Double Strand Cultured Pearl Necklace with Diamond Clasp, French Art Deco; GIA

This 16" strand of vintage cultured Akoya pearls features large and luminous pearls. 8.31mm, 8.24mm, 8.19mm, 8.04mm, 8.29mm, 8.43mm, 8.51mm: these are measurements I took of the pearls at random. In the world of cultured Akoya pearls, 8mm is the delineating mark; 8mm and larger are considered "luxury" pearls because of the time and risk involved in culturing pearls this large. The longer a pearl stays in the water, the thicker the nacre but the greater the chances for malformation. With this strand, we have the ideal: uniform, round pearls with thick nacre, and gorgeous luminosity, but without the pits and surface imperfections, we often see in pearls of this size and vintage. The vast majority of Akoya pearls are 6mm and 7mm. All of these pearls are 8mm and well beyond. If the classic 16" length feels too short for you, it's easy for your jeweler to add a bit of length by having the pearls restrung with double knots and French wire. In this way, you can transform this into a 17" necklace. This necklace, created in the 1950s, features two strands of 75 top-quality cultured Akoya pearls in a near-ivory tone without any evidence of pinking, the dying process the vast majority of cultured Akoya pearls undergo to give them a light pink blush. These pearls lack that artificial tint. The clasp is measures 23mm x 19.47 and was hand-fabricated. The clasp is formed into the shape of a flower with six small, full-cut diamonds prong-set in the center Interestingly, the diamonds are of far better quality than such small stones on a necklace clasp need to be. They are near-colorless (G-I) and clean (VS2). Together they weigh .25 carats. The clasp is unmarked but tests as 14K. This is the ultimate classic double-strand cultured Akoya necklace...

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