Can anyone tell me anything about this necklace?

[plousia]

Just curiosity, as I bought it for myself, not to sell. I have never seen anything quite like it and can't find anything online, I'm not even sure what search terms to use.

It's very lightweight; at first I thought the white links might be plastic, but I think they might be enamelled metal? Really not sure. The edges are a bit rough as if layers of things were put together to form them, or maybe they were taken out of a mold.

Any info about age, material, and if this type of style has any names, would be really helpful! ETA: it might not even be vintage I guess, but it appears to me to have some age to it.

 

[Linn]

It looks like molded plastic to me. Plastic is lighter and warmer than metal. When you tap metal with your teeth it will make a higher pitched sound and will feel cold to the touch. Plastic will make a dull or a "clunking" sound if you tap it with you teeth - and will feel warmer to the touch. You can test this with something you know is plastic and metal - and you will be able to tell the difference in the future.

It's a fun necklace - probably '50s or '60s. Enjoy wearing it.

 

[plousia]

Thanks so much! That's very helpful. Yes, it's nothing special, but it's fun and I couldn't resist it.

 

[Shusteroo]

There is a necklace that looks similar to yours on ebay, in an ivory/cream colour. It is signed 'Germany', and is listed as celluloid and flapper 'style'.

 

[plousia]

Oh thanks! How on earth did you find that? I tried multiple searches before giving up. That's so interesting. Mine has no clasp and no marks. I also thought "flapper style" when first seeing it, though I doubt it's actually that old (but who knows). I don't know if my photos show the colour well, but mine is also ivory/cream, not white.

 

[plousia]

Question: the "Germany" mark might indicate it's older than 50s, wouldn't it, as I've read that "Western Germany" started in the 50s?

 

[plousia]

And now I wonder if mine was originally longer and had a clasp, as I've just noticed it has one spot where there are two metal links joined together, and the rest of it is one metal link alternating with one plastic piece. Perhaps it was originally the same as that eBay necklace.

If only vintage items could talk.

 

[Shusteroo]

Question: the "Germany" mark might indicate it's older than 50s, wouldn't it, as I've read that "Western Germany" started in the 50s?

Yes, I believe the 'Germany' mark would date the necklace to pre-1949. Germany was split into East and West Germany from 1949 to 1990.

 

[Shusteroo]

And now I wonder if mine was originally longer and had a clasp, as I've just noticed it has one spot where there are two metal links joined together, and the rest of it is one metal link alternating with one plastic piece. Perhaps it was originally the same as that eBay necklace.

If there is one spot that has two metal links, it is feasible that the necklace could originally have been longer. The one on ebay was 52", how long is your necklace?

 

[Shusteroo]

If only vintage items could talk.

 

[plousia]

If there is one spot that has two metal links, it is feasible that the necklace could originally have been longer. The one on ebay was 52", how long is your necklace?

Mine is just about 14.75". I wonder if maybe it was a flapper necklace that got shortened when the very long necklaces were no longer in fashion. If it was originally 52", a few shorter necklaces could have been made of it. Or maybe it broke and was fixed. So many possibilities.

 

[Linn]

The links don't look like Celluloid to me but you can test them by running it under hot water. Celluloid has a distinctive smell - like camphor.

 

[plousia]

I agree, they don't look or feel like celluloid to me either. They're a bit shiny which in my experience celluloid doesn't tend to be. Which is partly why I thought they might be enamelled metal.