Also Anne, have in mind that the Edwardian period lasted from 1901 - 1914. Mr Mikimoto only Perfected the art of culturing pearls in the 1930s. By deduction your Edwardian pearls cannot be cultured pearls. Freshwater, natural or imitation pearls, perhaps. Now, if the pearls are Natural pearls, well, your Edwardian pearl jewelry would be making even the present new owner of the famous Baroda Pearls green with envy. *wink*
best,
Yvonne Hammouda-Eyre
Edwardian pearl by: Kari
Hi Anne,
As Yvonne says, it's a very interesting piece. You are fortunate to own it.
About the pearls, while they could be natural pearls because of the age of the piece, since you see one peeling, I would venture to guess that is a sign that they are synthetic pearls instead of natural.
On this page there are some tests for cultured pearls. And here are some natural pearl tests.
Hi Anne -this item looks like an Edwardian Sautoir. The 'negligee' pendant and the Sautoir were great favorites during the Edwardian period. The Sautoir is a Very long necklace and was usually made of pearls, ending in a tassel just like your item. I'll leave the pearl identification for Kari.
