Refurbishing an Old Piece

This is a necklace that was given to me by my son, from a friend of his who traveled extensively throughout Asia. The piece was from India.

Originally, the piece was strung with monofilament, brass clamshell findings, and silver-lined seed beads as spacers. The necklace was not only very stiff, but plastic was sticking out of the clamshells and was very scratchy.

I did not wear the piece, because it was unattractive, and uncomfortable to wear. However it was a keepsake and meant quite a bit to me.

I decided to re-do the necklace using knotting techniques. I added gold beads in place of the tarnished silver-lined beads. The necklace was a little tight so I decided to chain. To that chain I added a decorative dangle. The new findings were 14KT gold-filled instead of brass.

Other than the updated findings and stringing material, I did not change the design of the necklace, as I wanted to keep it as close to the original as possible.

The stones are beautiful, and I will always treasure them. One picture shows the basic design of the necklace.

Another picture shows a closeup of the stones used.

And lastly, the third picture shows how I completed the necklace, with clasp, chain, and dangle.

To show you what the necklace looked like before, here are a few pictures. The knotted technique improved the drape tremendously, and the new style is very attractive.

If you have piece that you are not wearing, consider giving it an overhaul. You may need some new findings, but the beads are reusable and you will save money making your new piece. Then wear it, and enjoy!