Reposing quietly in the trunk for easily the last two months, in a box, are quantities of broken, dirty and otherwise unusable costume jewelry, that I spent way too much money on, and that prompted a resolve to stay away from that damned auction site … from which I have already lapsed. What are you going to do?
Often, I bid on the lots simply for the beads. There is a market for vintage beads, even plastic. The trouble is the frequency with which I am suckered by things that look promising, but are truly junk.
On the other hand, and often, as I set about to disassemble, clean and package up my loot, I find the most intriguing things, even if they are still junk. One of this lot is, was (I took it apart already), a short string of iridescent plastic beads. I’m reasonably sure that they are only cheap plastic and dipped in something iridescent. While I was cutting it apart the iridescent coating chipped off of a bead, in a nice large rounded bit, from the top. The chip has the bead hole in it!
So then, what accounts for this? This is the clasp: a large specimen of the beads, with the clasp, very tiny and well made, set into a large hole in the bead. The latch is real metal, not pot, and just for fun should be tested for silver. This is way too much trouble to go to for such a chintzy looking string of beads. I am perplexed. ”It must be old” is all I can come up with in the way of an explanation. In olden days (pre-1950s), even dime store jewelry was better made than things you will see in Nordstrom’s today, and now I wish I had not cut it up.
But I really did have to. The bead strand was knotted, another sign of high-end work, but you can see in the first photo, the cut up bits with their knots were filthy. Palmolive and a toothbrush might have been effective, but I suspect the necklace lived with a smoker, and I don’t think you can get nicotine out of silk. And I suspect the cord was silk, because it went all powdery when I cut it. I have a lighter … somewhere … but I tossed the cord bits already. If I had thought to put the lighter to an end, I would know for sure.
[I really do have to get all the stuff together, all the tools, all the stuff, I could conceivably need while taking apart jewelry … says she, again.]
My standard for ‘”used” bead cleaning is rubbing alcohol, which is harsh, but accords with my general philosophy that if the bead finish can’t survive it, the bead isn’t worth keeping. But I must, in future, more thoughtfully consider a piece before I go at it with pliers and scissors. These beads will get archival treatment. I’m curious to see if the yellow tinge comes off.
I was further intrigued by another decidedly cheap necklace, very flashy, that would have been great for the office Christmas party, in green and black bugle beads. It was already broken, but I am tempted to remake it as it was. Check out the clasp hardware. It is 50s vintage, maybe 60s, stamped Japan. Wired to the clasp, through the holes was a button fashioned from beaded strands on wire, twisted into a swirl, and then a round, with a faceted iridescent bead set in the center. The wire used to make the bead and thread it to the clasp has broken in a couple of spots. Again, I am too rash. Had I initially thought there was any value to the piece, it would have been possible to re-wire the broken strands. It would have been excruciatingly fiddly work, but it was possible.
Alas, several of the necklace strands were also broken. The clasp has attachment spots for two strands, and those two were made of four strands each, sixteen total, and a nice fluffy bit a plastic around your neck at the Christmas party. The other think to note about the clasp is how corroded it is. The brassy finish is all but worn away, especially where it rested on the back of the neck. But check out the end caps below. Pristine. They also rested on the back of the neck, and humans, being an oily, grubby, species inclined to slather body parts with all manner of toxic substances, will contaminate clothing and jewelry with same, well, why aren’t the end caps grubby?
I suppose they could be gold plated !! Actually, I don’t think that is very likely, and now I’m puzzling about what could account for it. YouTube may tell me, but figuring out where to look always takes some time. I need to find myself an experienced junk jewelry recycler !!
In the meantime, I will see what some metal polish will do for the clasp. I expect I can find something to paint over the worn finish, and may very well put the thing right back together the way it was.
An Old Knitty Lady 
3 responses to “The Next Thing … Things”
Hey Elizabeth, Thank You! I’ve learned a lot about jewelry provenance, science, and restoration! Keep the mysteries coming! Also, I can’t remember if you have checked out The Curiosity Shop at 2214 M.L. King Jr. Way in Berkeley. might be worth a peek if not!
LikeLike
Hey, Elizabeth, Thank You! I’ve learned a lot about jewelry provenance, science, and restoration! Keep the mysteries coming! I can’t remember if you’ve checked out The Curiosity Shop at 2214 ML King Jr. Way in Berkeley, but might be worth a peek, if not.
LikeLike
This is super interesting, you should have a show on plastic jewelry restoration, there’s a lot to it! It also reminds me of the reality show “Container Wars” or “Pawn Stars” with all the hypothesizing over the origin of various things
LikeLike