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Bead Necklace with Gilt-Metal Curb Chain and Scroll Spacers
Jewelry
A graduated-bead necklace combining a yellow gilt-metal curb-chain back section with a front section of graduated marbled / pearlescent yellow-cream celluloid or early-plastic spherical beads interspersed with smaller pearl-like beads and two prominent gilt-metal scroll-shaped spacers. Closure is a gilt rectangular bar-and-loop clasp. DESCRIPTION: A single-strand necklace combining two distinct visual sections: Back section (upper half of the necklace as worn): a flexible yellow-gold-toned curb chain (small linked metal loops, classic "cadena cubana" or "Cuban link" curb-chain pattern). The chain terminates at the closure — a gilt rectangular bar-and-loop clasp (a flat horizontal rectangular bar fitting into a corresponding loop, the standard "fold-over" or "box" clasp pattern). Front section (lower / decorative half): a graduated arrangement of spherical beads strung on small wire-link connectors. The beads are of marbled / pearlescent appearance, ranging from translucent cream-yellow to deeper gold-yellow with internal swirls and "veining" — the visual signature of celluloid, Bakelite, or early thermoset plastic beads simulating amber, agate, or pearl. The bead arrangement is graduated: smaller beads flank the outer edges where the bead section meets the chain, with the bead size increasing toward the front-center bottom of the necklace where the largest bead hangs. Between the larger beads, smaller accent beads are interspersed in pairs or singles. Two prominent gilt-metal scroll-shaped or "comma"-shaped ornamental spacers interrupt the bead sequence at roughly symmetrical points on either side of the center, framing the central section as a focal pendant-like grouping. Each bead is individually linked to its neighbors by short wire-link connectors (not strung on a single continuous thread), giving the necklace a chain-like structural integrity throughout the front section as well.
Bead Necklace with Gilt-Metal Curb Chain and Scroll Spacers
Bead Necklace with Gilt-Metal Curb Chain and Scroll Spacers - Image 2
Bead Necklace with Gilt-Metal Curb Chain and Scroll Spacers - Image 3
Bead Necklace with Gilt-Metal Curb Chain and Scroll Spacers - Image 4
Bead Necklace with Gilt-Metal Curb Chain and Scroll Spacers - Image 5
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The Cabrera Arús family collection
2025.1
Belonged to Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez.
MAKER / ARTIST: Unattributed. The overall design is consistent with mid-20th-century costume jewelry, mass-produced for the Cuban (and broader Latin American) market. DATE / PERIOD: Estimated mid-20th century, c. 1960s. ORIGIN: Cuba (most likely).
Metal
Plastic
MATERIALS: Gilt metal / gold-tone base-metal alloy (curb chain, scroll spacers, clasp, wire connectors); marbled / pearlescent plastic for the beads (most likely celluloid, casein, or early thermoset plastic — visual texture suggests "early plastic" rather than later acrylic). TECHNIQUES: Machine-made curb-link chain; molded plastic beads (drilled and threaded with wire links); cast or stamped gilt-metal scroll spacers; jump-ring wire-link assembly between beads; manufactured bar-and-loop clasp.
Very Good
Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez
owner
Havana
Cuba
Caribbean
Central America
use