This is a story of a necklace and how it "lost its way" as a piece of jewelry and was "reborn".Susan's aunt gave her mother a moonstone like and crystal bead necklace some fifty years ago. Her mother proudly wore it until the necklace was no longer fashionable. It laid unworn in her jewelry box for years until it was given to Susan's elderly grandmother who liked to keep her hands busy. The beads were hot-glued, yes you read it right, hot glued to form a bejewelled cross. After the grandmother passed away, Susan's mother kept the cross and eventually gave it to Susan who loves designing bracelets with gemstones.
Fortunately, the glue had become dry and brittle so most of the stones were easy to remove. Susan soaked the remainder in hot water to loosen up the glue. Some of the crystals were discoloured but most importantly, the beads were in mint condition! She has made bracelets for her mother (pictured) with a necklace to come and naturally a bracelet for herself. All are lovely mementos from just a single piece of family jewelry.
What lengths would you go to in order to save old beads?
Beader Design # :255
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That's lovely! I inherited some beads recently that are identical, so I'd bet that those are moonglow Lucite, not moonstone.
ReplyDeleteI did wonder too whether it might be vintage moonglow lucite but I've seen opaque moonstone like this. The interesting thing is these survived very rough treatment - hot glue and hot water.
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