Elegant Opera Length Pearl Necklace With White Gold & Sapphire Clasp, c. 1980

Mainly due to Coco Chanel's fashion influence, it became socially acceptable to wear long pearl necklaces in opera or even robe length even during the day from the 1930s onwards. But from a jewellery history perspective, another key figure was involved in this previously unthinkable fashion: Japanese Kokichi Mikimoto, who in the early 1920s was the first person ever to succeed in producing and marketing full-round cultured pearls. Previously, it had often taken years of collecting to come up with a necklace of natural pearls in the right size and colour. The present pearl necklace is thanks to Mikimoto's invention of pearl culture. It has a length of 72 cm, which is opera length - it is hard to imagine how long a lady would have had to wait for the completion of such a necklace in the years around 1900! The pearls are of a light creamy white colour and are strung individually. A flower-shaped decorative clasp made of white gold holds six sapphires and another pearl. The necklace was created in the years around 1980 and is in very good condition. A jewellery classic and timeless gift!

Estimate:£821.76

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