, maybe?), the names of the techniques given by the Polish amber association are generally accepted.

 

They really didn't get into general use till the early 1990s. That looks like reconstituted amber, and that chain is very recent. I know there's a word for it, I cal it plughole chain. Silver looks ok, it's probably rhodium plated to stop tarnish.

 

Just 'ball chain' I think.

 

That's more boring than mine.

 

thanks for all the replies folks

 

But it's pretty and I love the presentation!!!!

 

Ditto